Ecuador Day 41: Quilotoa

Today we had the most wonderful adventure to a little place called Quilotoa, Ecuador. Our trusty Ramiro has come up with some amazing places for us to go. We debated going to the Amazons for a little while, but opted against it because of the long drive and because Jennifer was worried how Emma would do. Ramiro said that that is his first favorite place to take people to visit and Quilotoa is his second. 

We took a beautiful drive through the Andes to the clear western side to the furthermost volcano to the west. There is a little town called Quilotoa there (also the name of the volcano). We were able to see such amazing scenes of the mountains as well as the lifestyle of the indigenous people who live there. They farm the land and cultivate potatoes, onions, and turnips. The people are very pretty and extremely nice. The volcano itself is active, though it has not erupted for hundreds of years. The mouth of the volcano is the most breathtaking lake. The city overlooks the lake. You can hike down to the base of the lake and ride a horse back up, but we opted not to do this because of time constraints (my mom and Jennifer left tonight) and because it was cooooold. 

We had lunch in a restaurant that overlooked the beautiful lake. Each of us had soup, a main course with a meat, rice, potatoes, and vegetables, and we all had a drink. For 7 of us (Ramiro included), it was $28. Can't beat that!

Ecuador has such diversity. Just a few days ago, we were in tropical Mindo, and now we were in cold and mountainous Quilotoa. Any type of terrain you want, you can find in Ecuador. Jungle, mountains, beach, islands (the Galapagos are really famous!). I think I sound like a brochure for Ecuador, but I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance!

Here are some views of the mountains as we drove through. The pictures definitely do not do them justice.

A Shepard herding his sheep

My mom is not shy and asked for picture of many of the people we saw. Note their traditional dress. Ramiro told us that the indigenous people's dress varies by region a little, especially by color. This group seems to like pink.

The girls were practicing for a dance for a festival of some sort. 

These same girls work inside the store right there selling handicrafts and things. I asked them their ages and they are all between 12 and 13. The man in the back seemed to be their director, helping them practice and learn the steps. 

The town:

This is the crater of Volcano Quilotoa. Gorgeous.

In town

Good old Ramiro!

This is us at lunch.Out those windows is a view of the same lake. Just gorgeous.

Miscellaneous pictures from the day:

These two are funny. Mishell was actually sleeping, I think, but Jace was not.

Jace got smart and asked Grandma for his picture instead of me. This was at a rest stop when we all needed the bano.

He actually fell asleep on the way back!

THe kids love Ramiro! He is a great guy.

When you use potties here, you usually have to pay for your toilet paper outside before you go in. 10 cents. :)

Cotopaxi: 

We also stopped to visit Cotopaxi on the way down to Quilotoa. This is the volcano that is currently in motion. It has been since August before we arrived and continues to spew smoke and ash, though there has not been a major eruption. Most people feel it is not safe to be near the volcano and the little town nearby has been evacuated. However, it has not done much more than spew smoke for a few months now, so who knows? Anyway, we drove on in to the National Park surrounding the volcano. There were signs stating it was prohibited to pass at one point, but Ramiro drove on by anyway. We made it to the entrance to the park that is usually a big tourist spot and then stopped at the next sign that said it was prohibited to enter. We went here last time we were here with the Schinnerers and hiked to the edge of the mountain. Crazy to see it as such a ghost town now. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't see much because the fog and clouds were thick today. But, we did get to see a lot of the ash that has spewed all over the ground. 

Yeah don't worry-- we came out alive!

Here are just a few pictures from the good ol' internet so you know what the volcano actually does look like:

My mom and Jennifer left this evening at 9 for their red eye flight back to the states. It was so much fun to have them here. We saw a lot of beautiful Ecuador and I very much enjoyed their company. Now just wish me luck for the next 4 days here!!