Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be outside in nature much this week. However, two weeks ago I climbed a volcano called El Altar, which was an incredible experience! My friends and I hiked nine miles the first day to reach the base camp. It was mostly uphill, and there was an enormous amount of mud, which made it super difficult to walk. Sometimes our boots got sucked into the mud, so we had to walk carefully and slowly. Once we arrived at the campsite we ate, relaxed, ate dinner and went immediately to bed as we were exhausted. We woke up at 4:30a.m. the next day to hike to a lagoon that is in the crater of the volcano. The water was a creamy turquoise color and freezing cold! After doing a quick cold plunge in the lake and having a cup of coffee, we headed out to return from where we came. The hike back was long and tiring, but the views of valleys, emerald mountain tops and windy rivers made up for it. Being in total nature without cell service for two days was refreshing and made me appreciate the immense beauty of our Earth. Nature rocks!
Since we are in the rainy season, some places in Ecuador have been experiencing a lot of heavy rain. As a result, there have been landslides that have destroyed entire roads. Flooding in certain areas has resulted in the major destruction of roads, buildings and some neighborhoods. People must take alternative routes to get to some cities because the highways and roads are inaccessible. These landslides are making it more and more difficult to travel.
