2022 Trip to Ecuador & Galápagos Islands

Exciting NEWS: We are planning a return trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands for June/July 2022. We held our first parent/student informational meeting in the Palmyra High School library on Thursday, February 20, 2020.

At the informational meeting, I distributed the itinerary, the enrollment booklet, and a slide show that gave parents and students information about the tour company - EF (Education First), the tour leader (me - Cynthia Hitz), why this is the “Trip of a Lifetime”, payment information, and had two students from the 2019 share their feelings about the trip and a mother of a student traveler encouraged everyone to send their son or daughter!

If you are interested in registering your son or daughter, or as a parent you are interested in going, please contact me by email and I can send the information to you.  cynthia_hitz@pasd.us

Reminder: the $200 early discount ends at the end of February 2020.

Below are several screenshots of the slides from the powerpoint presentation from the meeting. 

The combination of walking among sea lions and giant tortoises, swimming with sea turtles under the watchful eyes of Galápagos penguins and blue-footed boobys in one country, plus standing on either side of the equator can NOT be duplicated anywhere in the world. A trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands would be challenging to plan on your own - but EF has done the work for us. 

Other benefits that you may not think of initially are:

- The currency of Ecuador is the American dollar; no money exchange needed!

- The weather is very comfortable, even at the equator due to Quito’s high altitude. The temperatures on the island are warm but the ocean breeze sweeps away the humidity.

- There will not be crowds, unlike many other popular destinations. In fact, Ecuador limits the amount of people that can be on the islands on any one particular day.

- Ecuador is a safe destination. Although terroristic attacks can occur anywhere in the world, Ecuador is not on the radar for that type of threat.

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Our requested travel dates are June 27-July 5. However, EF reserves the right to start the trip 4 days before the 27th or 4 days after the requested date. Make sure to keep the dates June 23-July 9 open in case those 9 days are shifted a few days earlier or later. 

A new trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands is planned for summer 2022. I encourage students, parents, and family members to watch the videos on this blog of the 2019 trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos and read the information to see the amazing adventures that await you and others that go with on the 2022 trip!

The two videos below I made while on the Galápagos Islands and I realized that I never uploaded them to this blog.  ENJOY!!

The video below shows was one of our favorite days. We visited the tortoise ranch with over 900 tortoises roaming the fields. Over 900! YES!

Ecuador Trip - Final Thoughts

It’s the evening of July 11th and everyone is back on PA, where there’s

- no malaria threat

- no toilet paper bin next to the toilet 

- no bus ride of endless braking

- nobody asking you where your passport is 

- no need to watch that you don’t step on an iguana

- no one asking to interview you

- no ... etc etc etc

Yes, all our travelers will have memories of the above, but those memories will be overshadowed with their fond memories of an absolutely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Ecuador and meet it’s people with our Palmyra Area High School group.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to everyone that participated in this trip and to those that made it possible for your relatives to go on the trip. I am truly honored to have been a part of this group and for being able to experience Ecuador for the first time with you! 

Thank you to “my team” as Roberto, our white water rafting guide always said, for being positive and for stepping in when I overlooked something. Thank you Miss McCarthy, Madame Kovalchick, Sr. Macchia, Sra. Wagner, and Dr. Richardson. 

We all returned to the states a little bit changed. Hold onto that enthusiasm and let it spark continued interest in learning about the world around you and working to make it a better place!

Cynthia Hitz, Tour Leader, 2019 Ecosystems of Ecuador Trip (EF) ❤️

And now, the final video (although I think I may have missed a day that I’ll need to update in the near future).

Enjoy!

Day 10 - Starting our journey home

Our last day in Ecuador.

Breakfast 7-8

Stop in small town to see monkeys.

Visit an indigenous village. 

(I have many photos from the visit but we may be home before I have a chance to upload them. Then again, we have a long drive to the airport, 6-8 hours depending who you’re talking to.) 

It appears as everyone has learned more about Ecuador and it’s different regions while having a memorable time. I’ve heard several comments that they’re ready to go home. Thank you for supporting them and making this trip possible for them.

Video for days 10 & 11.

Day 9 - white water rafting

Schedule:

Breakfast 7:30-8:30

White water tour guide, Roberto, arrives at 9:00

Transport to river (40 minutes)

Safety talk and put on gear (helmets & life jackets)

White water rafting on river, stop at small community to shop and play group games on beach, white water rafting, shower/change & lunch after rafting.

Return to lodge.

Rest/shower.

Visit Tena to shop/buy ice cream - 5:00-6:00

Dinner at lodge 7:00

Group games & bedtime.

Day 8 - Amazon here we come

Left hotel
Bought snacks
Lunch in Baños
Cable car
River walk
Arrive in Amazon
Dinner
Games
To our cabins

I will update video after the students air drop photos to me.

Day 7 - Cotopaxi National Park

We hiked in Cotopaxi National Park which is a 1.5 hr drive from Quito. It was cold and windy but we were prepared with our cold gear.

Morning, Day 7 video

Afternoon, Day 7 video (below)

Additional photos shared with me after video was already published. 

Sra. Hitz, Victor, our tour guide for the trip, and Sra. Wagner.

Mason Applegate and his mom, Mrs. Kovalchick (Madame - French teacher)

Look closely and you will see two black dots which are birds, but not just any birds,, they are condors. Our guide told us there are about 50 condors in Ecuador and we saw four of them flying together (only two are in this photo). He said he has gone to this park for ten years with groups and this is the first time he saw the condors, the national bird of Ecuador. Our local guides, from the park, were super excited to see them too. I suppose the condors wanted to greet the group from Palmyra. 😊