After we reached the top we were amazed at what we saw! .. Sangay National Park...Safe and Short Trip to Riobamba

Dear Family and Friends,

Dimitri picked us up at our B&B on Tuesday morning.  We rode in this same van the whole trip.  Door to door from our home in Cuenca and all places in between.  Besides being an excellent tour guide, Dimitri was an excellent driver.

 

On our way to Sangay National Park, we passed through a large agricultural district.

Then we started climbing.  The views were fabulous.  

We finally arrived at the lakes section of the park.  Notice on the sign that we were at 11,371 feet above sea level.  I am so proud of Chuck and myself.  We did not suffer one bit from altitude sickness.  I attribute that to the fact that we live at 8,500 feet above sea level in Cuenca and that we have been doing long walks most every day.  

In the photo below is Chuck with Dimitri and Gaby, our local guide.  They are standing in front of Magdalena Lake.

We were surprised to hear this but Dimitri swears it is true.  Do you see the island in the middle of the lake?  Dimitri said in ancient times the island was used to put people on who needed “time out,” kind of like a jail.  I spoke up and said it is not that remote, the people could just swim to shore.  Dimitri said no they could not, nor can anyone else.  He said that no one can swim in these waters.  I asked why and he said some people say it is because the lakes are so close to the equator that there is a vortex that draws you under the water if you try to swim.  I turned to Gaby and she nodded in agreement.

 

Close by is Black Lake.  Here is Chuck holding the sign up.

Black Lake is another beautiful lake.

From our parking lot where our van was parked, there was a trail that led straight up the side of a hill, or (at 11,000 ft.) a mountain to us.  We squared our shoulders, took a deep breath and began climbing that trail.

When we got to the top we looked down at where we started.  The van in the parking lot and Black Lake across the road.

We did a 180 degree turn and we could hardly believe what we saw.  We were standing at the exact point where the Amazon Rainforest meets the Andes Mountains.  From this point the terrain goes down to the Amazon Jungle.

We carefully made our way down the trail back to the van.  We rode back past the lakes and to a restaurant for lunch.  It looked a little unstable to me, but it was eat here or don't eat.  No other restaurants for miles.

Don't you love the roof?  

Since we were a little early for lunch, we decided to hike around and have a look see.

Oh goodness, how sweet.  Little lamb and Mom.

Believe it or not, this is where people can wait out of the rain for a bus.  Notice the milk cans on the ground.  

Just a nice picture of pampas grass and the view behind.

Here are two brave old people, who we all know and love, out hiking around and thinking about heading back for lunch.

Here we are inside the restaurant.  We had a huge lunch of grilled fresh trout.  Yes the trout came from the river right outside the restaurant.  YUM!

Okay old man, hop in, we've got to get back to Riobamba.

We had a wonderful day.  When we got back to our B&B I took a nice, well deserved, nap.    

The trip we take tomorrow is the highlight of our tour.  We are going to Chimborazo, the highest volcano in Ecuador.  

Love,

Nancy & Chuck