¡Adios Ecuador!
After a great stay in Pucará, getting to know the local community & natural environment, and planting enough trees to offset the carbon footprint of our carbon footprint of our Carpe Diem trip, we departed for Junín. We all boarded onto the back of Don Fausto’s open top truck for the final time and we were taken to a trailhead.
Our suitcases were shuttled away as we headed into the cloud forest for a short climb to the top of a mountain. Here, we learned about the ancient Wariman people that inhabited the area thousands of years ago. We saw ceramic pots and stone tools as well as a smooth, egg-shaped meteorite that used to serve as a religious instrument of cleansing and healing.
Afterwards, we all got ready for a zip line adventure; South America’s longest an highest! We were all nervous, but it was beautiful and exhilarating. We all made it across the mountain valley safely, though KayDee hurt her hand on the zip line. Her hand is healing and looking better and better every day. After zip lining, we walked down the rest of the mountain and arrived at a small lodge near a river and hot spring.
We went to the springs and danced to Ecuadorian music while enjoying the warm mineral water. Willy and Will had an intense chicken fight with Willy coming out as the champion.
The next day, we took a bus called a Chiva, essentially a party bus, to Junín. We winded up steep mountain roads, deep into the country side. We arrived at the lodge just outside of the tiny town of Junín. A local name Marcia came and spoke to us about the mining conflict that the town has endured. After driving out two different foreign copper seeking companies, the Ecuadorian government now is funding exploratory mining in the region. The type of open pit mining that could happen would devastate the cloud forest, one of the most bio diverse environments with the most endemic species in the entire world. Even the exploratory works was leaking toxins into the rivers.
There is word that the samples taken were not as dense with copper as previously expected. In addition, the mining company that is working, Codelco, is in debt and may not be able to continue with a project that is much harder than expected. The area is the steepest terrain in the world and it rains often. Hopefully the project does not continue and the cloud forest is preserved.
On our second day, we went on an all day hike deep into the cloud forest. Many parts were very steep and strenuous, but hiking in a mountainous jungle cloaked in clouds was one of the most incredible things we have done. Our destination was a tall waterfall that fed into one of two lower falls. Harvey, Willy and Jack cooled off in the natural mountain shower. Seeing such a beautiful, unique world really made it terrible to think about the possibility of it being destroyed. Eco-tourism itself is a method of fighting – allowing locals to find income alternatives to mining.
We spent our last days in Otavalo. We took advantage of the market, buying locally made crafts an clothes. Mike, Maddy, Hollyn, KayDee, Paxton, Sam and Doug went with Pete to a nearby volcano, Fuya Fuya, for another spectacular hike. We summited just 200 feet below 14,000 feet, with a beautiful, cloud-soaked scene with the view of an ancient crater lake.
That night we celebrated our trips halfway point with a traditional Ecuadorian dinner of Chinese food!
The next morning, we departed for Peru. The travel day was about 10 hours long, starting at 4am. We were greeted by Kike and Maarten from the WAVES surf school. A week of surfing and fishing and service work lies ahead.
Buenos noches,
Mike and Willy
