Au Naturale :)

Today was even more exhausting than yesterday was!!! Craaaaa-zy. My family and Maria Daniela's family went to "la piscina" (pool) today at 6am because it takes two hours to drive to Papallacta. It's in the Amazon area, not really in it, but just outside of the area. It wasn't just an ordinary pool, but an area with a bunch of thermal pools, which were so amazing and therapeutic. The pools aren't heated by machines or anything; it's heated by the volcano Cayambe, the third tallest mountain in Ecuador. I thought it was going to be our families just sitting in a huge crater of hot water, but it was actually a real pool with a lot of people in it. I kind of wished they were natural volcanic craters because it would be super cool, but oh well.

My host dad explained to me that Papallacta is actually a pretty famous tourist attraction during the week, and there are a lot of foreigners that come to relax and enjoy the view. But on the weekends, more Ecuadorians visit/spend the weekend here because there's a hotel and spa right next to it. It was super cold today, around 40 degrees... so we went all the way to the top (because it's on a mountain) where the hot pools are and immediately went into the super hot pool. I thought I was going to die burning because it was that hot, but it was much better than standing outside in the freezing cold. We ate "canela," which is cinnamon sugar turned into a candy - so it's like eating pure sugar... But it's supposed to help with the cold since it's a trillion calories.

After being in the super hot pool for forever, we went into the regular pool where there are water jet streams every 30 minutes. My host dad, Daniel, Maria Daniela, and I put our backs against the jets because it's supposed to be very soothing; and it felt like I was getting massaged. Then we went back into the hot pool, but when that got too hot to handle, we decided to be brave and try out the super cold pool. The water in this piscina comes from the snow on top of Mount Cayambe - sweet. But it's also super freezing, but supposed to be good for your circulation. So we dipped our bodies here and back to the hot pool a few times. And then we decided to go home because it was 9:40 and we were only there for an hour and 40 minutes :)

On our way home, we bought a bag of sugar canes on the street. I've never had sugar cane before, so I was really surprised because I thought it would be warm and taste like sugar water (and I guess it does taste like sugar water) but it was really cold and juicy. It didn't necessarily taste like sugar, but just sweetened water with a freshness to it. Que chévere!! We then stopped by this street restaurant that's known for its ahi (chili) salsa, which is EXTREMELY picante, to actually eat lunch. The restaurant kind of reminded me of those Korean houses in the countryside where people stop by to eat kookbap and the place is actually haunted or magical. Secret garden, what's uuuuup LOL. And we ate so much because we just swam and hadn't eaten breakfast. Then pretty much everyone fell asleep in the car... :D

When I got home, we planned the party for my eldest brother who moved out, Diego, because he's turning 29 tomorrow. And since no one has time tomorrow, we decided to have dinner together with Maria Daniela's family and César's (host dad) sister's family. It was fun even though I didn't know the new family. We had so much good food.. I seriously am going to gain so much weight!!! :( ARRRRRGH BUT I CAN'T STOP EATING BECAUSE THE FOOD'S SO GOOD HERE!! hehe We had sausages, BBQ chicken, bread, cheese, and this amazing lemon tea. Then for dessert we had coffee cake and strawberry cream tart. DELICIOUS. Love. Fat...

After everyone left, Rocío, Daniel, and I decided we needed to go for a walk. So we walked around the   neighborhood, around 2 miles or so. And then I realized that I should/could run in the evenings because the neighborhood is really safe, and the weather is amazing. I'll be super toned if I keep running everyday until I leave Selva Alegre in 3 weeks. And then in Quito, I can go to the Carolina Park and run there! :D Yay hehehe. Yeah.. But having so many people over (12 in total) was really exhausting and now I'm really tired :)

With love from Selva Alegre,
Gina