Well, as it turned out, Saturday's bust was Sunday's glory. Sunday was a marvelous day - but to get there, we must backtrack a couple days.
During the school orientation on Friday, I met Inga, an American who worked part-time with the school on a volunteer basis. Inga told me that her husband, a native Cuencano, Diego, was an avid mountain biker and was always looking for someone to bike with, and suggested I reach out to him. After our failed attempt to get to Cajas on Saturday, I emailed him and suggested that we get together to meet and talk biking. I mentioned that we were headed to Cajas, and after some back and forth, Diego suggested that he could get another car and both families could head out to Cajas together. We agreed that he would pick us up at 11:00 near our apartment, and we'd hit the park, and then stop by his house on the way home.
Sunday came, and we met Diego on a street corner. Diego had his 5 year old daughter, Eliana, in the car (which was big enough to seat seven), and we piled in. We made another stop to pick up Diego's dad, Homero, a retired civil engineer, who would head out to the mountains with us. Diego's oldest child, Joaquin, was not feeling well, so he stayed back with Inga, and the seven of us headed out of the city and up, up, up to the park.
Cajas National Park is a huge reserve of paramo - high altitude grasslands filled with plenty of peaks for climbers. The name is a bit misleading - in Spanish, cajas means boxes. In reality, the name was merely a simple Spanish modification of the indigenous name for the area of "Caxas", which means "cold". The entry point of the park was about 4000m above sea level - 13,000+ feet, and cold it was. The temperature in town was around 67 degrees when we left, but when we reached the park, it was windy and cold. We layered up with jackets, windbreakers, hats and gloves, and headed out.
As we hiked, the wind picked up, and the clouds blew in, but the kids were having a ball. Another classic quote from Finn was "Now THIS is mountain climbing!" The boys tumbled through the weeds, jumping up and down the various trails, as we followed a trail that wound around the above lake, with the goal of hiking up the mountain in the back.
We made our way down toward the lake, where we found a fisherman. Cajas is known for great trout fishing, and as we approached, the pescador was pulling a small trout out of the water. The children all watched intently as he pulled the hook out, and told us he was on fish number six. Shannon was a bit queasy witnessing the process, and quickly walked on.
We continued around the lake, and the climbing got a little tougher - at which point Finn made his, "this is mountain climbing" comment.
Diego and Homero were great guides, pointing out various flora we encountered, from small mountain flowers, to a type of plant that indigenous people chew for energy similar to the coca plant. We had a bit of it, and it was quite bitter. No idea if it actually helped.
Homero later pulled a few tipo leaves, which is a fragrant herb the natives use for a type of tea called "agua de tipo". On our way back to town we stopped at a roadside cafe to warm up with a jug of this tea. It's difficult to describe - it truly had a unique taste.
Shannon had read about the interesting trees that grew in the area, and was thrilled to encounter the tree to the right - a quinoa tree. It doesn't produce the grain we know as quinoa, but it was a unique and interesting tree.
As we approached the base of the aforementioned mountain, we decided it was time to stop for lunch. We packed ham sandwiches, crackers, apples and bananas, and found a place that was somewhat sheltered from the wind. We snacked, enjoyed conversation, and frequently yelled at the three kids to "walk!" and "stay away from the edge!".
Unfortunately, after lunch, and a little goofing around, it began to rain. Diego gave a look down the valley toward Cuenca, where the weather originated, and it didn't look good. So we decided to hike back to the car and head back to Diego's house.
During the hike, we didn't get to see much in the way of wildlife - nothing outside of the trout, actually, until we were near the trailhead, when coincidentally enough, we encountered these beautiful creatures out for their own adventure in the paramo:
Once we reached the car, Diego suggested that we drive a few more clicks up the mountainside. The road reached about 4300 meters, just over 14,000 feet, and at the top of the road, there was a sign advertising the continental divide.
On our way back down, we finally encountered the quintessential animal of the Andes, the llama, hanging on the mountainside for a little snack.
Finally, the kids had a little more fun at the roadside cafe, playing on a fun rope bridge, and we made our way to Diego & Inga's house - another great story, which we'll reserve for the next post.
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