For the past 2 weeks, I have had to honor of working with Fundacion Esperanza Hope Camp, a school for physically and/or mentally disabled children. The staff members treated us like family; the children were the sweetest, and I started tearing up when Tia Sylvia presented a card and gift to me!

They have so much patience and work so hard! I can’t thank them enough for this amazing opportunity! I will miss you all, especially Alexander, Danae, Aylin, Ariel, Brigith, Estephano, Fernando…Sara, Danielle, and Tia Sylvia.

My classmates and I went to Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador for the weekend, which was about a 3.5 hour bus ride towards and 5 hours back. This is considered a small, very touristy town and definitely has a night life. We went ziplining through Puntzan Canopy, hiking at Pailon Del Diablo, shopping at the markets, clubbing, swinging in Case de Árbol, and chilling in Baños’ famous hot springs. Don’t forget that you can try to bargain for cheaper prices! Some places charge you more because they know you’re a tourist.

Apparently a Jurassic Park movie was shot in Baños.

The view outside arriving in Baños.

Map of where we ziplined.

Ziplining with my classmates.

Lots of choices of ice cream!

Took this picture for the cooked guinea pig behind me.

La Casa del Árbol map.

La Casa del Árbol. You get to do the big swing for $10 (I didn’t).

Me swinging at La Casa del Árbol.

Baños is known for its hot springs!

Clubbing at Baños.

As for the clubs, please be alert! There are many cases of drugged drinks, stealing, etc. My classmates found a girl who had been drugged at a club, but were able to bring her home safely. Traveling as a group is best.

At Pailon Del Diablo, a gigantic waterfall. It’s about 1-2 hours hike, but we didn’t go to the top.

At Pailon Del Diablo

There are a good amount of wild dogs that live in Baños. 

The hostel the 16 of us stayed at was called Plantas y Blanco for $9 per person per night. The only problem is that they don’t take credit cards.

*A lot of these places, in Ecuador in general, take cash only. However, more expensive places like nice restaurants and hotels take cards. It’s better safe than sorry to carry more cash than you need, but to store them in different pockets or locations.

In total, I spent over $50 in Baños de Agua Santa and only brought $30, so if you’re staying for the weekend, I would recommend bringing $75-$100.

Day 1: June 2

This is the order of my day!

On the right is this cheesy…snack that’s popular in South American airplanes. Something similar to peanuts. The other stuff is breakfast goodies. I met a college traveler who has been traveling around the world since he was 16 and was going back to his home country for the summer. (HEY JAVIER!)

Something about this being one of the best South American airports? The altitude in Bogota is 2,640 meters, while the U.S. altitude is 43 m.

Menu at a cafe in Bogota, Columbia airport. Note that their currency is pesos, while Ecuador’s is US dollars.

Breakfast # 2 on airplane. They called it a ham and cheese burrito.

View from outside of Quito’s airport. Quito’s altitude is 2,850 m.

I thought it was interesting how the car had 3 seats in the front.

Driving to host family’s home.

Driving to host family’s home.

Driving to host family’s home.

There is a woman selling fruits (I think?) to drivers. She is wearing traditional Ecuadorian clothing.

My room at my host family’s house.

Grilled cheese and ham sandwich with a glass of water.

Bought 5 1.2L of water with my host mother, Maria. Because of the high altitude and being on the equator, you can get dehydrated and fatigued quickly.

I definitely got altitude sickness — headache, nausea, lightheadedness — which continued for 2 days. I took one Motrin tablet and had to lay down in bed for a while. In general, I brought petrolium jelly for skin dryness, hydrocortisone 2.5% and 1.0% ointment for inflammation and itching, benadryl tablets for severe itching or inflammation, claritin tablets for minor itching or inflammation, some chinese medication (because my mom said so), neosporin ointment for cuts, personal medications, and diarrhea or stomach ache medication. Then there’s the typical first aid, sunscreen, bug spray, etc. The only vaccination I got was for typhoid. I wish I had gotten malaria and yellow fever vaccines as well. Luckily, I can get the malaria vaccination over the counter here “for cheap” (what my school says) — doxycycline, but the yellow fever is hard to get.

Follow this Summer 2018’s Office of Study Abroad & International Experiences Global Correspondent, Kimberly Ng, on her studies in Quito, Ecuador!

Kimberly is a UMass Lowell Nursing major studying this summer on a UMass Lowell partner-led study abroad program, Child Family Health International, Global Health: Intensive Beginner Spanish & Healthcare.

You can also read blogs from other trips to Italy and across the globe!