Up and at em early this morning; we got picked up at 8.15 to go walking in the eastern range of the Andes which is an older area of the Andes and has no active volcanoes (thankfully). Turns out it was much more of a hike/scramble/squelch than a walk but it was a really fun day.
We visited the Cajas National Park which is about a 20 minute drive outside of Cuenca. The park covers an area of over 28,000 hectares, and has over 250 lakes within it. It is here that Mike's river the Tomebamba (he's claimed it as his own) originates, and it is from the Cajas that over 60% of Cuencas water comes. We started off travelling on the main road to Guayaquil but soon turned off onto a cobbled one lane 'road' that passed field after field of dairy cows who were being milked right there in the middle of the fields. After a very bouncy 15 minute drive we arrived at the entrance to the national park where we paid the entrance fee ($2.00) and parked the van. Our first mini hike was fairly easy with not too many ups and downs and on a trail that had boardwalk most of the way. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm, but as soon as we started walking in 'the jungle' the temperature dropped drastically; it's was really strange being in a jungle like environment at over 11,000 feet. We walked for about an hour, around the lake stopping to look at the different trees and vegetation, and also to admire the llamas and alpacas that roam freely throughout the park. We had a beautiful day for walking but apparently sunshine is not ideal weather for seeing the birds off the park. We didn't get to see the toucans nor the condors that live there but we did see several hummingbirds flitting about.
















After walking around the lake and learning about the region from Carlos our guide, the lakes here are of glacier origin, and the valleys are u-shaped as they were formed by glaciation,we headed back to the van and were taken to the highest point in the park accessible by car. This is at Tres Cruces (3 crosses) and is at 4,167 metres (about 14,000 feet); the road crosses the Continental Divide at this point. We got out and walked around a little and it was fairly difficult to breath. I was eating a cereal bar (I couldn't eat in the van as the driver was a bit nutty with his driving) and it was quite an effort to chew and breath at the same time. It didn't help that as I was heading back to the van I was almost accosted by a small herd of llamas, they just came out of nowhere and crossed the path right in front of me, scared me half to death. For the rest of the day I concentrated more on where I was going and less on what I was eating!








We headed back down the main road a little bit to another entrance to the park where we were going to start the 'real walk'. It was a big decision here as to whether to leave our walking boots on or change into the lovely rubber boots -read wellies - provided. I made what turned out to be the sensible decision, Mike not so much. He should have know better since the river outside our window was way up last night indicating rain in the mountains, but he listened to Carlos instead of the Tomebamba. To be fair Carlos did say that it would be a little wet and muddy, he failed to tell us that we would be fording rivers.



We started off going down some wooden steps and around a small lake. By the time we had done this much I was already thankful for the wellies particularly after some ladies trying to walk in sandals. Carlos led the way and Mike brought up the rear. It started out fairly muddy but easy going, even at an altitude of around 13,000 feet, and then we had to climb up hill; I thought my chest was going to explode and as much as I tried I couldn't catch my breath. At one point during the climb I looked back at Mike and saw that he had lost the will to live; this was the first time during the day that it happened but it wouldn't be the last! It was hard going with the combination of the altitude, the mud, the rocks and the super narrow paths but we both made it to the top and then some. We were walking to meet up with the van at a point down the way and Carlos kept telling us that there was a point of no return where it would be best to keep going and that he would let us know when that was but he never did so we just kept walking. We walked through a forest at one point which was amazing as there is hardly any soil, but the trees were growing away. The climb down through the forest was interesting, climbing over rocks and trying not to slip on the roots, but we made it safely down. It wasn't until we were a little further along the trail that Mike fell over; he didn't hurt himself as the ground was all boggy so he just bounced right back up he was covered in mud though. He also got a little wet crossing the river but he didn't mind as a lovely spanish lady helped him across, she held his hand and everything; if I'd have tried to help him we probably both would have ended up going for a swim. We hiked for about 2 1/2 hours altogether and it was actually a really good hike and we saw some spectacular vistas. From a distance the landscape looks barren and bleak but up close it's alive with grasses and such as well as all kinds of beautiful little flowers, one in particular (the yellow and red one in the photo) doesn't grow anywhere else in the world except in this park. We didn't see too much wildlife, even the birds were quiet today, but apparently there are a number of animals that live in the park including pumas and foxes.














The weather was really good to us, and the first raindrops started to fall just as we arrived back at the van. After we spent a little time trying in vain to get the mud off our shoes we headed off to Dos Chorreras for lunch where the speciality of the restaurant was friedtrout that is caught in the park. Mike and I ate omelettes and yuca fries, but several people at our table ate the fish and said is was lovely - I guess I'll take their word for it, anything that has teeth can't possible taste good can it? While we were eating the rain absolutely poured down and we could see the clouds creeping further down the mountainside the longer we sat.





We arrived home around 4 after an exhausting but rewarding day. Mike stripped off all his muddiness, took a shower and then went to bed and slept until 7 o'clock; I didn't go to bed - I slept on the sofa!

Mike: Talk about nackered!!!! I'm glad I went, it was magnificient, but never again!