Today we encountered our first mountainous obstacle as a team…literally. We climbed a mountian. We scaled one of the largest mountains in the area around Otavalo, a mountain by the name of Fuya Fuya. The views were incedible and the acsent steep, but we enjoyed every second of it, relishing in the challenge. At the top the clouds wisped up the mountain and enveloped us like a blanket left out all morning to collect dew. It was one of the most amazing experiences of the trip thus far, especially considering it came right on the heels of the group reunion after a seemingly never ending week of being seperated by many miles of forest. We all had fascinating stories to relate while many a hug was shared. While the other group was staying with their homestays in Otavalo and going through rigorous spanish lessons, myself, Will, Shelby and Milo were spending our week in the Cloud Forest teaching basic english (and sometimes basic spanish) to a fine group of youngsters living in the area. Even though some of the children (especially the young ones) proved to be more of a challenge than was expected, we still had a marvalous time. The other group explored Otavalo and the surrounding areas in the mornings, and perfected their spanish in the afternoons. They also visited many sites around the city like the Cascada de Peguche where our fellow traveler Kieran´s shoe descended the waterfall only to be retrieved by our fearless leader Jeff. More pictures to follow this weeks activities..
