After our last adventuring of ziplining we made our way to the Amazon rainforest. First we stopped however in Cotopaxi. We stayed one night at a hacienda at an altitude of about 12,000 ft. We were greeted by Ecuadorians in the native attire and there was a very homey feel as it was ranch style housing. We got our room assignments like we normally do when arriving at our destination. All 26 students were placed on the loft the loft with very thin walls seperating us. It was fun to be all together for the night but it did get a little toasty. We all got ponchos and took pictures and then went and tried to play with the llamas that were outside. They didn't really like that idea though. I had returned inside to begin working on my homework for class later that night when we were introduced to the most fascinating couple I've ever met.
These people lived a life I could only hope to live. They were from Canada along the Nova Scotia reigion where they have a house on the beach. In the winter they go down to their house in Uruguay where they again have another house on the beach. During the month of January, they travel to a different country, this year it happened to be Ecuador. Earlier in their lives they were teachers by profession, and they got involved with international education. When living in Canada they decided when their 3 kids were 14, 16, and 17 to sell everything they own and travel the world. They began in England and drove a car crossing on to the mainland Europe by ferry and then into Africa. They spent 14 months doing this. There kids as you can imagine didn't want to return to school after this. I was just in awe at what they were telling a group of us and hopefully will be in contact with them in the future. As the man had said when we asked him about selling all of their belongings, "It is only the thing that is in between your eyes that limit you in experiencing the world".
After our stay at Cotopaxi and hike around the national park, we made our way to the Amazon. It was a long travel day for us but all worth it when we got it our hotel. It was beautiful as we arrived close to sunset. We ate dinner and then a group of us spent time by the fire, pool or in hammocks. It was nice to be in that enviroment away from hectic surroundings. In the morning, we woke up early to start our day with a hike. We were introduced to our parrot and macaw(another species of parrot) friends that spent the majority of breakfast by us.
To get to our hiking destiation, we traveled by a motorized canoe that took us to the private landing. Here we had two guides from our hotel lead us through the forest. In doing these hikes we often are split into smaller groups so we lack the help of our guide and translator, Willie. It is another adventure we embark in when trying to translate and iterpret what the guides are telling us. During our hike we learn of the different species that surround us and how they are different in the varying habitats we experiences. Although I believe it is definately a learning process to be able to have the eye to particularly see this it provides for an interesting leanring enviroment. Through our hikes and travels to different sites we have to keep a field notebook which keeps us engaged in our hikes as well as expanded our knowledge on the variation of species within the world we live in.
Today we left the amazon and made our way to Riobamba. It was again a long travel day but we broke it up with a hike to the waterfalls. I don't know exact name of the waterfall we traveled to but it was located in Rio Verde. This waterfall was huge!! Although I'm sure it doesn't compare it reminded me a little of the Niagra Falls but at a smaller scale. We were able to go to different balconies near the waterfall and feel the mist coming from it. After this we continued on the bus to the city of Riobamba. Some of us went out into the city near our hotel and found a soccer or volleyball court. The seven of us made our way inside and had everyone there staring at us. The three girls, including myself, felt like we were getting more as it appeared to be strange to see us wanting to play along with them. We welcomed and allowed to play, with bets coming in right away. None of us could really understand what was going on but we played what we thought to be volleyball but it ended up just being a spiking contest. It was really fun to be among the locals and as many of us on the trip have soccer experience, hopefully we can play a pick up game soon!
Tomorrow we head to Cuenca. There we will spend a few days relaxing as we have free days to explore and get caught up on our work. Then soon enough we will be heading to the Galápagos Islands, on Friday! I'm trying to get everyone caught up as we have had limited wireless internet! Hopefully, I will still continue to be able to post blogs!
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