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.