ARCC Gap: South America - Peru & Patagonia

We were able to live in a village in the Ecuadorean Amazon and it was really enlightening. We took part in the traditional dances and worked with them to help their community center it was really cool and stuff. I had a lot of fun

Taking this gap semester with ARCC was the best decision I ever made! This trip changed my life in so many ways: from the unforgettable and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, to the 11 unique individuals I got to live with and learn from, to the incredible support of the two trip leaders (Graham and Margo) who constantly pushed me to jump outside my comfort zone and set me on the path to becoming my best self.
The program could not have been planned more perfectly: we had a great mix of service and adventure, urban and rural, rugged and comfortable, structured curriculum and independent learning.
In Costa Rica, we got to learn Spanish and relax on the beaches, work on conservation and service projects on the coast and in the mountains, go surfing and whitewater rafting, and experience the local culture through homestays and a stay on a beautiful farm deep in the mountains.
In Ecuador, we got to experience life in the Amazon through home and village stays, explore the amazing city of Quito, go ziplining in a beautiful cloud forest and hiking through mountains and jungles, plan our own adventure in Baños and Lake Quilotoa without any help from our leaders, build community houses and volunteer at schools, and immerse ourselves in two entirely different indigenous cultures (that of the Amazon and Andes Quichua people).
In Peru, we got to see rich Inca history in Cusco and Machu Picchu, immerse ourselves in a remote community while helping them build clean stoves, work with Peruvian Hearts at a hogar (orphanage) and rebuilding the house of one of the organization's Peruvian Promise scholarship recipients, and stay at the beautiful Lake Titicaca.
Everything about this trip was unbelievably amazing, and I wish I could experience these 3 months again, because they were some of the best 3 months of my life.

Choosing to do a Gap year program with ARCC is definitely the best decision I've ever made. It doesn't get better than spending three months in three beautiful countries with a group of strangers that become your family. I absolutely everything we did on the trip!

Some highlights for me were going to an indigenous wedding in Ecuador, staying in a beautiful cloud forest in Costa RIca and of course going to Machu Picchu in Peru!

I'm so glad that I decided to do this gap semester with ARCC. It was without a doubt the best three months of my life. It was challenging for me especially at first to be away from home and experience things that were so different from what I was used to. However, our trip leaders Johanna and Franco were amazing and always supportive and they really helped make the semester as awesome as it was for me. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone in the group and our trip leaders were excellent at facilitating group discussions and activities that helped the group bond throughout the trip.
Each week we were working on a different project in a new location which was fun, although it was often bittersweet to leave the communities we stayed in after such a short period of time. Every week brought a new adventure. Some of the highlights for me were working on a sea turtle conservation project in Costa Rica, a community stay in Ecuador, and working at a girls' orphanage in Peru. The trip had a good mix of service and adventure travel. Things like white-water rafting, ziplining and hikes were so much fun in addition to the service projects we worked on.
The trip also had a good balance between staying in rural and urban areas. All of our accommodations were comfortable; with some being more rustic than others. However for me it was the weeks when we were away from things like wifi or electricity that were the most fun and the most meaningful. I really fell in love with the unbelievably beautiful places we stayed from the mountains of Costa Rica to Lake Titicaca in Peru.
This semester taught me a lot about myself and I'm so thankful for this experience and the people that I shared it with. Overall, this was an amazing semester and I would highly recommend ARCC.

This gap semester with ARCC is that best thing that I've ever done for myself. I was challenged and pushed everyday along with being given incredible and fun activities consistently for three months.

For example I will never forget the hike up Wayna Picchu in Peru. It was one of the most challenging hikes I've ever done. I could feel myself being challenged both physically and mentally. However, I will never forget the feeling of pride reaching the top and seeing the most incredible view below me. Everyone was so supportive and patient on that hike which was a relief because it felt like everyone was in this challenge together.

The homestays, rafting, zip-lining, teaching, community service and all the activities we did on a day to day basis are all things engrained in my memory. I grew, learned, and had an AMAZING time!

I had an incredible time during my gap semester in Latin America. I experienced many different cultures and had the chance to go on many different adventures including white water rafting, zip lining, rock climbing, and some incredible hikes. We had the opportunity to hike Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world, and spend a week at Lake Titicaca, the highest elevated body of water in the world. We also had the opportunity to visit and stay with several indigenous communities. The highlight of my semester was when I spent a week with an indigenous family on the Amazon River. While I was with them I tried their traditional foods, learned how to fish using their nets, worked on their farm, hiked through the amazon, learned about their traditional plant remedies, and swam in the Amazon river with all the local children. My host family also had a pet monkey that I got to hang out with each day. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. The trip as a whole was absolutely incredible and I can honestly say I was never bored. Every week was a new project and a new adventure. I would highly recommend the program to anyone who is interested in Latin America. You can learn so much about the culture, improve your spanish, and have some once in a life time experiences.