Snow

I played with snow today. What the heck. On July 6^th I played with snow. This morning I arose bright and early for a spin class at the gym near our hotel. Maria Luz, Margaret, SJ and I represented America (and Italy in Luz’s case) as we did a cycling class with a handful of Ecuadorians. I was thankful that the Spanish was simple and I could just watch the people in front of me. It was certainly very challenging and my body is definitely hurting now. The altitude certainly affected our workout but it was a fantastic way to start the day. We then showered and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of eggs, papaya, granola, coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Our group then proceeded to walk into town and catch our mini-van up to the top of Chimborazo. The summit of this volcano is the closest place on earth to the sun.

The drive up was slow and there were times I was worried our minivan was not going to make it. However, after chugging along for an hour, passing multiple llamas and alpacas and entering into a “no grow zone” with next to no vegetation we arrived at the first base camp. Half of our group stayed at the base camp and enjoyed coffee, tea, and their books. The other half bravely began hiking up the mountain. The climb was less than 1km but it took us almost an hour due to the extreme altitude and lack of oxygen in the air. We marked a rock with our team name “Impacto”, took photos with Ecuadorians, and played in the patches of snow around us. Finally, after multiple breaks we reached the second base camp at over 16,000 feet. We drank warm tea, told life stories, and celebrated our success. We ventured down for a much quicker 20 minute decent. My body felt sensations I have never experienced before with the slim oxygen. Our group then piled back in the van and drove down to Riobamba, stopping to take a gorgeous picture with the mountain in the background and other photos of alpacas.

When we reached the hotel we were wiped. Most people chose to nap and I worked on plans for the weekend and then explored the town. We all met up for dinner at a delicious place where I was able to eat a salad with grilled chicken. Once back at the hotel we planned for our consultation tomorrow, ate fruit, drank tea, and I was able to skype with Warner and Mom. It made me miss them as always but I know I will be seeing them again in a few short weeks.

Hasta Luego,

Cate