La Malinche

After everyone got out of class we headed out to La Malinche, one of many dormant volcanoes in Mexico. It has been dormant for 3,000 years and at 14,636 feet Malinche is usually snowcapped. It took us 3 hours to get there, most of which was by bus. For the last hour or so Jorge's friend Yoho was kind enough to pick us up and take us the rest of the way. For this we were very grateful but I cannot say that the ride was comfortable, with 11 of us packed into a two-door explorer (which I didn't even know existed). The first of many trials at Malinche. By the time we got there it was already 4 o'clock. The sign said not to go up after 2 because we wouldn't get back before dark. So what did we do? Of course we went up. Some of us (I won't say who) made it 20 minutes, others 2 hours, and Erick, Meaghan, Skyler, and I made it to the top...or within shouting distance of the ones who made it to the top. It was a little disappointing because once we got to the treeline we were in a really thick cloud so there was no view whatsoever. It was super cold up there and very hard to breathe. At the treeline it got really steep. The mountaintop was all ashy sand and loose, pink volcanic rock so it got really hard to climb and at times we were on all fours. Definitely the most physically challenging thing I've ever done. It took us 2 and a half hours to get to the summit from our campsite but it was starting to get dark when we got to the top so we basically sprinted to the bottom. We got back just before it was dark. I'm gonna be soooo sore tomorrow!

Our cabin was nice. We had bunkbeds for everyone and a kitchen and fireplace. Two hours later Skylar and Yoho managed to get a fire started which was lucky becuase it was very cold up there. It was a good night, a good getaway from the civilization of Puebla.