Video produced/edited by Lani.
Hello, my folks!
We started early in the morning; we woke up at 3:00 am and met our tour leader at 4 am. Once we hopped on the bus, we knocked out with our mouths open all the way till breakfast. We stopped for breakfast in the middle of nowhere but with a nice view! Natural mountains, farm animals, and everywhere is green. It was a fresh air. It was a buffet breakfast. Most of us were all in for pancakes; their pancakes were delicious. The waitress who worked at the restaurant warned us that we had to walk slowly at Rainbow Mountain. Of course, we drank a lot of Coca tea before reaching Rainbow Mountain. Sean Moore looked it up on Google, and Google said it took people 2-3 hours to arrive at rainbow mountain, which is only 4 miles long, and its elevation was 17,000 feet! After that, we got back on the bus and headed to the rainbow mountain. We tried to get back to sleep but couldn't because the road was very bumpy, and we jumped out of our seats frequently during the ride. But I had great thoughts while looking through the window and thinking about everything. I figured out that I had that opportunity without technology. Often, everyone gets on their iPhone while driving and misses out on nature, which is what Mother Nature gave us.
Anyways, the moment that we were about to arrive at the rainbow mountain, our excitement came in. The parking lot is 14,000 feet altitude. We get out of the bus and put our jackets on to make sure all of us stay warm while hiking. Before we began walking, Linda (our tour leader) gave us a special bottle to prevent headaches or nausea from high altitude. She poured a little of it into my hand, and I had to smell it out of my soul and put it on my face. It smelled so good; it had a minty smell to it. So we began walking. The first 10 minutes weren't that bad till the path became stepper. We started to get exhausted and took some breaks. Some of us were full of energy, but others weren't. While hiking, our tour leader gave us coca candies, which tasted much better than tea and coca straight. Then, we walked all the way to the rainbow mountain. We were thrilled when we arrived at the rainbow mountain, and all hell of a walk was worth it. We took pictures together with the rainbow mountain. Based on my assumption, it was big and could take pictures without feeling rushed. I was wrong; people were crazy and rushed to take pictures, and several security guards had to manage these people to stay in the line without cutting the line. But! We got our pictures! That is all that matters. There's another place to get a better view of the Rainbow Mountain. Some of us decided to go there and take some pictures. Others chilled at the original place. We spotted the two llamas with adorable outfits, sunglasses, and a traditional blanket on their back. It costs only two sol to take pictures, which is 55 cents in America. Very cheap! 55 cents worth the cost for pictures with llamas.
After that, we were going back, but some of the girls wanted to go another way. So we split up; some of us went back to the bus, and the rest of the girls went on more hiking. Melanie, Kaelyn, and Lani went there and shared great stories about when they arrived back on the bus. They said they had it easy but had two breaks while hiking. They noticed that there was more elevation than walking to the rainbow mountain. They arrived and paid 10 sol, which is $2.74 per person, so the total is 40 sol. They expressed that they were not expecting a red valley because they already had expectations of the rainbow mountain, which was everywhere via Google. The moment they arrived, they felt like they were in a movie. They were shocked by how the looks differ entirely from the rainbow mountain. The mountains look so red and green mixed together. Llamas were everywhere and eating peacefully. It was sunny and very clear. After that, they left that place and entered the bottom, and it was snowing and raining hard. They had a hard time walking back to the bus with a soaked jacket. Once they arrived, they smiled and said it was worth the 10 sol.
After that, we got comfortable and knocked out to the same place I went to this morning for breakfast. Anyway, we were tired, and again, it was a buffet with many food options. We were having a good lunch, and the food filled our stomachs after an empty stomach. Back on the bus and on the way back to Airbnb, the tour leader stopped out of the blue at that place. We woke up, got out of the bus, and had no idea what would happen. That tour leader said that place is one of the top bakery places, and they got awards for being the best. We entered the store and met the owner of that store. She was adorable and friendly to us. We got ourselves caramel bread. Then, we hopped on the bus and headed to Airbnb.
We just went out for dinner. Kristen found the restaurant, and it seemed like a good place, so we walked for 0.7 miles. It is a red llama restaurant. It is a burger place. All of us ordered burgers, and we loved them! After the restaurant, we stopped by and found that ice cream had become our usual place for ice cream.
That's all folk!
-Jami