Today we had a couple of activities going on with the first one being Visit Papallacta Hot Springs with a Travel Expert via Airbnb Experiences. Alejandro who was our travel expert for this said he’d meet us outside our Airbnb at 8:30am to pick us up. I didn’t get enough sleep last night so I was dragging a bit getting ready but we made it out the door ahead of time.

Outside we met Alejandro, the driver Jimmy and two ladies from Germany. As we were en route, I thought I heard Alejandro say the ride would take about an hour and 20 minutes to get to the hot springs but I figured he either miscalculated or meant that we would have an hour and 20 minutes to spend there because according to Airbnb the activity is over at 9:30am. So we ride all the way there learning different things that Alejandro is telling us about Ecuador such as:
•Papallacta is located between the highlands and the jungle
•The water for Papallacta Hot Springs comes from the Chacana Volcano
•The water is good for your muscles, skin and joints
•Kumbaya valley is where rich people live and it’s near the airport
•Quito is the most populated city in Ecuador
•The top 3 rose distributors are the Netherlands, Colombia and Ecuador
•China, Russia and the US are the biggest customers from rose distribution from Ecuador
•Papallacta means land of potatoes

The weather and landscape changed as we went from one area through another. Quito was sunny but cool this morning when we were picked up, then while driving we came upon rain. After driving for a while we then came upon fog. The weather had drastically dropped from Quito’s 30°C to now 6°C. On our way there we did run into a road closure and had to turn around and go another way.

As soon as we arrived at the hot springs I asked what time we’d be back in Quito and when Alejandro said around 3pm my mom and I looked at each other like what?! We had a cooking class scheduled from 1pm-5pm today because online it said the hot springs were from 8am-9:30am. We explained this to Alejandro and the surprising thing was he knew the ending time on Airbnb was wrong but said he didn’t know how to fix it and had tried contacting them about it. My issue was the fact that he never told me the actual time it was supposed to end. Of course I’m going to assume the activity ends when it says it will. He apologized and I could tell he felt bad and he states he thought he told me but didn’t.

My mom didn’t like the thought of missing out on the cooking class because we’ve already paid and said she would’ve rather done that than the hot springs if she had to make a choice. Once I was able to get on Wifi I tried contacting the contact for the cooking class and after several tries we were able to speak with him. We were willing to miss the going to the market portion in preparation for the class and instead wanted to know if we came later if we could just cook and he said that would be alright. We agreed to be picked up at our Airbnb at 4pm.

Now that that was settled we could enjoy the hot springs. We got our lockers and got out of our clothes and with our bathing suits under headed out to the hot springs. There were different pools som deep and shallow, some hot some cold and some big and some small. We enjoyed the different ranges of each for about a good two hours. We even did a cold plunge once or twice. It felt nice to be in warm temperature/hot water surrounded by volcanoes. We opted out of the hike portion to stay in the water longer.

Before leaving the area, we stopped right outside the facilities to get lunch. The average meal I’ve noticed is about $8 and it often comes with 3 sides and a drink. We sat, had lunch and then began the drive back to Quito. We arrived at 3:20pm at our Airbnb and that would give us a few minutes before getting ready. I messaged the cooking class contact again just to make sure we were all good and it’s a good thing I checked because now the contact said they are having some car issues and needed to reschedule. They’re going to see if they can move some things around and accomodate us on Saturday and if not they’ll give us a refund. They’ll let us know tomorrow.

Well there was no need to put on clothes as I’d stripped into bikini wear. I laid on the bed as the sun was shining through and basked in the sun for a bit until I got hot then I had to lower the shade and crack the window open. I was able to watch and hear the soccer game from below across the street. My mom went and took a nap in her room. I eventually dozed off to sleep as the sun shifted and the room became cooler.

With about a good hour’s sleep my mom woke me up and suggested we check out the other mall that was near us that we went to last night. I agreed so I got up and got ready and we walked up the street. Once there I wanted to look around to see what stores were there and she didn’t so she sat and waited for me (I took about 30 minutes). For dinner we decided on Olive Garden and while more expensive then the average Ecuadorian meal we had so much food (each of us basically ended up with 2 meals so one we ate their and we took a whole meal home as well that we’ll eat tomorrow).

I personally hadn’t been to Olive Garden in about 5 years and forgot how much food they give you. We took the rest of our food home and on the way in stopped by a neighborhood gas station to get a cup of coffee and brownie for a quick breakfast snack tomorrow before going on our early morning tour. Back at the Airbnb we washed a load of clothes, took a shower, I went through the things I’ve bought so far and we called it a night because we have to get up early tomorrow and tomorrow is a long day.