Expedition to Ecuador. July-August 2009
At midday on the 15th July 2009 nine students accompanied by Mr Joyce and Mr Hand set out an expedition to Ecuador in South America. After spending an afternoon and evening at a base in Carmel College near Henley-on-Thames, sorting out the expedition kit and discussing plans with the leader, Leonie Palmer from Outlook Expeditions, the team was good to go.
Prior to this point the team had spent a year preparing for the expedition by raising funds and undergoing a series of group development training days. As a team we raised money through a variety of fund raising activities that included an auction of promises, a superb musical entertainment evening, a quiz night with a professional quiz master, a sponsored row of the channel (albeit on concept II rowing machines Riverside!) and manning the school car park to enable Christmas parking. Team members also took personal responsibility to raise money to support their expedition in a variety of ways.
So after very little sleep the team departed Heathrow and headed to Madrid and then west across the Atlantic, eventually landing in Quito at an altitude of 2800m.
The expedition had three distinct phases: Trekking in the Andes, community project work close to the town of Santo Domingo de los Colorados and a jungle experience in the Amazon Rainforest.
In the first phase the group spent several days trekking and accomplished the summit of Laguna Quilotoa, an extinct volcano with a dramatic crater lake. We also hiked in the Pasachoa Reserve reaching an altitude of just under 4000m.
Phase two of the expedition saw the team heading west, descending the Andes into the inland area of the coastal region. We stayed with a family belonging to the Tsachila community in Bua, close to the town of Santo Domingo de los Colorados. For a week we worked with the local farmers helping them to fertilize the cacao plants that are required for chocolate production. The project that is organised by the Yanapuma Foundation, aims to improve the quality of life and well being of the local population by facilitating the development of sustainable agricultural practices and cacao production.
The third phase saw the team heading east of the Andes into the region known as the Oriente. Here we spent just under a week living with an indigenous community within the Amazon Rainforest and experiencing their local way of life. The experience was completed with some dramatic white water rafting on one of Ecuador’s largest rivers, the Rio Napo.
It was a fantastic experience for the whole team and really an opportunity of a lifetime. The personal development gained by the team members was astonishing and it will stand them in good stead not only for future travelling experiences, but also for their future in general.
The Team:
Jonathan Hyde, George Lifely, Jed Hollom, Sarah Williams, Mike Philps, Ed Poole, Will Rees, Ellie Goodwin, Alex Tyler, Mr Joyce, Mr Hand, Leonie Palmer (Outlook Expeditions)
Please click on the link below to view some of our expedition photos.
Soon to follow: Accounts of the expedition by individual team members.
Mr W. Joyce
Photo gallery