Action (A) (IYA trip to Yunguillas)

IYA Trip to Yunguillas

 

This activity was carried out for three days and two nights at the Yunguillas reserve and the Maquipucuna reserve in the outskirts of the province of Pichincha. This expedition was for our Silver Award Expedition for the IYA for our year group. What I really enjoyed about this activity was that I had the opportunity to once again share some time with some of my close friends as well as getting to know people with whom I didn't speak too much before and to strengthen my friendship with people in my year group. I really enjoy getting to know other people well, so this activity helped me develop social skills as well as increase friendship ties with others.

Apart from this, the trip was mainly done in order to test our survival skills we had acquired in the practice trip we made earlier on the year to Cotopaxi. There were times in which I thought that I couldn't keep going on due to the intensity of the walk and the weigh of my bag, but I decided to keep on going and finish the trip with as little help as possible as I wanted to get a challenge. Despite this, the second day and third of the walk I was given the task to carry the group tent, which was very heavy. Because of this, I had to ask for a bit of help to one of the guides so that he could carry the tent for me for a small part of the walk. Despite this, I persevered, which is a quality that I have developed during this activity.

Furthermore, we also learned responsibility and teamwork, as each member of our team was responsible of bringing the different ingredients for the food that we were going to prepare for each day. We also took turns in cleaning after we cooked and cooking too, which was something that increased my responsibility and will to help others with any problems they had. During the course of the walk, many of our team had blisters or we were simply tired, so we made sure to wait for each other. Furthermore, even though this walk was about challenging us individually and as a team, we made sure to keep each other motivated throughout the walk. Moreover, we enjoyed of the sights and landscapes of the area, as on the third day we had the opportunity to go to the river to enjoy ourselves.

Strangely enough, I found inspiration while being at this river, as it gave me ideas for new art pieces for my IB Art exam and it also made me appreciate the nature that surrounded us much more strongly. I really want to repeat this sort of activity once more with my year group, as I often do these type of activities with my parents, but I really find it very enjoyable to be able to help other team members as well as getting to know them better.