Cajas National Park

Hola everyone!

Today we went to "Cajas National Park" in Cuenca, Ecuador. We all rode in a bus together for about half an hour up the mountain. The park was super high up above the sea level and was so cold! The tour guide recommended we all buy candy so we all stocked up on chocolates, oreos, and chips beforehand. When we got off the bus, it started raining a little bit, but we toughened up and began hiking through the woods (rain forest?) in our heavy jackets and hats. Oh my goodness it was so cold!! At first we were all super careful with our shoes to not step in any mud/poop/water and basically jumped around on rocks, but it got to the point where there was just soo much water on the ground that sooner or later we ALL got our shoes and socks soaked sooner or later. It was super funny when we were crossing this one area where there was no place to go but through a huge puddle of water, and one by one as we stepped into the puddle we began screaming as our shoes soon became pools of water. We squished our way through the rest of the trail in the park and finally ended up on the bus. What a relief! With our soaked socks and cold shoes, we plopped on the bus and vowed not to hike any more for the rest of the day. After another half hour bus ride, we got to a higher part of the mountain for a second hike. While a few of us decided to brave the cold and continue hiking up the mountain, the majority of us chose to stay on the bus and sleep :) After the brave ones finished the hike, we went to a restaurant where we got such a good meal! We started with chicken soup, and then received our entrees, which consisted of avocado, tomatoes, rice, french fries, and trout! It was sooo good!

The rest of our day was pretty relaxing. We went back to our host families' homes and just chilled out. At my host house, we watched Harry Potter 7 part 1 in Spanish and had a great dinner with zucchini bread! Soo yummy :) Our host mother's granddaughter came over who was sooo cute and we played for her for a bit. Our host dad then showed us photos of when he was in college and had great bonding time.

Can't wait for our free day tomorrow! (zip-lining?????)

Love,
Alice