Wine Tour at Bodega Familia Zuccardi– Exploring Wine in Mendoza

The moment we’ve all been waiting for! It’s in the title! Let’s Explore (Mountains and) Wine! Thank you, Zuccardi Family, for a beautiful day filled with wonderful wine.

Bienvenidos a Mendoza– First Days in Argentina

On Wednesday, March 4th, the cinco amigos departed from the Cuenca Airport and began our 27 hour trip to Mendoza, Argentina. Yes, 27 hours, four flights, three layovers, four countries.

Carnaval– Our Four Day Vacation

In Cuenca, Carnaval is celebrated for almost two weeks. It’s a religious tradition, one that marks the beginning of lent. The festivities happen daily and nightly, culminating on Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras. In Ecuador, they celebrate by throwing water on unsuspecting victims or spraying them with foam. It’s a pretty messy holiday, but one the Cuencanos treasure and love to celebrate.

Classes and Sight-Seeing

Our first week of classes are over. We’ve already had our first exam. I’m exhausted from waking up at 6:30 every morning. Cuenca, you’re tough.

Exploring the Ecuadorian Amazon

For the past three days, we have been staying at Cotococha Amazon Lodge in the jungle of Ecuador. We had to travel on steep and treacherous roads, seemingly in the clouds, to arrive, but the adventure was worth it.

Quito, the Middle of the World

Yesterday we departed from Otavalo to head to Ecuador’s capital, Quito. Quito is a cultural center in Ecuador, full of many different socio-economic classes, ethnic backgrounds, and many tourists.

Otavalo

We’ve been here in Ecuador for one day and it feels like eight, but that’s only because we’ve been doing so many cool things and it’s been so wonderful!

We arrived in Otavalo in time for breakfast this morning, and quickly retired to our rooms at Hotel Otavalo to sleep until lunch. Otavalo is a little city nestled in the Andes mountains, right below the volcano, Imbabura (not active).

Me voy!

I’m sitting at my gate in the airport, ready to hop on the plane to Miami, and then wait six hours to hop on the plane to Ecuador! Looking out my window, there’s snow and people wrapped in parkas. In Ecuador, it’s currently 88 degrees. I have a long journey yet, I won’t actually be in Ecuador until early tomorrow morning, but I’ve been waiting so long for this already, what’s 16 more hours?