EXPEDITION LIFE
Accommodation
Food
A Day In The Life
Who Else Is Going?
Weather
Join QUEST for the 3 month combined expedition through Latin America.
Beginning with 3-weeks Spanish immersion and language course in bustling Quito. Following this you'll spend 4 weeks helping disadvantaged children in Lima, Peru. You'll join our project in Villa Maria, one of Latin America's largest shanty-towns, where you'll help to provide activities, fun and games for hoardes of children during their summer holidays. You finish with a 6 week journey across the Andes. From the towering heights of Machu Picchu - the lost city of the Incas - to the darkest depths of the Amazon, you will travel through some of Latin America's finest landscapes. You'll visit indigenous communities, go white-water rafting, take a flight over the Nazca Lines and be mystified by the beauty of the Bolivian salt flats. An epic adventure.
Accommodation
Language Phase:
You will be staying at Hostal Tutamanda for the duration of your Spanish course. You will share a simple room with 2-4 beds, most with en-suite facilities. For those wishing to have individual rooms, a single suplement will apply. The hostel has 3 small patios and a cosy lounge, making it a home from home. your team have the use of the kitchen and their own large fridge. The hostel is a 2 minute walk to the closest shops, internet cafes, restaurants and bars.
Project Phase:
Whilst on project your home will be within the sports complex within the shanty-town of Villa Maria. We use the complex as a base for the children's activities during the project phase. The accommodation is basic but you have full use of the complex, including the swimming pool, showers and toilet facilites. There are two rooms used solely by Quest volunteers with roughly 4-5 bunk beds in each, a small communal kitchen, showers and toilets next door. The communal areas outside of the bedrooms are great for relaxing, we suggest you purchase a hammock from Otavalo Market so that you can chill out after a hard days work.
The accommodation is intentionally basic to provide you with a real insight into life in a shanty town, to gain more respect from the local community and to ensure that as much of the volunteer donations as possible go to the community itself, as opposed to excessively comfortable sleeping quarters.
Explorer Phase:
This will range from tented accommodation on the Inca Trail to dormitory accommodation or twin rooms depending on the location and activity. We choose our accommodation because of the outstanding locations, because of friendly reliable local staff, and because of the great atmosphere and warm welcome you\'ll feel when you arrive.
Food
Language Phase:
Ecuadorian food is fairly simple and often involves a staple diet of rice, potatoes, corn, beans and chicken. Whilst in Quito breakfast and lunch will be taken at the hostel. For your evening meal you will alternate between eating out at different restaurants in Quito and cooking for yourself and your team.
Project Phase:
During the project you will prepare meals as a team, using basic kitchen facilities. You will eat as the locals do, shopping at the colourful food market, which is a 10 minute walk away. Food is generally healthy and simple. Bottled water is readily found in shops outside of the complex but volunteers must still remember to bring some iodine tincture for purifying water.
Explorer Phase:
Whilst on expedition you will have the chance to sample traditional Latin American cuisine. Generally you will be eating at your hostel for breakfast, out and about in town for lunch and in a local restaurant in the evening. You will mainly eat together but you'll also have the opportunity to go out in smaller groups.
A Day In The Life
Language Phase:
The language phase will be different day to day but will include a mix of classroom sessions and practical activities, such as shopping and asking for directions. Lessons last for approximately 4 hours each day and are on a 1:1 basis. If you are a beginner, you will be taught a basic crash course to help you get by, for those with a little knowledge or the more advanced, you will be taught depending on your level. Afternoons and evenings will be spent enjoying a range of different activities and exploring all that Quito has to offer, from salsa dancing to football matches to museums and a visit to the equator.
Weekends / Free Time
We organise 3 weekend trips during the language phase, giving you the opportunity to visit some of Ecuador's finest attractions. The first weekend will be spent visiting one of Latin America's largest traditional craft markets, in the town of Otavalo. You'll also visit a beautiful volcanic lake where you'll have the chance to visit a Shaman. The second weekend we head up to the cloud forest, a few hours drive from Quito. You'll spend the weekend relaxing in hammocks, walking in the forest and visiting waterfalls. The area is renowned for its abundant birdlife. The final weekend is spent on the Ecuadorian coast for some sun, sea, surf and salsa!
Project Phase:
During the project phase your time will be focused on supporting a programme of games and activities for groups of children from the shanty-town of Villa Maria. With over 700,000 residents, Villa Maria is one of Latin America's largest shanty-towns. Poverty is everywhere and during the school summer holidays there is very little for the children to do. You will be organising sports, arts and crafts, fun and games for literally hundreds of children.
A typical day might involve:
07:30 Wake up
08:00 Breakfast while planning activities for the day
10:00 Session 1 - Sports and games
12:00 Swimming pool session
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Session 2 - Outreach work at one of the more distant communities
16:00 Swimming session
17:00 Sessions end
18:00 Evening meal and relaxation
Weekends / Free Time
Volunteers usually have one day off per week to relax and explore the cultural sites of Lima. Volunteers are free in the evenings and the Villa Maria staff are always keen to organise small local parties.
Explorer Phase:
With such an action and jam-packed itinerary it is simply impossible to say what a typical day will be like. What is safe to say however is that nearly every day starts early and is full of adventure and excitement until the moment you go to bed - exhausted but buzzing! The expedition has been designed to ensure that you fit in as much as possible during the 6 weeks, whilst giving you the time to relax and chill out so you have the chance to take in all the amazing places around you.
Who Else Is Going?
This 3 month Combined Expedition is perfect for anyone who wants to learn or improve Spanish, take part in an incredibly worthwhile and rewarding project and explore some
of Latin America's many highlights. It will especially appeal to those with an interest in third world development issues, who want to make a real difference to the lives of impoverished children.
We do not ask you to have any prior experience of working with children the only pre-requisite is that you are eager and willing to muck in. You will have the unique opportunity of living and working with local Peruvians in one of the largest shanty towns in the world, and as such, this project is also ideal for any one who wishes to rapidly learn or improve Spanish.
Weather
Language Phase:
Ecuador is the smallest country in the rugged Andean highlands. The capital, Quito has a pleasant climate year round with average highs reaching 21°C (72°F). As in the rest of South America, temperatures and rainfall vary mainly with altitude.
Project Phase:
You are in Lima during the Peruvian summer time, when days are hot and sunny. During the winter months of June, July and August tend to be cold and foggy.
Explorer Phase:
Due to the range of altitudes, climatic zones and environments you will be travelling through, you will need a range of clothing suitable for the beach, for cities and for mountain environments. You are provided with a detailed kit list to ensure that you are suitably prepared and we will go through this in more detail at your team preparation days before you leave. Staff will bring their own kit, talk through different examples with you and are on hand to offer any advice you need.