I took a break from blogging last night, and lets just say that was a mistake. Looking back on my past two days, we had jam-packed days with amazing stories! On Wednesday, we started the day by driving to the volcano, Cotacachi. There were beautiful views of the volcano and we even got to take a short boat ride around and see it from all different angles! We definitely got misted, but it felt amazing. After the boat ride, we took a hike up the volcano for slightly over an hour, which was awesome, however felt a little difficult due to the altitude and the many stairs along the path as well. I will say it was totally worth it though it was stunning! Then we had lunch at the volcano site and got back on the bus to head to the waterfall!

The waterfall was another beautiful landmark and experience like no other. The mist when you walked up real close felt so good in the heat, and we got amazing photos that we will remember forever! Lastly, we went to visit Condor Park, which was my personal favorite stop of the day. We got an awesome opportunity to hold a falcon up close and we also got to see many species of different owls and eagles, and of course we saw condors as well! There was also beautiful greenery and amazing views of the city from the park. My favorite bird that we saw was definitely the Sea Eagle.

When we got back to the hostel, we got surprised with the opportunity to try guinea pig! This is something I knew that was eaten over here, however none of us knew it was coming right then. We were all shocked when they came out with them, as they were pretty scary looking with their mouth wide open on the plates. We got the courage to try it, and honestly it tasted pretty good (similar to chicken). This was our sort of “appetizer” as we headed to dinner shortly after and I had some of the best lasagna I have ever had (sorry mom).

Now onto Thursday, we had a pretty long travel day ahead of us. We said our goodbyes at the hostel and got on the bus right around 8am. Our first stop was at the sundial on the equator where we got an awesome tour and learned about astrology and how a sundial works. They also had a cactus garden which was beautiful and had plants way taller than my height! Oh also did a cartwheel on the equator, which I think is an awesome thing to say I have done 😉 We drove a bit more and stopped at the highest altitude of our trip which was super cool!

Then we headed to the hot springs, which was an awesome experience. The hot springs or “tubs” got hotter the farther you moved up, which was really cool to experience. They also had a cold plunge pool which was FREEZING, but a good break from the super hot pools. There also was an amazing view of the mountains from the top of the springs. We then ate lunch at a restaurant at the springs resort, where I had trout and rice that was delicious!

Our last stop of the day was the cloud forest, where we were able to be in the clouds in the rainforest as we went for a little hike. All the greenery was so interesting to see and the view from the top of the hike was amazing. It was pouring during our hike, which made it feel so surreal, an experience like no other. We sat on the bus for a while and pretty much had a concert, which was so much fun, before we arrived at the Iyarina Lodge for the remainder of our trip. We were served a dinner that was delicious, complete with chicken rice, plantains, juice, salad, and the best chocolate covered banana of our lives. I will post more about my experience at the Iyarina Lodge tomorrow, Adios!