Tubing In the Jungle

A view of the Rio Upano that we tubed down
Our guide said Chaco sandals would be perfect, he did not mention
the 5 hour walk through the mud.
My friend Cath from Austraila and me floating down the river

This picture is for Jill........ one day I will have my own
This is a picture of another montain we climbed called

Las Ilinizas, 17,00ft

Me climbing up the steep face, look mom I wore a helmet
The Ecuadorian version of Bullfight, not quite as elegant as

Spain.

The people in the ring are in as much danger as the people in the stands

Here I am on the summit of Cotopaxi, 19300 ft, I puked

from the altitude right before they took this photo

A marvelous display of the climbing equipment we used
Me cold and exhausted in front of a crevasse
It looks like you could climb right up..... not so
The climbing refuge at Cotopaxi about 4800meters, high enough

This last week was wonderful, I spent time doing one of my favorite things, hiking. I spent all week in a climbing refuge acclimizing in Cotopaxi National Park, it was amazing. The hike to the summit of Cotopaxi, an extinct volcano, was the hardest hike I have done in my life. We started off at midnight, you have to climb at night because the snow it not sturdy enough during to day. We hiked for 7 hours straight to get to the summit with loads of equipment, 20 below zero temperatures, wind, and 1/2 the regular amount of oxygen. I was truely exhausted but loved every minute of it. I am now in Macas again to finish off my time of service here, the up coming month is the month of health. We will be doing free health screenings here in Macas all through August if any of you want to visit:)

These photos are of 2 weeks ago when I went to Cuenca, which is a very European city in Ecuador. The other photos are of Cajas National Park, which means box in spanish or cold in kichwa. It was a very beautiful glacier valley and is only navigable with a tour group. There were lots of people fishing, I was disappointed that I did not have my rod because the lakes are full of trout. None the less I had fresh fried trout for lunch.

Good times

It has been awhile since my last post, things are going well. Macas is great at its slow steady pace but I love to get away on the weekends. The first picture is a barbaque we had with all the volunteers and other workers from the Patranato Municipal. It was delicious. The next photo are of me in Baños, again, it is a really fun outdoor rec. city. I rented a bike for 5 dollars and rode it down a beautiful rode that passes by several waterfalls, with a steep drop off to one side, it ends at the largest waterfall in Ecuador Pallon de Diablo, or The Devils cooking pot. For a dollar you can climb up a very narrow and clostrophobic passage to a platform behind this massive waterfall, so much water is falling right in front of you face that it literally takes you breath away. Also it is very wet as you can see.