Paramo y Papallecta

Today was a miserable, yet amazing day. We drove up about 14,000 feet to hike down through the paramo, which is a mountain/volcano about an hour away from Quito. The hike down took about 5 hours, and it was sleeting the entire time. We were so cold and wet, but the view was breathtaking. 

Being from the LI/Queens area, I am not a huge hiker. I've done pretty well so far on our hiking trips, but the first part of the hike for me was really hard. It was really steep and muddy, which resulted in almost all of us falling our way down the mountain. All in all, it was definitely a great experience, and I'm glad I did it.

After we made our way down to the bottom, we got to go in the hot springs at Papallecta!! They are natural springs because of the magma in the volcano. It was much needed after the hike, and the hottest pool was near boiling. I couldn't stay in that one for more than a few minutes! They were so nice to defrost in, and I got the feeling back in my fingers and toes after about 15 minutes. We definitely were not prepared for the weather on the hike, and a lot of us ended up just riding back on the bus in either our bathing suits or underwear. The bus driver hated us, but there was no way I could put my muddy and wet leggings back on!

No more traveling around Ecuador for us! We have three more days of lecture, a final, and then we go to the Galápagos this Sunday! I am so excited to go to the warmth, and start my Marine Life class. We get to scuba dive almost every day, and I am so excited for that.

Some other exciting news is that I found a Crossfit in Cumbaya! And it's only $6 for each class as opposed to $20 in Albany! Working out is definitely a lot harder at a higher altitude, but the coaches there were really encouraging.

Ciao!