Day 23 in Isabela!

Hey guys!

We started off the morning with a jump scare. There was a gigantic spider taking over the wall in Alex and Dacey’s room. Ella triumphantly came to the rescue. She trapped it in a cup and set it free outside. Once everyone got ready for the day, we all met in the hotel lobby for a quick breakfast before heading out for the day. We drove up bumpy roads into the highlands to begin our hike around the mouth of the Sierra Negra and Chico Volcanoes. Because of all the rain up in the highlands, the beginning of the hiking trail was extremely muddy, but thankfully we got through it without too much of a struggle. Our guide pointed out various plants along the way including guava trees. When we got to the lookout spot at the top of the first part of the hike, we took a quick snack break, but unfortunately, we couldn’t see into the volcano yet because of all the rain and clouds covering it. We continued on to the second part of the hike, which was drier and much rockier. We got to see lots of lava tubes and rock formations that were created by the lava. When we arrived at the second, we stopped to look at the view and take pictures. Sadly, because it was extremely windy, my hat blew off and was lost in the rocks. Afterwards, we headed back on the same trail, and we stopped once again at the first lookout spot. By then, the rain and clouds had gone away so we could see the inside of the volcano before we went all the way back. In total, we hiked almost 9 miles! Afterwards, we headed to a nearby farm where we had a delicious lunch of chicken, lentils, rice, salad, and passion fruit juice. Once we finished eating, we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up. Since we had an early morning and we were all pretty tired, we showered and rested before dinner, which was specially prepared for us at the hotel. Afterwards, we played a friendly game of scrabble before heading off to bed. That concludes our fun and adventurous day in the outdoors!

Hasta luego,

Liana Rodila