By Kathleen Megan Harfman, College of New Caledonia, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.
I have officially returned from Ecuador. Wow, what an experience! I learned a lot and saw so much. My favorite part of the entire Study Abroad adventure was staying at Sani Lodge in the Amazonian jungle. This place is a community run ecotourism lodge. To get there we flew into a city called Coca, then travelled by boat for almost three hours down the Napo River. After docking, we hiked a short trail to a canoe, where we paddled across a lagoon to the lodge. Every day we went hiking and paddling with a local guide to observe and learn about native flora and fauna, their interaction with one another, native uses, and importance. We saw various species of monkeys, as well...