Each day in Ecuador is crazier than the last. May 10th, Tuesday, was a travel day from Quito to the Iyarina lodge. To most, a travel day sounds long, boring, exhausting. I can confirm, this travel day was definitely exhausting, but in the best way possible. When we were in Pittsburgh, being travelers instead of tourists was a top priority. This means flexibility, optimism, and spontaneity. I learned that a travel day means an opportunity to stop and see more things on the way. After all, sometimes it is more about the journey than the destination.
First Stop: 13,000 feet in the Andes.
As we went further away from Quito, buildings became more sparse as we were folded into the Andes. All of the sudden, our cute little tourist bus pulled over and we hopped outside to a chilly breeze. The weather here is unpredictable, and takes a while to figure out. The road was wide and nothing challenging, but the latitude made breathing weird. Looking around, I saw flowers and ferns that I have never seen before and mountains that were vast, resembling something out of medieval film.
Second Stop: Termas de Papallacta.
For the first time, we made a stop that was a little touristy. No matter the expectations, I am still always so surprised. There were different temperature springs, with a variety of views and an array of people. I met this amazing man who is from Ecuador but has lived between there and the USA for decades. He currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee part time. He is working on a foundation which employs Ecuadorians to make goods that are targeted the American market; all to give back to his Ecuadorian community. His foundation is called MC^2, and I really look forward to seeing it grow. I loved to see the town that the resort was in, nestled in the valley of the mountains. This little rural town had cow farms and a petite blue church in the middle- so picturesque.
Third Stop: Cloud Forest
This is where the experiential learning escalated. I changed into pants, though it was now humid and about 10 degrees warmer. I finally brought out my binoculars (pictured) and set on our way. Planting each foot carefully in front of the other, in a single-file line, I made my way throughout the most dense and saturated environment I have been in. Skipp showed me plants that are native to the area and I learned how to draw birds out from a tree making a “pshh, pshhh, pshh” sound. There were some points where I was just one step away from a long fall but that’s okay because I just didn’t look that way and nothing bad happened. At the end, there was the best reward- queso empanadas, pineapple soda, and some amazing coffee. The people who sold us these snacks really had the right idea to sit outside of the entrance. I practiced more Spanish and managed a smile or two out of the vendors. We happily ate our empanadas on a curb and watched cars pass by. I was nice and tired for the rest of the trip.
May 11: Baptized by the Amazon
The thing about our next hike, is nobody, even our guides, knew what to expect; which is what made it great. Though the cloud forest was intense in the way that there way no guard railing, the river hike was physically exhausting. There were some points were the current took be back and I had to try a couple times to get past it. I saw spiders the size of my hand and waterfalls that sparkled from the sun. We were physically exhausted by the end, but our smiles showed something different. This time, the reward wasn’t an empanada, it was knowing that I had set my mind to something and accomplished it.
I call the last 48 hours and period of escalating experiential learning because each venture seemed to be more intense than the last. But, most importantly, I learned from each venture and am able to apply it to the next. It’s a skill I will have for the rest of my life.
Brooke Eyler
Current Location: Río Napo, Ecuador