On Friday morning we left on our group bonding trip to a small resort area called "El Encanto" near San Miguel de los Bancos. It was amazing! It's in the forest in the mountains and the views were phenomenal. As soon as we arrived I dropped my things off in the room and went straight to the balcony that over looked everything. After breakfast (which was delicious) we went on a hike down the mountain to a river. It took over an hour and we descended over 3,000 feet. It was pretty muddy and slipper at times and I almost fell a handful of times. It was really humid inside of the forest and there were lots of birds and insects. Once we got to the bottom I was pretty tired and hot so we all swam in the river. It was pretty cold and so refreshing! After half an hour to 45 minutes of being in the water we made our way back up the mountain. It went much faster than I expected, but it was extremely tiring at times and definitely motivated me to get back into shape. Once we got back lunch was served and like breakfast it was delicious. Following lunch we were given free time and almost everyone went in the hot tub. We had over 20 people in it and the water was over flowing. After our free time ended we met up as a group and separated into our tracks (mine is public health) and each group had to show a talent and give a name for the group. After that was over one of our professors, Luis, gave everyone a short dance lesson and that was super fun! After dinner a large group gathered in one of the cabins and we talked about our families in the U.S. and played a home made version of a game (I can't think of the name of it at the moment) for a while. Once everyone was ready for bed I went outside and talked with a couple other students, Luis, and our guide Fernando. It was really fun and interesting. They are all such fun and interesting people.
The next morning the owner of the resort came and gave a presentation about the history of the Incas and it was amazing. I can't believe how smart they were and all of the things they figured out so long ago. They were the first people to operate on the brain and have survivors, but they receive recognition for it. They also discovered the Earth was round and they knew where in the world they were (near the center of the world on the Equator) hundreds of years before any technology was invented. Fernando also balanced an egg on a nail, which apparently is only possible along the Equator. I had an amazing time along the trip and I felt as though I really got to know most of my classmates, which was really nice! Overall I had a wonderful time and had an amazing experience!
Here is a picture of the view of the mountains from where we stayed:
This is a horse that we came upon as we hiked towards the river:
This is a small water fall near the river:
No comments:
Post a Comment