Home > Youth Leadership Programs > World Bound Adventures: South America
Two countries, two awe-inspiring ecosystems (Andes and Amazon), three cities, and ONE adventure to bring them together
Our most ambitious Climate and Cultural Leadership Course - World Bound South America: visiting the incredible countries Ecuador and Colombia. This is the perfect opportunity to share a one-of-a-kind, immersive adventure experience in the untamed lands of unparalleled biodiversity while also exploring the urban environments of Quito, Bogota and Medellin. Come on… the Amazon Rainforest and Anders - two of the world's most significant regions within 21 days.
During this course, you will navigate the Amazonian rainforest and highlands of Ecuador and explore the best of Quito, Bogota and Medellin with Indigenous and local guides. You’ll ride horses in the shadows of volcanoes, paddle rivers feeding the mighty Amazon and meet local climate change and social justice activists within the region. You’ll spend time living with Indigenous families (homestays), learning their languages, artisan skills, and worldviews to create an authentic local connection. Return home as a budding Climate World Adventurer with the tools you need to continue your journey as a leader of the future… we need you.
Your Fireside team
DATES
Full trip (21 days): July 19 - August 08, 2026 (14 days Ecuador/7 Days Colombia)
AGES 13–18 (co-ed)
Also available for 18+. Contact us if interested.
LOCATIONS
Ecuador: Quito (Ecuadorian capital), Otavalo (largest Indigenous settlement in Ecuador), Cuicocha (lagoon), Cochasqui (archaeological site), Cayambe (volcano), Cotopaxi, Napa River region.
Colombia: Bogota, Medellin
PRICES (CAD)
*Prices do include flights to and from Ecuador/Colombia from Vancouver/Toronto
*We accept payment plans
Early Bird Rate: $9459.00 + GST (ends December 1, 2025)
Regular Rate: $10,459.00 + GST
Includes:
– Pre-course check-in (zoom conference with attendees)
- 14 days Ecuador and 7 days Colombia
– Direct contact with our Duke of Edinburgh Award Centre
– 24/7 instruction & support by Fireside staff
– Most meals
– All accommodation (eco-lodge, hotel, homestay)
– Private ground transportation
– Flight coordination for Ecuador/Colombia (reach out to us to learn how to coordinate your flights) to Canada.
– Admission into all parks
– Horseback riding experience in Cotopaxi
– Sightseeing tours of Quito, Medellin and Bogota– White water rafting and river canoeing experiences and gear
Does not include: Anything not mentioned above.
More info: office@firesideadventures.ca
Fireside Founder Jeff “Willy” Willis is personally leading this trip. We work with trusted and highly experienced partners from Yukon to Ecuador to Colombia.
Clara Kirby, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Leader and South America Advisor: “I went to Ecuador as a participant a few years ago, and it ignited my passion for outdoor education. Now being able to run that same trip means I can give new Fireside kids the same amazing experiences and learning I had?”
Why this course is for you?
How does World Bound connect Ecuador’s Andes mountains and Amazon rainforest to the sweeping wilds of the Yukon? Through combining trans-hemispheric Indigenous and cultural perspectives, hands-on climate education, one-of-a-kind adventure-style travelling, and connecting with change-makers, educators, and community leaders in both locations. We have planned an over-the-top experience that puts a spotlight on the impacts of climate change and how Indigenous perspectives are helping create resilient young leaders of tomorrow, Read on to learn more about each leg of this epic journey!
Your World Bound Mission: Becoming Resilient, Knowledgeable, and Adaptive Adventurer
The challenge of climate change is a global and personal one, so a climate activist or concerned citizen must become comfortable venturing into new environments, connecting with local cultures, and learning the languages, perspectives, and values of the people they meet. Spanning two hemispheres’ cultures, terrains, and struggles with climate change, World Bound: Amazon to Yukon is a once-in-a-lifetime expedition for aspiring climate adventurers.
You won’t want to miss these experiences
Together with our Indigenous partner Equator Face, and other partners such as Huasquila Eco-Lodge, Eddyline, and others, we will explore and discover the wonders of Ecuador and the Yukon. Here are just a few adventures we’ll have along the way:
Explore the Amazon Rainforest, travel along peaceful rivers, bathe under glittering waterfalls, and hike the Ecuadorian highlands! All while surrounded by monkeys, manatees, sloths, and so much more!
Dipping Our Toes with Colombia, A short but important visit to Colombia by taking in the dynamic culture while at the same time learning firsthand the impacts of climate on two of their urban environments. Bogota and Medellin are incredible, progressive cities that provide insight into how Colombians are adjusting to climate change while displaying the challenges ahead. The Andes experience is a critical component of the World Bound experience
Learn traditional cooking, crafting, and even hunting skills from Indigenous Amazonian and Yukon knowledge-keepers.
“Our people are protecting everyone on the planet when we protect our territories”
— Unnamed Ecuadorian Indigenous Leader
Introducing our Ecuadorian partners!
The magic of the Ecuador portion of this trip is only possible thanks to our lovely friends from Huasquilah Amazon Lodge and Equator Face Travels. With their help, we can experience the beautiful country as more than tourists, making authentic and meaningful local connections while leaving the country better than when we found it.
Huasquila Amazon Lodge
Founded by Pablo Marañon and Bastienne Paliz, Huasquilah specializes in offering inclusive and immersive Amazon experiences by combining nature exploration, environmental education, sustainability, and authentic cultural connections. Their work is guided by an understanding that Indigenous perspectives bring generations of knowledge on sustainable living and nature conservation, providing valuable insights to help address climate change.
Huasquilah is committed to working with youth through a climate action lens. This includes teaching young people about climate change through hands-on activities like rainforest hikes, reforestation projects, and cultural exchanges with local Kichwa communities, helping them understand the importance of sustainability and conservation for the future.
Equator Face Travel
Equator Face is a passion project that is 21 years in the making, founded by Diego Orlando Fueres Túquerres - a member of the Otavalo people with long generational ties to agriculture and the Andes - and Huaita Sisa Morales Males - daughter of Indigenous artisans dedicated to the traditional craft of textile weaving. Their mission is to connect youth with the local communities to transmit the ideals instilled in them by their cultural traditions and families.
Equator Face promotes healthy eating by transmitting the Andean diet to new generations, strengthens organic polyculture in family crops to preserve the quality of the land and food, advocates conscious care of humanity's most valuable resource: water, and conveys to all people the feeling of caring for and practicing their beliefs, values, traditions, art, music, literature, and more.
Our World Bound Climate Change Curriculum
World Bound Adventures: Amazon to Yukon is all about connecting Ecuador and the Yukon's Indigenous perspectives of leadership and climate change education for youth who need meaningful experiences that prepare them for their future in a changing world.
No, we aren’t going to bombard them with dark and gloomy discussions of a climate change apocalypse. No, we aren’t going to give them fluffy affirmations and take them on a journey of false hope. We certainly aren’t going to bore them with international policies that have no relevance to reality. What we’re going to do is give our youth what they want and need: meaningful skill-building and leadership training from outdoor leaders and Indigenous educators that will truly prepare them for real, hands-on climate activism.
We do this through our World Bound Curriculum, a set of place-based, outdoor-oriented educational modules that will inform this expedition. This curriculum is driven by our five World Bound Pillars, described below. For more detailed information about the curriculum, please visit our World Bound Curriculum page.
