To say our venture through Ecuador has been jam-packed would be an understatement. While our first day in Otavalo involved exploring the city, our second focused on the stunning nature that surrounds it. We started the day early, piling into the bus and heading up to the volcano Cotacachi, or as it is known to the Kichwa, Mama Cotacachi. There, we went on a short boat tour on the vibrant blue crater lake. Though the lake’s high sulfur levels prevent fish from residing in the water, we were able to catch sight of a couple duck-like birds, which Skip identified as coots! After the tour, we trekked our way up a trail along the lake. While we didn’t have enough time to conquer the entire route, we did take some epic drone shots from up above before returning back to the bus for lunch. Lunch was followed by a visit to the Peguche waterfall, where we were refreshed by a much-needed mist. The final activity of Day 4 was a trip to the Condor Park, where we saw many different bird species, including the famed national bird of Ecuador!

The fifth day of our trip was largely dedicated to travel, as we had to make our way all the way from Otavalo in the north to Iyarina Lodge, which lies south of Quito. However, this was no ordinary travel day — we made five different stops before finally setting foot in the lushly vegetated landscape of Iyarina. The first was a brief pause at the Solar Museum, which is located on the equator. There, we learned about the movement of the Sun, cartwheeled along the equator line, and strolled through the agave garden, which contained succulents even taller than me! Next, we took a short walk on a mountain trail. At approximately 13,000 feet, this was the highest altitude we will reach during our trip.

The following stop was the most highly anticipated: las termas de Papallacta (a.k.a. the hot springs!) The hot springs are a series of pools filled with water heated naturally by a nearby volcano, and we all spent a lot of time lounging and swimming in the water. To prevent ourselves from overheating, we jumped into a freezing pool. The water was so cold that I felt like I couldn’t breathe! Our final two stops were a rest stop, where we each stocked up on a handful of snacks (I personally bought plantain chips, oreos, and a blackberry-coconut popsicle), and the Cloud Forest, where we walked briskly up a cliffside trail under sheets of rain. The forest certainly lived up to its name, as the fog was so thick, we could not see past the trees and plants nearest to us! We finally arrived at Iyarina in the dark after a couple more hours on the road. Dragging our suitcases through the gravel was exhausting, but once we had finally settled, I passed out quickly after our long day of activities.