Puenting in Baños

The Basilica

Right from the beginning, my week started off great! On Monday we were given a day off of school because we had been gone all weekend.  We used the free day to our advantage and we went into Quito to explore the city.  We went to the Basillica, which was built in 1883, and we walked and climbed all the way to the top of the bell tower.  By the end the ladders were literally stick straight and sometimes even had no railings.  When we finally reached the top, the view was amazing and you could see the entire city of Quito and all of the volcanoes that surround it.  We also visited the Church of San Francisco, which is the oldest colonial monument of Quito.  We ended our visit to Quito in the Mariscol, otherwise known as the entertainment district of the city!

The View from the Top

The rest of the school week went very quickly and my classes were extremely enjoyable.  In biology we began studying population ecology and speciation and extinction. Currently we are undergoing the sixth mass extinction.  This time, however, the rates are unprecedented and between 10 and 10,000 times higher than any other mass extinction.  This human propagated, or anthropogenic extinction, is being caused by habitat loss, over exploitation, and climate change.  We evaluated the best ways to direct conservation efforts and discussed whether to focus on trying and most likely failing to save every species, or instead focus on saving an area with a lot of endemism (species only found in that specific area) and essentially give up on saving certain species.  Spanish class was also great this week and we even learned some Quechua, which is the language of the indigenous people in Ecuador. Many Quichian words are integrated into many Ecuadorians’ everyday language.  Some word highlights were:

Achachay- what you say when you are cold

Ayayay- what you say when you are in pain

Chuchaqui (very important to know)- Hangover

After school I also went for some excellent runs with friends from my program along the Chaquinan. It is a beautiful bike and running path that goes for 30 km!  The only problem is that the way there is completely downhill and once you turn around it is all up hill! By the end of the semester we are all going to be marathon runners because with the altitude and the uphill it is very challenging!

Baños

Swinging in la casa de arbol

The highlight of my week was the weekend because we all went to the Baños, and no I do not just mean the bathroom.  Baños (de Agua Santa) is a small city in the Andean highlands of Ecuador under the smoke of volcano Tungurahua. Its name, which is Spanish for "Baths (of sacred water)," comes from the famous hydrothermal springs in the area.  It is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador and we definitely found out why.  On Saturday we rented bikes for $5 and then were driven up to the top of a giant mountain to la casa del Arbol (the tree house), hailed as the swing at the end of the world. Connected to the tree house is a swing, which goes over the abyss and when you look down mid-swing there is nothing beneath your feet.  It was amazing and by far the most scenic swinging I have ever done. The adventures did not stop there because we then biked down the entire mountain stopping at various points to ride a horse and see the city and volcanoes downs below. When we made it down to the bottom we decided to bike to the Cascadas (waterfalls).  The taxi driver on the way up had described how to get there and made it seem very easy. All we had to do was turn left, bike a little, and then walk a little.  It ended up being a 20 km bike ride, on bikes where the gears were used more as decoration, and then a 30-minute hike to the waterfall!

Cascada Pailon del Diabolo

It was well worth the travelling, however, because the waterfall, la Cascada Pailon del Diabolo, was absolutely gorgeous.  We climbed to the top of it but it is definitely not for swimming, as it would likely pull you done extremely quickly. We decided to continue the adventure and biked over to the next waterfall where we could actually get in and swim. The water was freezing, but extremely refreshing after a long day!

 

Puenting

Today, on Sunday, we went puenting, which if you are unfamiliar with the term literally means bridge jumping.  We went to a bridge 100 m above a river filled with rocks. In just a few minutes I was all harnessed up and standing on the edge of the cliff and being told to jump. Unlike the U.S. there were no waivers to be signed, but we didn’t pay until the end so if anything were to happen at least we would not have lost money! I dove off the bridge and it was definitely one of the most thrilling experiences and should be added as a new attraction at the MN State fair. For a split second it felt as if I was dropping and headed straight for the rocks, and then the harness stopped me and let me swing above the river as I was lowered down. If you ever visit, I highly recommend it and you definitely will not regret it! Baños was amazing and definitely provided some adrenaline rushes to last for a while!

Although class tomorrow probably does not provide as much as excitement as jumping off a cliff, I am excited to see what this week will bring!