Installment #1 – The beginning of my South American journey. Chronicling Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Thanks to those who joined me along the way!
Keep your eyes peeled for the next few videos…
Category Archives: Ecuador
The next morning we didn’t have time to whitewater raft, so we decided to climb the world’s second highest active volcano, Cotopaxi, to the 5000 meter (16,000 feet) mark. We were warned that it would be windy at the volcano, but it definitely was not stressed enough. Upon arriving, I stepped out of the car and was immediately blown back; I could barely walk forward, and barely breathe, and the wind was stronger than anything I have ever felt. The climb lasted an hour, fifteen minutes, and my grandpa said that was more difficult than running a marathon (mind you, he has run six marathons). The ground was all loose ash, so every two steps only accomplished one. We had to stop every ten meters to catch our breath though, and at first I believed that I was just much more out of shape than I had thought, until I realized that we were at a much higher altitude than my body was used to. The views from the top were amazing – we were higher than the clouds! Descending, on the other hand, took only twenty minutes and I finally got the hang of going downhill!
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Believe it or not, later that night we watched a volcano erupt at night — spewing all sorts of fireworks high into the air and then throwing a large bright orange lava flow down the side of the mountain, something I never thought that I’d be able to experience. The funny thing is, we had planned on paragliding over that volcano earlier in the day but weren’t able to due to the weather – hmmm, I wonder why?! Anyway, my mind was blown but unfortunately my camera wasn’t able to pick up the picture because it was dark outside. This thoroughly black photo was my attempt at capturing an erupting volcano – use your imagination.
Immediately following “canyoning,” we went “canopy zip-lining” through the jungle on six separate lines. I’d never zip-lined and I figured no place would be better to start than the jungle, and boy was I right. The views were unreal. Me, being the person I am and all, decided not to zip-line the traditional way – upside-down was calling my name. For one round I went doubles with my mom, for another round I went superman style, and as I said, I naturally did a few hanging upside-down. So much fun, such a thrill.
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Following our unimaginable Galapagos journey, we took a four hour car from the Quito airport to Baños. As soon as we arrived I fell in love. Baños is known as the “adventure capital of South America,” and for the adrenaline junkie that I am, I quickly realized that it was made for me. Our activities here were wild. We had one ridiculous twenty-four period that we may have been the only people in the history of mankind to have experienced. First thing in the morning, we “canyoned” down four waterfalls and slid down two others. The climb up to the waterfalls was brutal – slippery, muddy, and directly uphill for 30 minutes, while wearing two wetsuits (man, sometimes it sucks being small). It was completely worth it. Those of you that are aware of how ridiculous I can be should already know that I didn’t have an ounce of fear seeing the roaring waterfalls beneath me. The belay system was comfortable and I got the hang of it quickly. Literally, such a blast. The only thing I found difficult was the waterfall falling into my eyes, causing my contacts to blur. Oh well, 100% worth it. AND I must note, my mom and grandpa rock. They successfully repelled down all the waterfalls as well.
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The Five Foot Traveler 