#6, # 81... ECUADOR!

So Emily and I left on a plane for Ecuador on Thursday morning, exactly 24 hours after I finished my last final.  Wednesday consisted of hurrying around like crazy... and then sleeping and hopping on a flight.  I have to say, though, leaving didn´t really feel right.  I felt so selfish, getting out of Nashville right when the city was in desperate need of help.  And instead, I´m fleeing the country do to something that I want....it felt weird.  I also think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I had barely any time to process the fact that I was leaving.  My life the past couple of weeks had been study, essay, study, essay, shower, study, sleep, essay, pack, essay.. etc etc.  So when I was suddenly on a plane to South America, it felt MORE than surreal.

BUT!! On the plane, I accomplished #81 on the list... Catcher in the Rye!! Fabulous book, wonderful quotes.  I honestly laughed out loud more than I should have.  Poor people sitting next to me on the plane... I must have appeared 100% insane. 

And then we landed in Quito, took a taxi to our hostel, checked in, ate some food, and PASSED. OUT.  So tired after the past few weeks.

We woke up yesterday morning, feeling refreshed, and decided to take this thing called a Teleférico to a point about 2/3 up the way up a volcano. So to say I completely did #6 (hike another mountain) is kind of a lie.  We also barely made it... and I´m not exaggerating.  We were in such a rush to get out that morning that we threw on Target sweatpant capris, tshirts, and grabbed a sweatshirt. We put a pack of crackers in our backpacks for lunch, and ate a handful of cereal to get out while it was still sunny.  I mean, the hike was only supposed to be 3 hours each way! No big deal, right?!

Mistakes.  Mistakesmistakesmistakes.

I mean, granted, we were only hiking 1/3 of the way up, but it was well over 4000 meters high.  Lonely Planet says numerous times to not attempt this hike before you´ve acclimated to the altitude in Quito for at least a few days.  We figured 12 hours was a enough, right? Wrong. Just for comparison sake.... Mt Washington is about 2,000 meters above sea level.  We were climbing to 5,000.  Rutrohh.

Mistake # 3.

We get off the Teleferiqo (which is like a chair lift) and immediately take off up the hill.  I guess I shouldn´t call it a hill? Because it is a mountain.  A rocky, ferocious, dormant volano.  I´m even willing to call it unforgiving.

We couldn´t catch our breath, and were immediately surprised at how much the altitude was hindering our ability to hike.  So we took it slow (and I mean BABY steps), and kept going up and up.  And everytime we thought we we got close, we´d see another peak in the distance that we needed to get up over.  And then the clouds starting rolling in, and the wind picked up.  We were hiking through clouds, with zero visibility, trying to follow the path as we ascended. 

Then we lost the path.

And we were scrambling on rockface, on the side of volcano.  At this point, we were a little more than 2 hours into the hike, but a combination of dehydration/no food/little sleep/little oxygen made me feel so weak and shaky that every little step felt like h*ll.  We finally got back on the path, and saw the REAL top of the volano. We (somehow) kept going.. kept going... and got there just as even thicker clouds rolled in, completely obscuring our view of the crater.

Wonderful.

We turned around at just the right time, though.  As we started to go back, we ran into another group that was with a  guide, and the guide told us that about 9 people die on this summit every year, because they attempt to climb without enough clothes, water, food (..sound familiar?!?!), and they get lost in the clouds.... oh.  So basically, overambitious people like me.  Good to know.

Getting down was okay, once we got through the cloud cover.  I´ve never felt that type of exhaustion, though.  At one point, I had to just stop and wait, because I was convinced I was going to throw up. 

But we made it! We got back down to the Teleferiqo stop, and drank a Coke and ate a sandwich, letting the feeling flow through our bodies again.  There was some guy from the UK there who clearly wanted to strike up a conversation, but I was so exhausted that I couldn´t even form words.  So I reaffirmed the stupid American stereotype.  Wonderful. 

Moral of the story:  altitude is a beast.  Eat before you hike.  Bring food and water when you hike.  Wear pants. Bring gloves.  Be humble.


I love Ecuador already....