Ecuador Team Challenge

  Ecuador

Mindo

Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks

Description: Work...Splash...Work. Does that look good to you?

As part of the Ecuador team challenge you will work hard and play hard. The first week you spend digging and sweating as you begin your project of building trails. To reward your week long effort, you will be whisked away on an amazing white-water rafting adventure. Once you have dried off and recovered, you will go back to work for another week to complete your goal. Then, celebrate! If you love nature, especially lush forests and raging rapids, you can be sure that the Ecuador team challenge is your kind of challenge.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity you only need to put together a group of at least 5 friends / colleagues - please give us a call for more information!

*Challenge: Trail construction
Your challenge will be to protect the wildlife by creating are well-marked trail for visitors. The goal is to construct a trail that will take visitors an hour to complete. The trail will connect the reserve station area with the protected forest and its construction is vital to the survival of the pristine wilderness. Aside from clearing the 6 foot (2 meter) wide trail you will also create signs to keep visitors heading the right direction.

Note: all materials required for the challenge are funded through the fee you pay to participate in the project

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival day
Arrive at Quito (UIO) airport. Airport transfer to hostel accommodation in Quito

Day 2: Orientation
Orientation - introducing you to what you will be doing, the project and life in Ecuador
In the afternoon, you will take a trip to the middle of the world, the equator! You will have dinner with your group in Quito and then get a good night's sleep before transferring to your project the following morning.

Day 3: Arrive at project
After a traditional Ecuadorian breakfast you will hit the road and head towards Mindo. You will arrive in Mindo around 1pm, have lunch at the project, and then have an orientation about the project. You will spend the night in the Mindo reserve accommodation.

Day 4-6: Project Activities
Activities may include clearing the trail, making signs and helping with general reserve maintenance.

Day 7: Project Activities and travel to Mindo town
You will work hard in the morning and then pack your bags for the trip back to Mindo town where you will spend the night mentally preparing for the rafting trip.

Day 8: Rafting trip
After a filling breakfast in Mindo town you will meet your rafting guides. You will be rafting on the raging rivers of Toachi and Blanco. Flowing off the side of the Andes Mountains, they have some of the longest navigable sections of white-water in the country. You will travel with your guides through the beautiful cloud forest to the shores of the river. Once on the river you can expect both the action of thrilling white-water and the tranquility of drifting silently through tropical rainforests. So while you're guaranteed to get wet, you'll also have the opportunity to relax, enjoy the mellow forest music and see wildlife. Rafting time is approximately 3 and a half hours.

During the trip you'll dock on the riverbank and enjoy a delicious picnic lunch including fresh tropical fruits. After a day of rafting you will head to your comfortable cabin located close to river and the rainforest. You may be sharing your cabin room with one other volunteer. In the afternoon there'll be time to hike in the surrounding rainforest or just relax by the pool. In the evening you can tell your war stories as you enjoy a delicious dinner.

The river grading is class III to IV depending on the time of year.

Day 9: Rafting trip and travel to Mindo
After another satisfying day of rafting you will return to Mindo.

Day 10-13: Project Activities
Back to work! You will spend the next few days finishing your project, ensuring that you are proud of the work you and your team have accomplished.

Day 14: Project Activities and return to Quito
You will spend the morning putting the finishing touches on the garden and travel back to Quito in the afternoon. You will have a farewell dinner in Quito to celebrate and say goodbye to all your new friends.

Day 15: Departure Day
Sadly it's time to return home but you can board your flight confident that you have made a lasting and meaningful contribution to the conservation effort in Ecuador.

Highlights:
* Challenging yourself and seeing the fruits of your labour
* White-water rafting
* Living and working as part of a team in the Ecuadorean forest

Qualifications: What kind of skills you need:

Although we don't make Spanish language skills a requirement, in order to get as much out of your time in Ecuador as possible and to contribute as much as possible to the challenge you should do your best to learn as much Spanish as possible before your trip- and at the very least take a Spanish phrase book with you!

You should be in reasonable physical shape as you will be getting involved in physical work and you must be willing to be 'hands on', willing to get dirty (!) and to get involved in whatever is required. All the challenges will be based outdoors for a great deal of the time so be warned - Ecuador receives a lot of rain throughout the year and can be very hot (in between the rain!)

Cost in US$: USD 2195.00 for 2 weeks

* Accommodation: Varied; shared accommodation in cabin, volunteer house and hostels
* Food: Three meals a day
* Airport Pickup: Included on arrival date. Ask us for details if you're arriving early!
* Training: In-country orientation
* Support: Pre-departure helpdesk, Local in-country team and 24hr emergency support

Experience Required: no

Age Range: 18-80

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Ecuador in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

i-to-i Meaningful Travel's Mission Statement: i-to-i is an award-winning organization providing unique opportunities for you to travel, work and live abroad. Thousands of travelers aged 18 to 80 have joined our volunteer vacations and over 50,000 have learned to Teach English as a Foreign Language through our tailor-made TEFL courses. With over 400 projects on 4 continents, you can join the worldwide i-to-i volunteer community on an extended adventure in areas such as teaching, community development, sports coaching, conservation, building or internships in tourism, marketing, journalism, or health.

Year Founded: 1994