Quilotoa

So the bus ride from Latacunga to Quilotoa was one of the weirdest cultural experiences. The whole ride there was a girl who was standing in the aisle and during this whole time she was also sitting in my seat. My neck was cranked to the side the whole ride, it was the most uncomfortable moment (that went on for 3 hours). I should of said something but every time I heard her talk she was speaking quichwa so I doubted she could understand my Spanish.

After we had climbed up and up we finally got off with a bunch of other gringos. There were no signs and every one was looking around in confusion. I had to pee like no other so we started walking to the right. We came to a little barrier where we had to pay $2 each to enter the town of Quilotoa. We asked which hostal was the cheapest and they brought us to the closest one. It only took us a few minutes to realize that it was their hostal. The rooms had no fires and the bathroom was a short walk away so we decided to check out the other places. We ended up picking on that was $7 a night with desayunos, fire in the room, and a private bathroom. Right after we settled in we took a look at the crater.

Quilotoa is 4000m (about 13000ft) above sea level in the Cotopaxi province which means its really cold even though the sun feels like its right above you. The crater was formed about 800 years ago after a volcano erupted. For many years the locals believed the crater was bottomless but today it is known to be about 800 ft deep. In the evening the clouds roll in and it becomes a different world all though you could never imagine with these beautiful blue skies. We did the hike around the crater which was a lot harder than it looked. With a lunch break and many photos it took about 4 hours. By the time we got back it was freezing and there isn't much to do besides look at the crater in Quilotoa. We decided that night to try and get out of there as quick as possible.

The next morning we went to give our keys to the lady when she asked us where we planned on going. She said the next bus that way wasn't until 2 and it was only 9 am. Nic thought we could hitch a ride but most of the drivers wanted $20 for a 12 km drive. Things worked out great though after we talked to a couple of other travelers who were trying to get to Latacunga. They were hiring a driver and told us the town in the opposite direction is actually a lot easier to catch a ride to Bancos than the place we originally had our minds set on. So for $2 we made it to the next town and right after a bus pulled up that was going in our direction (perfect timing). After a couple of hours on the bus I started to see more green and it felt like a weight had been lifted. Quiltotoa was great but the cold and elevation was not for me. The whole time my face, hands and feet where swollen. I looked like a blow up fish. From Bancos we were heading to Mindo, our next volunteer spot. 

More Baños and Birthday

We left Saturday morning after seeing an amazing sunrise come up over the jungle. Good byes were sad but Nic and I were both ready to be moving on. Since Tuesday was my birthday we thought it would be nice to celebrate in Baños for the weekend. After checking in to our hostal I read an email that said we couldn´t start our next program till the week after. This was perfect because it gave us a chance to have some freedom and fun.

After a day we realize we were kind of over Baños but we had already paid for the next night and I was pretty set on having a nice dinner at Cafe Hood for my birthday. Right when things seemed at a stand still we met this guy who did rock climbing for only $15 (which was pretty cheap for the area). Without much thought we said yes. Everything worked out great and as a bonus he said we could go up for free the next day. It was a lot of fun but I still have bruises that make me look like a lepoard. Nic is set that its going to be his inland surfing.

There was some debate going on for a couple of days whether or not to head to the coast for a week. Nic was torn between his addiction of surf and saving money. After sometime he finally decided it was more economical to go for a hike instead. We set our sites for Quilotoa which is a huge crater in the Andes. This meant we were on a bus for the majority of my birthday but the dinner the night before was enough for me.

The first stop was Latacunga which is a pretty big city that tourist only go through on their way to the Quilotoa loop. Since there is only a couple of buses that leave a day we had to spend a night there. We werent that impressed by the city but we did have some cheap good food. The hostal was the first one we could fine because we were getting a lot of stares with our packs on. That night there was non stop noise coming from outside. QUITO QUITO QUITO and in the background spanish music that has the exact same beat for each song. It was a rough night for the both of us.

Ill post the rest soon....