HIGHLIGHTS
• Traverse the highlands of Ecuador on horseback.
• Stay in traditional haciendas and experience ranch hospitality.
• Do heartwarming and purposeful Red Cross work in Piñan Valley.
• Spot wide-winged condors soaring in the mountain sky.
• Walk from a coffee plantation to a swimming hole in the cloud forest.
• Visit the Amazon village of Llamchamacocha, home of the Sàpara tribe.
• Help install three water filtration systems in an Amazonian community.
• Take part in a traditional shamanic ceremony in the rainforest.
Day 1: August 6
Arrive in Quito and spend the night at a Boutique Hotel or similar.
Day 2: August 7
Early morning departure from Quito into the northern highlands of Ecuador (approx. 2 hrs drive). This beautiful drive will take us through arid valleys into Imbabura province (also known as “Land of the Lakes”) to Otavalo. A mid-morning casual ride offers riders the opportunity to get to know their horses. This ride will take us past hamlets of adobe huts and through patchworks of Quinoa and Maze fields, then onto the slopes of the now extinct and sacred Imbabura Volcano.
The ride culminates at Hacienda Pinsaqui, once a historical weaving center, owned by the same family for eight generations. Late afternoon walk through the very popular Otavalo Market, known for its traditional handicrafts and textiles.
Overnight in a traditional hacienda.
Day 3: August 8
Drive from Hacienda Pinsaqui, north-westwards, across the valley to meet the local criollo horses at Cochapata (60 minutes, dependent on track conditions) and then start our horseback ride to the remote highland village of Piñan.
The ride up is remarkable as it immerses us into the vast ‘paramo’ with miles of swirling grasslands. Condor sightings are frequent as well as caracaras, eagles and large hawks. We are now in “sky country.” Altitudes on the ride up will reach 12,000 feet, but once we have crested the mountain, descent back down to sleep at 10.000 feet on an Andean plateau in Piñan.
Overnight at the lodge in Piñan.
Day 4: August 9
Prepare for a day’s worth of heartwarming and purposeful work as we conduct our Red Cross Dental Care and Obstetrics programs for the people of Piñan. The camp will open its doors at 10.00 am and will close by 4.00 pm or until the last patients have been screened or treated.
Overnight at the lodge in Piñan
Day 5: August 10th
Early morning, ride out of Piñan Valley through the paramo with magnificent
views of the surrounding peaks, and then descending into the tropical cloud forest. This new and distinct flora and fauna, boasting mountain bamboo, passion fruits and Coffee trees, vastly differs from the paramos of our morning ride.
The day’s ride ends at a coffee plantation in the high cloud forest area of “Intag” know for having the best coffee in Ecuador. The plantation also serves as a very comfortable lodge, with cozy rooms surrounded coffee and banana trees. Riders can walk down to the river and enjoy a swimming hole.
Overnight at the Riyo Lindo Coffee Plantation.
Day 6: August 11
Morning ride through the “tropical” part of the cloud forest. Lunch at the plantation, followed by a highly informative tour explaining coffee production and processing from raw bean to espresso grounds. Late afternoon tour to meet the recipients of our Red Cross prosthetic program.
Overnight at the Riyo Lindo Coffee Plantation.
Day 7: August 12
We get nearer to the Amazon with an early morning departure to Hacienda La Cienega in the low-lying cloud forest. The drive will take us through the high cloud forest to the equator line, where we will stop for a quick visit, and then continue into the avenue of the volcanoes, with a chance of seeing several snow-capped peaks. Lunch stop on the way. Hacienda La Cienega is historically very important, as it was involved in the very early stages in the independence battles. Many great explorers stayed here including Von Humboldt, Whymper and Condamine.
Overnight in a traditional hacienda.
Day 8: August 13
Early morning drive to the airport in Shell (Approx.3 hrs) a small frontier town in the Amazon. Fly in a light aircraft Cessna 206 (45 mins) into the Amazon from Shell to Llamchamacocha, home of the Sàpara tribe. The Sàpara people are the ‘hippies’ of the Amazon in that they have always been more interested in spirituality and healing than in warfare and expansion. They are master healers with incredible knowledge of plant medicine.
We will be given a traditional meet and greet with the matriarch of the Sàpara, Mukasawa, one of the four remaining speakers of the language. We shall be received first with a cleansing ceremony by the people, where we will be welcomed into their land and given a Sàpara name, then a short canoe ride down the river to our stunning riverside encampment.
Overnight in Nakku: Indigenous Healing Center
Day 9: August 14
Upon waking we will have another cleansing ceremony with the Sapara people, and become more connected with the forest around us. Later that morning we will help our Red Cross team organize and perform a Dental and Obstetrics Camp offering the people of Llamchamacocha dental and obstetrics care. Help install three water filtration systems in the community. Enjoy some rest, swimming or reading on a ‘beach’ by the river near our Amazonian habitat.
Overnight in Nakku: Indigenous Healing Center
Day 10: August 15
After a delicious breakfast we will canoe downstream with Manari, the shaman and leader of the Sàpara, and a very keen fisherman. He’ll share with us the Sapara cosmovision, way of life and worldview. Our lunch, rest and swimming time will be on a ‘beach’ by the river before hiking back to the camp. On the way back we will stop for Manari to explain the traditional shamanic ceremony which we will take part in this evening, and we will to spend sometime reflecting individually in a beautiful place in the forest. Returning to the camp to prepare for the evening ceremony.
Overnight in Nakku: Indigenous Healing Center
Day 11: August 16
After a delicious breakfast, Manari and other elders will help us understand our dreams and experiences from the previous night’s ritual. After lunch we will travel to the community for RRI’s “Clean Water” program. This program will offer the Sàpara tribe two water filtration systems, one at the local school and the other within housing area of Llamchamacocha.
Enjoy the late afternoon with the Sàpara community, as share their customs and way of life with all of us. The afternoon will be at your leisure to journal, reflect and relax, enjoying our last day in the jungle.
Day 12: August 17
We will gather to say goodbye to our hosts and have the chance to buy Sàpara artisanal gifts to take home with us. Fly out of the jungle back to Shell at noon. Our coach will take us through stunning mountain scenery as we ascend into the Andes, arriving at Luna Runtun volcanic thermal spa, where you can book massages and soak in hot pools with stunning views, or hike the cliffs that overlook Baños.
Overnight in Luna Runtun: Thermal Spa.
Day 13: August 18
Mid-morning visit to the renowned spa town of Baños, site of many miracles performed by the Virgin of the Holy Water. We will have lunch and some time to explore the market in this beautiful town that lies in the shadow of the Volcano Tungurahua. Drive from Baños to Quito (Approx 4 hrs drive). After a wonderful farewell dinner we will be taken by coach to the airport for our night flights back home.
Note: Weight limit is 185 lbs. Riders up to 210 must pay an additional weight supplement fee of $350
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