Follow the Journey

Stepping on the bus to head to La Delicias was a bittersweet feeling. We were sad to be leaving the luxurious life in the hostel in beautiful Quito and all the wonderful people we met. But at the same time we were thrilled to start another page in our adventure. The drive was a long three hours but but the view from outside the window of the bus was breath taking. The Ecuadorian mountains were like no other.
We arrived to the Banana farm and were welcomed with open arms and a delicious meal that consisted of fried plantains and rice. We then got settled in our cabins. We were about to experience the everyday life of an Ecuadorian family.
On Tuesday we all got to help the family with their everyday jobs. We were split up into two groups. One group would help make dinner in the kitchen and the other would help with the process of packing and delivering bananas. Some of us carried bananas to and from the stations and the others packaged the bananas in the box. Once the task was complete those who wanted to help deliver the bananas to town accompanied Juan Carlos. This process requires a lot of work and sadly the family only makes $3.50 per box of bananas.
The following day was full of learning Spanish, eating, and exploring. We started the morning off with 4 hour Spanish classes and a break in between. After refreshing our memories with the language, we then went on a hike through the Salvita. This is a mini jungle environment very near to the plantation. Juan Carlos introduced the group to many wild plants and fruits. We then closed the day off with a delicious meal of hamburgers.
The group experienced many things throughout our stay at the plantation. Such as Delicious meals, community service, hard work, a lot of laughing, and MANY mosquitos. Our stay at Las Delicias was one to not be forgotten.