It is hard to believe that yesterday, friday, was only our third full day of touring. It seems as though we've been in Ecuador for two weeks already. Anyway, yesterday began with heading off to Malacatos, where we were able to witness the process of breaking down sugar cane, which, as most of us know, has been a task that was long seen as only suitable for slaves, and they had to work in that incredible heat without the assistance of modern day machines. Can you imagine spending all day, everyday, working in those miserable conditions? We should all be thankful that we have never had to worry about that.
From there, we travelled up into the mountains once more (as if we were ever out of the mountains) and headed up to Podocarpus National Park, which was at an altitude of around 2,800 meters above sea level, which is pretty high. It was a definite struggle to get our huge bus up those mountain roads, but thankfully, God blessed us with the best driver in all of Ecuador. Once we finally made it to the top, we spent the next hour drinking in even more of the beautiful nature of Ecuador (there will be pictures to come). Unfortunately, one of our group members was suffering with a large amount of congestion, and the high altitude was making it nearly unbearable for her, so she did not travel with us to the park :(.
After we had seen all we could see, we headed back to Loja for some lunch, followed by a trip to Zamora. Along the way, we came across some spectacular waterfalls, and took the time to take pictures, and for some of us, climb up the side of the waterfall (don't worry parents, there were safety precautions taken; kind of). We then continued on to Zamora, where we stopped at the Bombascaro River. I bet you can't guess what we saw. Do you give up? Okay, I'll tell you. We saw a group of kids, very young kids, jumping off a bridge into the river below. Scary, right? We thought so. There is no telling how far down in was, or how deep the water was, and those are generally two things you want to know before possibly plummeting to your death. However, the kids seemed unconcerned with those things, so we just stood by and shook our heads. When we found a place where we could climb down to the river, we spent quite a while there. There were pictures being taken, rocks being thrown, sticks being fought with, and even one nap being taken. I, of course, ended up leaving the river quite wet, thanks to my pal Tanner.
Our last stop for the day was a beyond gorgeous resort just outside of Zamora. There was a clear, blue, cold, refreshing, swimming pool, that allowed us to have a break from the stress and relax.
This morning, we were originally supposed to be going on a boat tour on the Nangaritza River. However, we would have had to leave the resort at 5 am, and everyone was so extremely exhausted, that we decided to cancel the tour, and spend the morning relaxing by the pool. It was a good choice. Our morning consisted of several once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We were all able to hold a parrot-like bird (I'm not exactly sure what it's called) on our fingers. How many of you have had the chance to do that? My guess is not very many. They talked too; in Spanish. We also got to see how they make cheese. They start with milk, which they get from the cows that live on the resort, then they add in some secret ingredients, and thicken it up. They then boil all of the water off of it, so that it is as pure as it can get. I love cheese, and I have never had more delicious cheese in my life; trust me. Then, of course, we did some more swimming. I had just taken a shower, a delightfully hot shower, because I thought we were leaving soon, so I was originally not going to go swimming again. However, I realized that I will have plenty of opportunities to take showers in the future, but I will not have that many opportunities to swim in a pool, in the rain, in Ecuador. Plus, there was a water slide. Coincidently, the first time I was in the pool, and the last time I was in the pool, were the result of my buddy Tanner thinking it would be hilarious to throw me in. I should have seen that coming. Anyway, after we got dried off, we took a quick trip up to the resort's tilapia farm, as well as seeing all the cute, little guinea pigs that had no idea they would soon be somebody's dinner. It was really sad.
From there, we headed back to Loja for some lunch; KFC all the way. The next part of our day was spent in the bus, as we travelled back to Cuenca, but we had movies, so that made it better. Distance wise, it was not that long of a trip, but when you're driving through the Andes Mountains, in some pretty intense fog, and all the idiots are out driving, it tends to take a little longer. However, we made it eventually, and enjoyed one of the only good, wholesome meals we have had this week, at our hotel. Then it was showers, sunburn gunk for some of us, and now its time for bed. Tomorrow morning, at 7, we head off for the beach. Now, that will be practically the hottest place on the planet, as it is on the Equator, at sea level, so that should be fun. Time to break out the SPF 150! Just kidding, but actually that might be what we need.
Adios Amigos!
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