Hello from Casa Sol or the "sun house" located high on steep hillside overlooking a beautiful valley. Today our team left the hustle and bustle of Quito and drove north in Victor's Magic Bus to a beautiful reserve called Mojanda. Translated this word means "black lake" but the lake we parked at was a deep emerald blue. Created by a sunken crater, lake Mojanda is surrounded by steep craggy mountain sides covered with a thick carpet of tall grasses and plants unique to this high altitude ecosystem. One of these tall mountains was our acclimating objective for the day. Fuya Fuya, which would sound a lot better if you put the word Kung at the beginning of it, stands at close to the same height as Mt. Rainier but is much more easily climbed. After following the nice trail through those tall grasses for just over an hour the team reached a windy saddle splitting the mountains two summits. Banging a hard right toward the northern peak, we had to scramble over a challenging 10 foot rock step and then continue up a steep ridge for another ten minutes to a flat and welcoming summit. The entire team arrived together but only had enough time for a quick high five, group photo and a few personal pictures before being greeted by distant thunder advising us it was time to depart. A quick hour long descent was motivated by a laughing group of high school kids racing downhill both on foot and rolling. We were reminded by those playful youths that we can't take things too seriously because even with lightning and thunder around, smiles and fun can make any situation better. After the hike we ate lunch at a nice local hacienda before driving to Casa Sol for the evening. The most exciting part of the day wasn't the lightning or thunder but watching Victor try and park his large mini bus in the cramped garage. The scar where he tore off a chunk of the gate still showed from last year. He made it, barely, so we all raised a cup and declared success all around. Let's hope for a successful mission to Cayambe tomorrow. RMI Guides Adam Knoff & Nick Hunt

On The Map