| Costs | £1750 / $3413 (US) / €2573 |
| Group Size | 10-16 |
| Countries Visited | Ecuador |
| Dates | 07 Aug to 17 Mar 2009 |
"Fried guinea pig anyone"
A fast food restaurant in Ecuador, 2005
Volunteer in a community, learn Spanish, see amazing wildlife, meet indigenous cultures, scale the Cotopaxi summit, and discover an amazing country having the experiences of a lifetime!
This perfect Yomper Stomper gives you the opportunity to give to a local community and take away memories you will treasure forever! Living with families near Otavalo, we will spend close to two weeks repairing and constructing school buildings with materials supplied by Yomps. It is an area not normally frequented by tourists, so to be given the opportunity to work hand in hand with the local community is a rare privilege and exciting honour. We will work hard and long days, but the resulting personal satisfaction of constructing vitally required buildings for the region’s overcrowded schools will make all the hard graft all the more worthwhile. At the end of our stay we will celebrate with an Ecuadorian style party to mark our achievements with our new found friends! Heading to San Francisco de Quito we will then spend time exploring the second highest capital city on the world and acclimatizing ourselves to the elevation, before making a summit attempt on the long considered highest active volcano in the world, Cotopaxi. Trained professionals will teach us how to climb safely with lessons that include how to use equipment, harnesses, knots, ice screws, and the important basics of mountain rescue and first aid. Practicing with some treks around the area will give us time to further acclimatize ourselves to the high altitude, and marvel at the breath-taking surroundings of the ice-capped beauty Cotopaxi. Stunning views and a plethora of wildlife including condors, eagles, wolves, foxes, deer, and frogs, will accompany us as we use crampons and mittens to reach the summit of Cotopaxi when our training is complete. Standing at 5,897m above sea level we will be able to gaze in wonder at the surrounding landscape, taking photos to bring back home to tell of our fantastic achievement for years to come. All in all, this Ecuadorian adventure will truly be a stomper of a Yomper Stomper!
