The tours of Centro Historico and El Virgen de Panicillo en Quito, Ecuador and the tours of Buena Vista rainforests and the Mindo garden rapids were a great experience to an excellent day. The day started as we loaded the bus to see a volcano called Pulluhauha. We arrived at one of the craters it formed with its lava. After 45 years that crater is now used for farming and plantation. There were little shops set up for buying gifts outside of the crater. Some of us bought gifts. We did not continue up the volcano because it would have been two hours each way walking. So instead we boarded the bus to Buena Vista rainforests. An hour later we were off the main road and on to the mountainside headed to the rainforests. The greens, the vegetation, and the animals on the mountainside were beautiful. As we approached the rainforests there was a point in the hill that you could see how steep the mountainside is.
Finally, we arrive at the rainforests. Richard (United Kingdom) and his wife (Colombia) opened a resort that allowed tours through trails in the rainforests. They have been running this establishment for 10 years. We saw many species of hummingbirds and trees and ferns. You named the insect it was out there. Many of our student-athletes did not realize that the rainforests are about wildlife and insects and the beautiful scenery. They are just so used to seeing what's on television. The perspective is very different when you are here in person, stated Shatasia Little (Lehman College). Jessica Proscia and Jahlaani Costello both were worried about the insects. Talking about fear Jessenia Marrero and Rannie Miles were both very fearful of heights as Richard spoke to us about the many advantages of the rainforests. Richard talked about landslides along the mountainside and how the different plants bring different things in the rainforests. It rains 9 feet a year in these rainforests during the months of October through March. As we hiked through the trails we saw lots of greens. Jessenia slipped and was laughing hysterically, and Coach Renee pulled a branch from its tree as she tried to hold on as she climbed down a trail. These were parts of the good times along the hike. We concluded the hike with looking at the geo-domes built out of bamboo and wood. This was quite an enjoyable experience as we look forward to taking some of this culture home with us, said Jennifer Ithier (Hunter College).
Now for lunch, we sat a local restaurant in Mindo Garden where we ate everything from Steak, chicken, shrimps and rice. This restaurant was a mom and pop type of restaurant. The food was delicious, said Jenny Deida (York College). We then followed a trail, which would have taken us to the Waterfalls of Mindo but we were informed that it was a 45-minute walk each way. Instead we went to the Mindo Rapids and watched the water flow. Some of us hopped the rocks across the rapids, as some of us took a pulley across. This was special for some of our ladies that were trying to get rid of the fear of water.
On to Centro Historico and the Virgen de Panicillo. We toured the city and noticed many beautiful churches and plazas. Our group shopped a little in the plazas. Upon passing the mayors home and the White House of Ecuador our student-athletes were in awe. Lots of photos were taken to pass on to our families. The way these churches light up the sky is amazing. We are taking major notice of the statue, which resembles the Virgin Mary up on the mountain. As we start our track up the mountain we see the great view, which overlooks the hills. Wow, says Jenny Deida,
this view is gorgeous. We got a chance to see the way the virgen de panicillo was built. This statue represents their freedom of religion and opportunity through adversity. I must say that this trip has brought a lot of us to realize what opportunities hold forth. The tours were great and hope that one day we can do it again, said Jahlaani Costello (Kingsborough CC)
