This morning, all of us met at the early hour of 7am and were very excited to visit the Tzachilas, an indigenous tribe located in the coastal region of Ecuador. After an hour’s journey we were informed by the police that the only road from Quito toward the costa had been closed because a landslide had covered the way the previous night making it impossible to drive on.
After a heated discussion amongst the students, Jorge and the Kupkes proposed that we visit Molinuco instead, an area in the Ecuadorian jungle where some of the most breath-taking waterfalls are to be found. Our driver, Marco, turned around and steered us through mountains and valleys until we arrived at our destination four hours later. Once we realized the bus was surrounded by tall brushes and towering trees and when we crossed a gaping ravine on a narrow wooden bridge did we then know that we were deep in unchartered wilderness. After the long ride, we were all very hungry and attempted to fish for trout.
After we obviously didn’t catch anything, we resorted to local cuisine.
Since we were all refueled, we embarked on the exciting and adventurous hike through the forest toward the waterfalls. Once we arrived at the first waterfall, few brave students dared to plunge into the water from the top of the cliff. Some jumps looked more confident than others.
After that, we encountered a waterfall ten times the size of the other one. This time no one was courageous, but some did swim by the foot of the falls.
After the refreshing dip in the cool Andean waters, we made our way back to Quito – exhausted yet content. (Lukas, Erich, AnnSo)
GISNY in Ecuador 