Quilatoa

Qulotao

Last night we were all excited about which breakfast item we were going to order because all of them were included in our meal package. When I woke up the next morning to Laura moaning in bed I knew that my dreams of a relaxing breakfast were out of the question. She had been vomiting all night and felt awful. I didn’t know what to do. It sounded like she had classic altitude sickness, headache, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc. Well, we had to be ready to leave by 8:00am to go to Quilatoa. I had tried to talk to the operators to see if we could opt out and get our money back. That apparently wasn’t an option so Laura had to suck it up. I packed up both my stuff and hers and tried to get us moving in time so that I might still have a chance to have a quick breakfast. I had been dreaming about french toast all night. Well, by the time we made it to the dining room it was already five till eight. They told me there was not enough time to make the french toast but I could have an omelet instead. So reluctantly I accepted the omelet and ate it so fast I am still in disbelief. I think I ate it in two bites and grabbed the piece of cheese and the toast it came with and ran out the door. I was not that happy and neither was my stomach.

On the van ride to Quilotoa my tour guide started spewing the same story as yesterday about the volcanoes and using the same jokes as before. I guess he does the same speal everyday. It made him seem very rehearsed and fake. I guess that’s mostly the norm with these tours but some aren’t as bad as others.

Locals and their home

view out of the hut and its owner

We stopped along the way to look and learn about some of the landscapes and the local people and their way of life. The first stop was to visit a local family at their home. Their home was a one room, grass hut. They shared this hut with their entire family, their chickens, cats, dogs, and guinea pigs (which is a delicacy here and sadly I have not tasted it yet). They also had a few nesting birds in their roof. The space couldn’t have been more than 10 foot by 8 foot, and almost half the space was taken by the fireplace, kitchen space, and storage of goods. When we entered the hut there was a small baby wrapped up in blankets on the floor left unattended and crying. I’m sure our presence and the disturbance it caused had something to do with the child crying, but no one came to soothe it. I couldn’t imagine living there. It

The Hut's Fence

was too alien for me to associate with, but that is a normal way of life here in the country. The little man that was the head of the family was very proud and offered up his home willingly (I’m sure the money we gave him helped too). I was almost embarrassed to be witnessing his home on a tour as if it were some sort of novelty. “Oh look at the natives, how cute!” I was reluctant to act like the other camera wielding tourists we were with and take a million pictures. However the photographer in me couldn’t resist taking one or two.

We also stopped to look at a nearby canyon and again take a picture or two. I would tell you more about how the canyon was formed but I was too busy climbing up the side of a hill to get a better picture and I missed the explanation. Oops! Laura was still half dead in the van so I doubt she heard anything either.

The Canyon

When we finally made it to Quilotoa Laura still wasn’t feeling well. So she decided she would stay at the top and not climb down to the lake. Quilatoa is a lake formed inside the crater of a dormant Volcano. When you arrive you are at the top of the crater and you hike down to the crater. We both figured the view wouldn’t get that much better on the way down so she wouldn’t be missing too much. So she stayed and I started down with the rest of the group. There was a really nice girl from Australia, Julie Anne, which I hit it off with on the hike down. The views were spectacular. The lake has an amazing greenish turquoise color to it from all the minerals in the water. It was a cloudy day so the color wasn’t’ that vibrant, but occasionally the clouds would open enough for the sun to shine through and light up the water revealing the different shades of green. It was definitely more dramatic than if the sun would have been uninhibited.

Down by the lake

We stayed at the bottom resting for a bit and enjoying the views of the water; not at all looking forward to the hike back up. I was wishing I could get someone to give me a ride up on their horse. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and we spent the next hour walking slower that I thought possible and gasping for air. The altitude here is so high. At the very top of Aspen Mountain it is 3,417 meters, and at Cotopaxi we climbed to 5,000 meters, and here at Quilatoa it is just under 4,000 meters. Keep in mind we came here straight from sea level and started hiking for hours on end. (Probably not the smartest thing to do) I have no idea how Laura could be feeling bad. After many rest stops to catch our breath we made it back up. Laura had fallen asleep in the van and was feeling a little better. We had a quick but satisfying lunch and then headed back. The van left us on the main highway where we could catch the bus to Riobamba, our next stop.

One of the horses in on the way back up

Christina