Map
On this immersive language trek, we don’t sit still. We certainly don’t sit still in a classroom for thirty days. This is a peripatetic journey through Ecuador, designed to envelop you in Spanish. Travel from lively Quito to colonial Cuenca in the south and home stay with an Ecuadorian family ready to welcome you into their way of life. Behold the Spanish flowing out of your mouth while working at an ecological reserve in the north or exploring the massive volcano at Cotopaxi.
The journey blends formal instruction with cultural interaction. When we say it’s unlike any Spanish class offered back home, that’s putting it lightly. After orientation in Quito and a hike up the Inca trail, we hunker down at a hacienda in the Southern Highlands town of Paute, for Spanish instruction laced with salsa dancing and cooking classes. Don’t unpack your entire suitcase, though. We’re soon leaving for Cuenca, Ecuador’s third largest and perhaps most picturesque city.
“Explore Ecuador: climb mountains, learn to weave, live with a family, dance around fires, and make friends around the world!” — Marta Phillips, Darien, CT
Catch your breath yet? We’re on the move again. This time to Otavolo in the northern Sierra, where we take on one of many ongoing service projects. Work with kids. Work with nature. Work with infrastructure. No matter what we do, leave Ecuador a better place than when you arrived.
What are my next steps?
Ecuador
An equator runs through it. As do modern and colonial cities, snowcapped Andean peaks and volcanoes.
Start in Quito. From there, a world of Ecuadorian treasures: small towns in the Southern Highlands, trails to misty cloudforest, roads to Incan ruins.
Cotopaxi
Like volcanoes? Well, how do you feel about one that rises to 19,000 feet that the Incas dubbed “The Neck of the Moon”? It’s the world’s largest and yours to discover on foot and horseback.
Cuenca
Past is present on the cobblestone streets of Cuenca. Explore Ecuadorian history and culture at the nearby ruins of Ingapirca and in the city center’s colonial-style buildings and cathedrals.
Otavalo
This mountain town is renowned for artisan crafts. Engage with the locals and take on a challenging yet rewarding service project.
Paute
The river winds around a green mountain backdrop. Follow it all the way to this tiny village, not far from Cuenca. Everything grows in this fertile area: bananas, papaya and most of all, your Spanish.
Quito
It sits at 9350 feet above sea level and well above your expectations: colonial architecture, a historic city center, and passionate, Ecuadorian culture that’s fully alive on every single cobblestone.
Salasaca
A cultural tapestry waits in Salasaca, a small Andean villages known for its actual tapestries. Watch local artisans hand weave on looms using the fibers of nearby alpacas and llamas. Se habla Español y Quechua.
Broadreach in action. Want a glimpse of the freedom of life on a yacht? Or the thrill of diving with sharks in Fiji, surfing in Baja or cresting the ridge above Machu Picchu? Watch our videos to see and hear our adventures firsthand, and start wishing you were there.