Damien walked in and had the same face as Ryan's good friend Jaron, but with a full beard and long hair. If it weren't for the company t shirt and french accent, I would have assumed he was lost and looking for his skateboard. Damien was very friendly and we learned that this would be a private tour. He helped us get our bags into the car and another staff member began our drive to the mountain. I thought Damien was preapring a sandwhich up there as I couldnt really see what he was doing from the back seat. He handed the driver a leather bowl/cup with a metal curved straw and the guy stated drinking this steaming liquid. Then he refilled it and handed it to me, saying it was like a bitter tea, a traditional drink. The metal straw had a filter at the bottom and he said to drink until the liquid is gone and only the "powder" remains. There was a layer of green tiny sticks and white pieces floatnig on it, and it was hot and tasted bitter. After I finished it, as I was waiting to see pink elephants cross the street, I asked if I would be able to pass a dug test when we get home. Yes, this is just a kind of tea, not a drug. Phew!
He refilled it for Ryan, and we continued like this until I'd had 3 cups! Once we arrived at the mountain we were dropped off and Damien led the way to the first summitt. It was about a 20 minute uphill hike, and gave us great mountain views. After a few photos, we hiked higher to a second summit and had a great view of a large dam as well as the town of Cacheuta, where the hot springs are.
After that, we started down to our first rappell. It was about 30 feet and the driver was at the bottom helping be the safety. It was a little scary since it had been so long since I've rappelled, but it was fun and we quickly followed it with a second rappell of the same height.
The last rappell was largest at close to 140 feet. The fun part was after we got down, we had some lunch and got ready to climb back up. Ryan impressed the guys with his climbing skill, going up three routes with relative ease and no falls. The commented a few times on how his "skill" is very goI went up one time and at one point poor Damien bascially had to haul my body up a good 7 feet until I found a foothold I could manage. Oh well - I never said I was any good at climbing. We got a photo at the end with the driver, we were all 3 in Patagonia Down Sweater jackets! We took a photo with Damien as well.
Once we were all finished with the climbing we hiked a little way down and made a short drive to the hot springs. We'd never been to hot springs before, so we're glad we were able to give them a go. they range in temperatures, from quite hot to luke warm. We sat in the hot one for a while, then a slightly cooler one before calling it a day. I'll post pictures of our adventure once I have reliable adapters, internet, etc. Probably later in the week.
We are back at the hostel now, and ready for our asado tonight!
summit 2
ry guy
same jackets!
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