Papallacta

Papallacta is a beautiful town nestled in the mountains about and hour and a half East of Quito. What makes Papallacta so sweet is the thermal baths. I will be posting pictures shortly but this is exactly what is looked like when Lindsay and I went to the Papallacta Termas (Thermal baths) yesterday. It was a fantastic day trip. All of the thermal baths are natural and incredibly clean, not to mention super hot. It was only $7 to get into the park and it was definitely worth it. I felt so relaxed and comfortable. There were about 8 different pools with varying depths and degrees. It was nice to sit in a pool for about 15 minutes and then walk around, get a little chilly and then jump into another one. I loved it. I can't say I loved the bus ride there though. It took about an hour to actually get out of Quito so the trip to Papallacta took a little over two hours even though it is only about and hour and a half away. Also, this guy sat down right next to me and startled me so badly that I had to pee really badly for the next hour. Haha, that'll teach me to fall asleep on the bus. On the way home we met a guy named Robert who is from the US and 9 months ago he decided to sell his business and house and come to Ecuador with his daughter. They were only planning on staying 6 weeks and ended up staying for 9 months. He is taking classes with her at Universidad San Francisco in Cumbayá. They are planning on going to Spain soon and from there who knows. On one hand I think that is kind of crazy to just get up and leave but I have to admire the spontaneity.

When Lindsay and I got back to Quito we witnessed a robbery occurring across the street while we entered the Trole station. It was really upsetting to see this poor man get jumped by two guys. All he could do was let him dig through his pockets and jacket. Afterwards he just stood there with his head really low and hands in his pocket. It made me feel sick to my stomach. People can be so cruel. What an awful feeling to be jumped like that. What makes me angry is that no one helps anyone when someone is getting robbed. I understand that it is a safety thing and you never know if robbers have weapons, but it is still depressing to see everyone watch the situation and just stand by. Afterwards the two guys entered the Trole stop. Lindsay and I were not having that. We quickly exited. Screw the .25 it cost us. We were going to get a taxi and be safe. Who knows if they were satisfied with just that robbery. We didn't want to find out if we were next. It was a reality check for the both of us. Neither of us have been robbed or jumped and we really want to keep it that way. It just goes to show you that one can never be too safe and cautious. I am always aware of my belongings on the bus and in large crowds. Backpacks are not for backs here, but for stomachs.