This past weekend I went on one of the best trips that I have been on. The plan was to fly to Quito right after school on Thursday (we had Friday off). On Friday, we left in a jeep with benches that faced each other in the back and a bunch of bikes on the top. We first went to Volcán Cotopaxi. It is the highest active volcano in the world. We started the ride at 15,000 feet. It was definitely frigid and the altitude was pretty intense. I was a bit nervous from the start of how my body might react. I definitely felt it, but it could have been much worse. We descended on bikes to about 7,000 feet. It was a two day bike trip with about 4 hours a day on bike. After Cotopaxi, we were driven to Laguna Quilotoa. We arrived at night, so I wasn't really aware of my surroundings. We stayed at an extremely small town that is about a five minute walk to the crater lake. The hostel was really interesting. It was run by an indigenous family. Due to the altitude (over 12,000 feet), it was cold at night. They had a wood burning stove in each room. In the morning, we walked to the crater. It was unreal! The pictures don't really do it justice. We biked down the rode to the crater into a small town that was having their market day. It was really neat to see all the indigenous people and experience the market itself. It reminded me a lot of Guatemala. Then . . . I found it! I saw some cuy (roasted guinea pig) at one of the small cooking stands. Luckily, a friend of mine was going to try it with me. I only bought a piece (I could have bought a half or a whole). I'm glad I didn't splurge for more. It wasn't exactly my favorite flavor. I will try it again though. After some more biking, we went back to Quito. I went on the teleferico, which is essentially a ski lift to a great lookout of the city. Quito is a pretty magical place. The weather was great! It was nice to be comfortable in pants and a long sleeve shirt. I really enjoyed myself! The guide company that took us also offers other biking trips of Volcán Chimborazo and others. I will definitely be trying another one out! Take care, and stay away from the cuy!
Brrrrr!!!!
Laguna Quilotoa
Here is a short slide show I put together (click the HD button for a clear picture . . it will take longer to load, but it's well worth it). Below the video are links to the rest of my pictures:
Links to the rest of the pictures:
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