Trip day 2

Ahh, today was nice.  Today felt more like vacation than a mission trip.  We slept in a little (breakfast at 8 instead of regularly scheduled 7), and the only plan for the day was hot springs and a presentation after dinner.  The hot spring were so much cooler than I could imagine!  They were at almost 8,000 feet, so we had a long ride up the mountain, but these people took advantage of every bit of land they have and planted all up and down the slopes of the mountain, it was actualy very pretty.  We saw a lot of people out working the fields and harvesting the vegetable we just saw in the market just a few minutes before.  The higher we got, the more tropical the vegetation was.  That combined with mist, which was part natural hot spring steam and part cloud, made for a surreal view.  The springs were very cool, I was picturing just a pool in the ground surrounded by mud, but they actualy made it into a very nice place, with stone pools and changing rooms and picnic areas and everything.  There were three pools, the largest one was closest to the hot springs source, and hot enough to "boil a chicken."  I went in it up to mid-torso for about a minute.  It was actualy very relaxing, but I figured staying in it too long couldn't be too healthy!  The water from that pool flowed into the next one, and made it slighly cooler than a hot tub, then that water flowed into the last pool, which was just slightly cooler than the second.  We hung out in the medium pool for the most part, it was kind of a goldy-locks situation, I guess.  It started raining shortly after we got there, but it just made the whole experience better.  The rain cooled our heads and allowed us to stay in the warm water, and it allowed me to stand in the rain, which I am often wont to to, without getting too cold.  Oh, and the view of the mountain cliff with all that greenery and the steam going up it was AMAZING!

Then we moved down to the picnic area for soup.  They brought a huge pot of soup that they heated up on the fire pit.  It was perfect in the rain, and it was a veggie soup full of all the stuff we just saw them harvesting, which made it even better.

Then it was home for a nap and a quick trip to town where we went to a cafe for some mochachinos and cake, and just chillin!  After an amazing dinner (more traditional food than the spaghetti last night), we had a presentation about whata AMA (the group that we are working with) is all about, and even though I heard this presentation last year, I got a lot out of it and all the questions we asked.  But now it is time for bed so I have plent of energy tomorrow, when we start the stove building!