Today I woke up at 5:50am and texted Michelle good luck on her test at 8am. Gabby and I then went to the lobby of the hotel to enjoy a breakfast consisting of omelette, fruits, and coffee.
At 9am, the Expotur driver showed up at the hotel and we packed into the van and were driven to expoturs offices where we finalized the trip paperwork and stored our luggage upstairs. We then assembled in our groups. Our group for the next 4 days would consist of the following:
-me and Gabriela
-couple from England (husband is a retired commercial real estate agent)
-couple from France (husband is a physical therapist)
-couple from Europe who always speak in their native tongue and show PDA
-couple from Pasadena (guy just quit his job as an aircraft engineer and girl is transitioning jobs)
-Daniel (tour guide with over 30 years of experience and over 900 treks under his belt)
-Santiago (translator/artist with over 89 treks under his belt)
Interesting parts of today:
- -Daniel talking about the history of Colombia and Sierra Nevada after dinner (farming avocados and cocoa -> farming marijuana -> farming coco -> tourism)
- -swimming in the pool near our camp and jumping from the rocks into the pool
- -meeting inspirational people (every single person from our group) who are free-spirited, determined, open minded, happy, etc
- taking a break at the orange juice stand on the trail and also the watermelon stand
- Ascending the trail and seeing the beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada landscape
- Witnessing the rural/isolated/intimate lifestyle of the locals and thinking about how they’ve adapted and reconciled having hundreds of foreign tourists pass through their lives/homes on a daily basis
