DEATH in Cajas

The day we arrived in Cuenca we made a list of things we wanted to do and see before the girls leave. For lack of paper we wrote it on a napkin, which is still hanging on the refrigerator. One of the the things I wrote was "Death in Cajas." This was a reference to the local national park that's an hour outside of the city. The scenery is breathtaking and anyone who comes to visit HAS to go hiking there.

I think the fact that I described this as "Death in Cajas" should have been the first clue that this would not be just another walk in the park. I have been to Cajas a few times during my past trips to Ecuador, but there is no way to convey the physical impact hiking in Cajas takes on your body.  

El Cajas Parque Nacional (Cajas National Park)

First of all, Cuenca is at 2500 m above sea level (8200 ft) and Cajas is between 3100-4500 m (10,170-14,800 ft). So you can compare, Cincinnati's altitude is 482 ft (147 m) so it is very common for people to suffer altitude sickness (Symptoms include headache, fatigue, stomach illness, dizziness, and sleep disturbance. Exertion aggravates the symptoms.) Since just being at this altitude can cause your body to rebel, hiking up a mountain leads to certain "death" for almost all newbies.

 

There are 3 levels of the hike. The first involves navigating a thick forest. You can see Gaby (our friend from Guayaquil) just after she climbed over that limb. And it was constantly uphill. So not only are you looking for a break in the trees, you are also fighting just to be able to breathe. 
 

Everyone is pretty tired.

 

The second level of our hike was through the grass that you see here. It was really thick. That actually came in handy sometimes since you could grab onto it to climb up or down and generally it could hold your body weight...almost always.

We then hiked down toward the lake (you may have seen Ashley and Allison's immersion last trip) where we planned to have lunch. The rain then began to fall. We all huddled together and had a much needed rest.

We had to rescue Ariel's umbrella from the lake. A gust of wind blew it inside out and then into the water. It floated away and then came back so that we could grab it.  

After lunch, the rain stopped. We had earned some playtime. You can see the hikers below. Our group was made up of us four (Ariel, Ashley, Kaitlyn and me), Allison, Diana (sister serving in Cuenca with her husband), Gaby, Oscar (also from Guayaquil) and Karim (visiting from Columbia).

 

 
  

  

Under Karim's direction we all tried to defy gravity. 

We're flying, flying, flying!

 

Estrellas y Media Lunas

(Stars and Cartwheels)

 

                                 The Girls                                                                               The Guys

 Diana, Ashley, Me, Allison, Kaitlyn, Gaby & Ariel

Oscar & Karim

  

Once we finished playing by the lake we continued our hike over to the waterfall. 

There were a few falls along the way. (The ground was really wet and muddy in places and was not very even.) Allison's foot even got stuck in mud and she couldn't get it out.

   But we finally made it to the waterfall. We each took a moment to enjoy the view. And to strike a pose!

Ariel contemplating the wonders of creation

So "Death in Cajas" might have been a slight overstatement. We didn't actually have any fatalities. We all had a really good time. Good friends make the difficult parts easier. It's an experience that should not be missed by any visitors to the area. It makes you (Kaitlyn) really appreciate being back on level ground. But I think if you ask the girls, they would all want to do it again. But maybe not too soon. ;)