Quito & Quilotoa.

February 15 - The fifteenth was our first day in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. We left our hotel in Guayaquil and after a short 35-minute plane ride landed in Quito where we were greeted by Paula (pronounced PawOla). She was, as T put it, a voluptuous woman in her late 40s or early 50s. She knew her business and was about it.

Before long, we stood in front of the tall and narrow gate of our hostel ringing a small buzzer for entry. The latch snapped back and the right door swung slowly and a bit eerily open. Upon entering the gate any notion of concern was dispelled. In front of us stood a tall set of stone stairs lined with flowers, with another more decorative and less formidable gate at the top which was wide open. Still more comforting was the kind smile of the bespectacled Ecuadorian man in a polo who stood at the top of the steps. He quickly introduced himself as Carlos and after a few moments guided us to our room which was behind the large house which was the hostel.

The house itself was quite magnificent, with herringbone wooden floors, thick walls brightly colored in blues and yellows and comfortable colonial-style furniture. It held a wonderful living area where one could sit and next to it was a fine breakfast room which in the mornings was bright and cheerful.

Our room was, as previously mentioned, behind the house itself. After exiting the back of the house with Carlos at the lead, we crossed a small lawn to a row of free-standing rooms connected to each other by bathrooms. Our room was a lovely pink colored chamber with a large window in the front, a built-in armoire, small end table, and of course a bed. We spent the evening settling in and getting our bearings of the surrounding area.

-G

February 16 - We woke up at 6:15 to head out to the meeting spot for our day tour to the volcanic crater lake, Quilotoa. We were expecting to walk about 10 minutes to our meeting spot but Carlos had arranged for someone to drive us, and we were greeted by a nice man who drove us 8 or so blocks. Once we arrived at the meeting spot, across from a few restaurants, we checked in with our guide, Luis, and settled in our seats on the small tour bus. The majority of the attendees were English speaking, so the entire tour was conducted in English.

Our first stop was at a market in Pujili, about an hour and a half outside of Quito, that only takes place on Sundays for locals and indigenous people. Not many tourists know about that market. Outside in the town square, under a few metal awnings, was a bustling market with Ecuadorians selling anything from fresh fruit and veggies to live animals to clothing, etc. The indigenous people wore traditional clothing consisting of colorful ponchos or sweaters, fedora-like hats with a peacock feather for the ladies and colorful buttons or stones on the band of the hats for men, brown or black pants for men and plain colored dresses with lace on the sleeves for women with plain black, leather shoes. Women carried babies around on their backs wrapped in large colorful scarves. In this moment, we really felt immersed in the Ecuadorian culture. Some of the stands had people cooking meals or snacks, and G and I delighted ourselves in a scrumptious snack of fried, mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese and onions. Just when I think Central or South Americans don't have anything else to make with plantains, I'm pleasantly surprised. We finished walking through the market maze as we ate and then made our way back to the bus.

After a 45 minute drive where we continued to climb in elevation through increasingly arid mountainous landscapes, we arrived at our second stop, an indigenous family's farm. This part of the tour was really fascinating. We learned generations of families live on their 80-hectare farms in different nearby thatched houses. All three generations of that family were present and met us with smiles and hospitality. They had dogs, chickens, geese, sheep, and guinea pigs. It's common to eat guinea pigs in parts of Ecuador (not dogs though, don't worry.) The grandparents let us see their one-room home, which had a dirt floor with guinea pigs on the loose, a raised bed, an area for clothes, and not much else. We had the opportunity to take pictures with them outside. This type of tourism is really good for the indigenous community and allows them more chances to sell some of the goods they make to more tourists as well as share their lifestyle. The family we met has been participating for 10 years.

We said our thank-yous and goodbyes and hit the road for another 45 minutes to a breathtaking canyon, Toachi Canyon, close to Lake Quilotoa. The canyon was about 500 feet (150m) deep, and we were able to walk out to multiple edges. At the foot of one of the edges, stood a proud Ecuadorian flag and a terracotta pot. We snapped some photos and got back on the bus to go to our final destination.

About 30 minutes later, we stopped in the town Quilotoa, known for the lake. We parked in a restaurant parking lot where we would later have lunch and walked about 10 minutes to the overlook of the magnificent emerald lake surrounded by jagged volcanic walls.

Now, we had just arrived in Quito the previous day from Guayaquil which is basically at sea level. Quito is the second highest capital in the world, sitting at 9,350 feet (2,850m). Quilotoa is even higher, sitting at 12,850 feet (3,914m). G and I decided it was a good idea to descend 1,312 feet (400m) to the lake and climb back up the more or less vertical, dusty path without being fully acclimated. The way down was a challenge to remain steady due to all the slippery dirt and dust on the steep incline. The way back up, however, had many other challenges. After about 20 steps I would get light-headed, become short of breath even though I took my inhaler, and my muscles felt like they were giving out. We've gone on many hikes before, including climbing mountains, but I learned my lesson as to why acclimatizing is so important. Every 50-100 feet (15-30m) we would stop so I, and sometimes G, could catch my breath. Donkeys were available to take you back up, but I wasn't about that even though their handlers tried to persuade me (the donkeys did not seem to be abused or too hungry or thirsty). I was determined to make it. Halfway up we drank some water and ate a snack. After every rest, I felt great and full of energy until I had to stop again less than 5 minutes later. Eventually, after many breaks and dodging donkeys, and lots encouragement from G and positive self-talk, we made it back to the top where we walked back to the restaurant with our guide.

Only one other person in our group aside from the guide made the trek. We enjoyed a lunch of rice, veggies, soup, fruit, and juice, and socialized with the other travelers. After about 30 minutes we all piled back into the bus and began our journey back to Quito, which took about 3 hours.

After we were dropped off, we walked back to our hostel, cleaned up, then since we earned a big meal, we tried the Indian restaurant down the street, which was really tasty. By this time, it was pretty late, so we returned to the hostel and relaxed.

-T

Mitad del Mundo!

Valentine’s Day in Guayaquil, Ecuador