July 1, 2021

Hi Everyone!

The second week of La Sierra Session A has flown by in a blur of excursions, Spanish classes, storytelling, dancing, and so much good food!

We started the week with the incredible Inti Raymi celebration, which marks the solstice and celebrates the Sun and Mother Earth.

While sitting around a fire, our hearts and heads were blessed by a shaman, who prayed for a year of plenty for all of us.

After the ceremony, we all enjoyed a pampa mesa of traditional Ecuadorian foods like mote pillo, a type of corn prepared with spices, onions, and eggs.

The next day, many volunteers had the opportunity to milk cows whose dairy is used to make fresh milk, cheese, and yogurt on the farm.

This week, we also really enjoyed going beyond the Granja Learnaya area and exploring two vastly different places: the city of Cuenca and Cajas National Park.

We headed down to Cuenca to take a double decker city bus tour, which introduced us to the beautiful architecture and history of Cuenca.

First, we had lunch in the Plaza de los Flores, with a full view of Cuenca’s famous Catedral.

We then boarded the bus which took us all around Cuenca and up to an incredible viewpoint!

And we finished the day off with a super fun birthday celebration!

A couple of days later, we headed to the gorgeous Cajas National Park and learned all about its distinctive flora and fauna, and how glaciers formed its distinct landscape.

We finished the day off with a visit to meet some alpacas!

And at the end of the week, we all came together for some friendly competition in a game of Crab Soccer!