Into the deep blue
Trip Start
Feb 12, 2010
1
8
Trip End
May 05, 2010
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The South America team is on their way back to Quito from the Galapagos Islands today (Tuesday, May 4) and are now into the final hours of their epic South America expedition! I heard from leader Andrew again this morning, and all is well.
Their time in the Galapagos was a success. The team has provided several great photos from their time in the Galapagos with this update, and Grace Warmels gives us an overview of their Galapagos experience here.........................
We have spent the last three days on the Yolita II, a beautiful boat
that took us around on a tour of the Galapagos Islands. We met a
friendly german couple (Marion and Stephen), who were on the boat
as well. Our guide/divemaster Washington, a very enthusiastic and
knowledgable man, made sure that we were safe and entertained
throughout the trip. We had wonderful food and overall a great
experience with the crew.
The trip started on Santa Cruz, where we searched to no avail for land
tortoises, and continued to Chinese Hat, Rabida, Bartolome and other
beautiful islands. We went on several hikes and snorkling adventures on
various islands and saw a plethora of wildlife. We observed sharks,
giant schools of fish, playful young sea lions, galapagos penguins,
blue-footed boobies, crabs, marine iguanas, pelicans, frigate birds
and the famous Darwin Finches. What a treat.
There was plenty of time for fun on the boat, like jumping into the
ocean. Some people had small brushes with seasickness, but everyone was
healthy.
Back on the Island of Santa Cruz, where we are staying for 2 nights,
the team will have the opportunity to explore, visit the Darwin Center
(home to giant land tortoises, like Lonesome George) and shop for
souvenirs. We will be heading back to Quito in the morning, and from
there home to North America.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL SOON!
Hasta Luego!
The YI 2010 South America team
(Brad here again)................Back in Quito tonight the team will be doing some final closure activities, and preparing for their return home tomorrow (Wednesday, May 5).
They will all fly together from Quito to Miami. Here is their group flight information:
Depart Quito, Ecuador at 6:25am on American Airlines flight 932 direct for Miami, Florida
Arriving at Miami International Airport at 11:35am.
The program and semester will officially be over once the team touches down in Miami, and everyone will be getting their own connecting flights back home from there.
I want to give a huge congratulations and thank you to everyone on this team for the great work that they have done across Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador over the past three months. And, a special thanks to team leaders Jessica Brown and Andrew Fraser for their tireless efforts out there this semester.
I would also like to give you all one last quick reminder that we do still have open spots remaining on both our South America and our Asia (Thailand, India, and Vietnam) teams that will be traveling this coming fall from September 16 to December 8. If you know of anyone that would benefit from a Youth International semester, and is interested in joining us, please have them contact me directly.
I want to thank all of you again for your interest, enthusiasm, and support of this Youth International South America spring 2010 team, and for following along vicariously on this epic adventure!
Very best wishes, Brad
Brad Gillings, Director
Youth International (Experience the World), Inc.
232 Wright Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M6R 1L3
Canada
Phone: 1-416-538-0152
Fax: 1-416-538-7189
director@youthinternational.org
www.youthinternational.org
