Elfin Forest

Today we went on our first real day trip out to look at the plants found in Ecuador. Our first stop was at the river that runs through the valley below Quito. The waters are a brown color and foam builds up on the rocks. Thinking of the Yadkin River, I assumed that it was runoff of some type from fields further up the river. I was wrong. Turns out that the river is used as a natural sewage system, and that most of Quito's waste goes directly into it. I was disgusted. There are no native species found in the river, but some native plants grow along its banks. From where I was standing I could see a few pipes running directly from some houses on the cliffs surrounding it.
The next stop was at a cleaner river, still not suitable for any type of drinking though...
Next we stopped at a forest of native trees (there are few forests of them left since they have been used for building). Eucalyptus trees have taken over most places, but in a way this is ok because they grow much quicker, allowing them to be used rather than native trees. We got out of the bus and looked for a way down into the forest. We found a gap, and climbed down. It looked exactly where I would picture elves and dwarfs to live and looked a bit like the forest in The Princess Bride where ROUS's live. The trees cut off the sound from the road, and there was a large stream running through the bottom of it. Very beautiful. The trees there were over 100 years old, though they weren't very big. The ground was saturated with water and there were little pools everywhere with mosses and ferns. If it weren't so chilly and damp there it would be an awesome place to have a tiny house. I felt like exploring on my own, so I split from the group and walked along the steam for a bit. I climbed out of the forest over what looked like a rock slide through the undergrowth. It was pretty steep. With the elevation being what it is (about 9,200 feet above sea level), it is easy to get out of breath. Everyone emerged from different parts of the forest, all a bit muddied and leaf marked.
We continued on to higher elevations and studied plants along the way.
The other best part of the day trip was at the end when we went to thermal springs, heated by the volcano! The water ran directly into paved pools, some hotter than others, and a few icy cold. A big stream ran close to the pools, so I ran and dipped in that (icy!!!) and jumped back into the hot water. It was amazing, we stayed there for about 2.5 hours. The buildings there had plants growing on the roofs, and we say a humming bird with a crazy long beak darting around red tubed shaped flowers. I didn't want to leave!