Podocarpus

YAY!

From the tropical foothills to the high peaks, full circle. We took the bus up after the hike the night before and stayed in the most fantastically retro haunted hotel in Loja. It was like something from "The Shining", no really...and the power throughout the country continues to be shut off at all sorts of funny hours. So Loja had the aura of a haunted house, make that city, and the feel of a thrift store. One of the more remote and less visited cities in the country, only just getting a paved road connecting it to the rest of the country a decade or two ago. An outpost in the sierra, always the last to know.

Today we hiked in the wind and sunshine all the way up to the top of the mountaintops in the upper access of Podocarpus. The paramo is different here, it is more scrubby and the wind was even more ferocious than we are used to. It is a bit drier as well in the southern sierra and there are new plants to nerd out on and discover. It was delicious fun and the most wonderful day.

Jumping for joy.