By Jonathan Cain
Today was a much longer climb up Imbabura, passing through more páramo until reaching our first Polylepis trees. Conveniently, they were marked by a little wooden sign. These are the trees that I hope to sample next week on Chimborazo.
Because Imbabura is taller than Fuya Fuya, we had a much steeper, longer scramble to the summit today. Pablo told us before the climb that the scramble today would be less exposed – we weren’t so sure we agreed at the end. Today was a good challenging day.
The rain made the climb very slippery in places and a nasty headache settled in at around 14,000 feet. To make matters worse, we found out that our summit celebration today would be slightly muted as restaurants in Ecuador do not sell beer on Sundays. A good night’s sleep will have to do instead.
Tomorrow is a rest day. We will make our way to the Otavalo market in the morning and then leave for Cayambe in the afternoon.
