Day five was a travel day but was also packed with many adventures. We woke up a little earlier than usual and had the same breakfast as days previous. Skip wanted to get one last drone shot before we left the hostel, so we all got on the terrace and did that. After we were all packed up, we hit the road.
Our first stop was at the solar equator museum. We walked around for a bit and learned why that specific spot is technically the center of the earth, and then walked around their agave garden. Some of the plants were taller than me, and I wondered how old they were. We also took lots of pics on the equator with the view of the Cayambe volcano in the background. Since it was also a very clear day you could see the tip with all the snow on it.
We made our way back on the road and eventually stopped at a spot in the mountains that would be the highest peak of the trip. We went on a little walk and took photos of us all jumping midair. We didn’t spend too much time there because we needed to make it to our next spot. Our next spot, and main spot of the day, was Termas Papallacta Hot Springs. The weather so high in the mountains was cool so they felt so nice. However, they were so hot they took me a minute to get acclimated to. They also had ice cold pools where you could take quick dips. The scenery around the area was also beautiful. There was a river running right through the resort and it was surrounded by other mountains. It was a really nice break to a really busy past few days. Not that I’m complaining about being busy, I have absolutely loved everything we have done and am so grateful for these experiences.
After we were done swimming we had dinner there, and I got rice with trout because they ran out of chicken. However, I’m happy they did because it was really good and not necessarily something I would usually order. They also had really good lemonade that tasted nothing like normal lemonade in the U.S. After we were done with lunch, we were on the road again so we could make it to our last stop. When leaving I noticed so many cows on the sides of the mountains and thought it was really cool. One thing I noticed was many of the mountains we passed in that area were mostly filled with grass instead of huge trees.
On our way to our final stop, we decided to make a pit stop at a convenience store. I felt a little dehydrated so I got a Gatorade and a couple snacks you wouldn’t find in the U.S. I got an ice cream/popsicle that was multi fruit flavored, some pineapple marshmallows, and a piece of chocolate cake with vanilla cream inside. You can tell I have a sweet tooth. Everything came out to be about $4. Mostly everything here is so much cheaper than in the U.S. as well. While passing through that area there was a huge river you could see rushing by which was really cool.
Our last stop was Cloud Forest. At this point the weather wasn’t being as nice. It was pouring rain, but we still decided to go on a short walk on the trail. It was so cool, but the trail was kind of treacherous. You definitely wouldn’t want to slip and fall that’s for sure. But being in the forest while it was raining was such a surreal experience. It was almost getting dark, so we didn’t go too far before we turned around. Once we were back on the bus our next stop was going to be our final destination.
To pass the time we put on music, and all started singing until we got to the Iyarina Lodge. We unfortunately had to lug all of our luggage clear past many lodges before we made it to ours, and my arms were burning. After we dropped our bags off, we had dinner at the lodge. They served us salad, rice with chicken, and plantain. After dinner they served us dessert which was banana with chocolate sauce. The banana was so good and really hit the spot.
Once dinner was over we settled into our rooms and got ready for bed, but me and Malini had an unexpected visitor. There was a little frog hopping around our room and on our curtains. I tried to catch him but he got lost under a bed and disappeared. I hope he found his way out somehow.