Ecuador-Day Six

Breakfast at our hotel consisted of Ecuadorian coffee, tea, tree tomato juice, bananas, mango and pineapple, scrambled eggs, bread that looked like a hot dog bun but tasted like a croissant, butter,  and guava marmalade.  After breakfast a table was set out where we could make our own picnic lunch.  We had delicious homemade bread, tuna, and a whole host of other ingredients.  I made a peanut butter and guava jam sandwich with an apple, a box of juice, and a chocolate bar.  We drove quite a few miles to the base of the volcano and proceeded to hike on up.  The hiking was difficult.  I had my cane and 4 people brought hiking sticks to help them keep their balance.  The landscape changed as we walked up the hill and into the cloud forest.  We saw vermilion flycatcher, Darwin tree finches Darwin ground finches, warbler finches, smooth-billed ani birds, Galapagos mockingbird, and Chatham mockingbirds.  After 45 minutes we reached the rim of the caldera.  The clouds covered the bottom of the caldera.  My original intent was to hike this far and let the group go on ahead.  Pablo brought his younger brother, David, along to escort me back.  I didn't think I needed an escort but he wanted me to have one.  I knew the hike was a 7 hour hike and was too much for me.  But I was doing well and thought I'd go a little further.  As we walked along, I saw portions of the trail were dug up.  Later we saw feral pig tracks in the freshly dug ground (top photo).  Feral pigs dug up the trail rooting for fresh roots.  I asked if feral pigs would attack a human.  Pablo said  male pig might attack if it felt cornered.  Suddenly I was fine with having David walk me back. If we saw a pig, I could throw David to the pig and run away.  Pablo told us what it was like to live on the island during the 2005 eruption.  He came up here to see the hot lava flow.  He uses his arms and face a lot when he describes things.  And he makes noises to help us understand how the lava sounded.  He has the most amazing sound effects. The sun was hot but the clouds covered it occasionally and a light mist fell keeping us at just the right temperature.  I was walking good so I kept going for a couple hours.  About noon I told Pablo I was done walking.  He asked me to keep going for 25 more minutes because then we would be at the lunch spot and there would be a tree there for shade.  I agreed.  Another person mentioned when they were little their parents would promise a McDonalds at the end of the trail to keep them going.  I said a McDonalds wouldn't do it for me since I don't eat meat.  But then I wondered why I was walking 25 more minutes (50 round trip) for a freaking tree.  We eventually got to the tree and the picnic tables spread beneath it. The tables and benches were full of college students; mostly girls.  They got up to make room for us.  Turns out they were students from Gustavus in Minnesota.  We sat down to have lunch.  My pb&j sandwich was delicious.  I think this was one of the best meals of the trip.  I was so hungry and the setting was so pleasant.  Darwin finches and yellow warblers hopped around our feet.  The birds and animals are so tame here.  In Minnesota, if I get a glimpse of a yellow warbler, it's only long enough to make a good identification.  They won't sit still at all.  Here they hop around at our feet.  One yellow warbler even jumped on my backpack at my side.  The rest of the group hiked on while David and I hiked back.  David was in his early 20's.  He graduated with a degree in economics and was taking time off to relax before looking for a job.  He lead the way.  He had very skinny legs and long black hair.  From the back he looked exactly like a nephew of mine.  Hiking back was fun as long as we were around the caldera.  The trail went up and down a little but was easy to walk.  Heading down the volcano was more difficult because of the steep steps down.  Rain was falling steadily now and the mud was slippery.  David was very gracious. For all difficult steps, he offered his hand to help me down.  It was really nice to have a personal escort down the big hill.  My joints were aching before we were done.  My left knee was especially painful because I kept stepping down the difficult steps leading with my left knee.  I tried to alternate but habits are hard to break.  When we got to the bottom the Gustavus students were also coming down.  David wanted me to take the bus with the Gustavus students back to town.  I said I would wait for my group to return.  David got on the bus with the coeds - smart boy.  I waited at a table for a little over an hour before my group arrived.  They looked tired.  We took the bus back down the hill. As we drove past one farm I saw a big stack of meat in the bed of a pickup truck.  I later learned that that farmer had successfully hunted a feral pig.  We were on our own for dinner tonight.  As a group we all decided to go to the same place for dinner.  This was a BBQ named Three Brothers; Tres Hermanos.  The choices were chicken or fish.  I ordered the sides - rice with beans and tortilla. Tortilla is not what you would expect.  In Ecuador a tortilla is a fried patty made of mashed potatoes with a cheese filling.  All the carnivores got their food.  We arrived at this restaurant about 7.  By now it's 8 o'clock.  My peanut butter sandwich on the volcano was a LONG TIME AGO.  I was so hungry I could have cried.  Eventually my food came.  Another person on the hike said I had hiked most of the way.  They didn't go much further than I did.  She figured that I had hiked 8 miles.  No wonder I was so hungry.  Today I really pushed myself.  I hoped I wouldn't have to pay the price by being in pain tomorrow.