June 6-7: Cotapaxi-Quilatoa Tour

Quilatoa Crater, originally uploaded by Andrew & Yvette's world travel.

Volcan Cotapaxi. Hiking up Ecuador’s second highest peak was to be a highlight of this trip but unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating: it was hailing snow, the temperature was in the single digits, and the wind was ferocious. We were at 4500m and the goal was to climb to 4800m, which when comparing apples to apples, is the same height as the tip of the Mont Blanc. After only hiking a quarter of the way up, Drew & I admitted defeat and went back to the cold of the car. Of the 4 in our group, one made it to the refuge only to find it closed. As they say, always beware of yellow ice.

After the hike, part 2 of the adventure began. Although the gravel road was muddy and the wind was still howling, we unloaded the bikes and strapped on our helmets, knee and elbow pads. I have to admit I was really scared and had a hard time shaking what happened to Clarissa when we biked down that mountain in Maui. You have to understand there are no level parts and everything was downhill. However, I couldn’t think about that too long because I was with 3 other Dutch people who biked in every condition imaginable. So, I got on, I didn’t fall, and OMG when you take away the wind, the snow, the autos you shared the road with, it was soo sooo sooo much fun. When you take away all the fear and all you have left is the thrill of going downhill faster and faster, *sigh* what an amazing experience! Of course, Drew will say that I wasn’t going fast at all. That I had my brakes on the whole time while he and the others had “non working brakes” and used the whole lanes for all the curves and that I was at least 10 minutes behind despite all their picture taking breaks. Whatever! It was FUN!

After the bike ride down, we made our way to Quilatoa which is a village along the Quilatoa loop. Along the way, we saw a lot of indigenous villages and passed by numerous chollas and chollos (indigenous men and women, not gangsters) wearing traditional clothing. What was most interesting to Andrew and I, were that all the chollas wore heels! They used heels to walk up and down mountains, carry heavy loads, and every other chore you can think of.

After the long drive, we finally reached our destination: Laguna Quilatoa. We checked into Hostal Pacha Mama which was run by an indigenous Quechua family. This was the 1st hostal we’ve checked into since forever so . . . it was a bit of an experience for Andrew and I. One of the things we loved about it was the 19th century looking fireplace. Huddled around this, we met a woman from Quito who was spending the night here after going to the village of Zumbahua to sell T Shirts. We had a good conversation in halted English and Spanish talking about life in Quito and Los Angeles. We also had a $2.00/person 3 course home-made dinner of soup, chicken and rice, and tomato dessert. What we didn’t like was our room which was super cold, super basic and super loud -- our ceiling was made of tree branches so we heard E V E R Y thing the couple upstairs were doing. Needless to say, it took us awhile to get our shut eye.
The following day, we walked to the rim of Laguna Quilatoa where we were treated to the amazing view of the volcanic-crater lake of Quilatoa. There are no words to describe the beauty of this mirror green lake and Andrew and I are so grateful for having been a witness to this one of Jehovah’s creations. We hiked down the lake to sunny weather and then we took a mule for the upward trek. Our mules were kinda frisky and when we first saw them, they were unleashed and our guide was running after them as the mules ran to the lake to drink some water and eat some grass. By contrast the mules of the other 2 on our trip were really tired/lazy and the guides had a hard time getting them to stand up. Andrew’s mule, which I was behind of most of the time, also had digestive issues and every 10 or so minutes would fart and poop (remind you of someone??). Our mules also really loved the grass on the cliffs and when they had a chance would go to the sides of the cliffs and Andrew and I would tense up and laugh as they tried to eat. All in all, it was a great mini adventure and was definitely a lot more entertaining than just hiking back up.

After Lake Quilatoa, we had another fab downhill bike ride. As it was Sunday, there was also a market in full swing at Pujili. We tried taking pictures but the locals weren’t having it unless we paid them first. One of the Dutch guys took a picture without paying and the lady was not happy and as he walked away, we could hear her screaming at him from behind her stand of cooked beans asking for her benty cinco centabos.