The second highlight of July was during the last week. I took off the week, and went on a road trip with Alex and Keerti, two friends from DC, and Kim (Keerti's friend) and Kat (Kim's friend). Seriously, a few people hadn't met each other before we all piled into a rented Kia Sportage in Guayaquil. Alex and I worked together at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and I knew he and Keerti pretty well, as we hung out a bunch when I was in DC. I had met Kim once or twice when I was out with Alex and Keerti. Alex and Keerti had recently quit their jobs and were headed to grad school, and were spending some of the gap with a trip to Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Kat was also headed to grad school, and Kim just taking some vacation. They all coordinated trips, and we hit the road.
Alex and Keerti came in a day earlier, so we hit up a soccer game and got some typical Ecuadorian fare, before picking up Kim and Kat at the airport. Meeting up in Guayaquil made the car rental easier and cheaper, and meant they could leave stuff at my house, connect to good wi-fi, get some things done online (not just Facebook-they had grad school registration type stuff). It also meant the trip started off with the eight hour drive through fog, mist, rain, and mountain curves to Quito. Not the most popular part of the trip. Alex and Keerti had come from Peru, so they were a bit less shocked at the driving styles in Ecuador than Kim and Kat. We made it there safely, and had a great time in Quito. I once again learned that we probably should've paid $8 more per person per night and stayed closer to the historic city center, but instead we got some walking in. The historic churches in Quito are gorgeous, and thanks to Magus, a friend from the Embassy, we hit up some great restaurants with spectacular views.
Our next stop was Otovalo, which is often touted as a must see town for its craft and woven goods market. I was less than impressed. The market was extensive, but didn't seem to have much different stuff than what you can find at the handicraft market in Guayaquil. It was much larger, but mostly just because there is a lot of the same thing. The town itself was kind of dirty, run-down, and had little if any charm. But we were just there for a bit, so that was good. We did stop at a nice restaurant on a large lake near Otovalo on our way out of town.
We then zipped along the highway to Cotopaxi National Park, a truly beautiful and awe inspiring part of Ecuador. Cotopaxi is Ecuador's second highest peak, and it's highest volcano at 19,347. We drove into the park, and enjoyed the amazing scenery and views, getting out a few times to climb some small hills, or sit in the rocks and gaze around at the flowers and boulders and interesting landscapes left by lava flows. We drove up towards the trail to the lodge, and it kept getting colder and colder and windier and windier. Keerti, Kim, and Kat decided to stay in the car, while Alex and I headed up the short trail to the lodge. Hiking all the way up to the top is popular, but most be done at night due to the moving glaciers, so there is a lodge at the beginning of the trail that has bare bones bunks, bathrooms, and a small cafeteria. I was not at all prepared for the cold or the terrain, I had on boat shoes. But I layered all the clothes I had, Alex did the same, and we braved the cold, the sharp wind, and frequent freezing rain/snow, and hiked up to the lodge. It wasn't far, but probably took us 45 minutes or more. We looked a bit foolish, as most other people were in full winter hiking gear. But, man, that soup at the top was delicious.
Another unpopular and a bit worrisome event occurred on the next leg of the trip. We were just to drive around to the other side of the national park, to stay at a lodge recommended by a colleague in Quito. I had a map from the lodge's website, and it looked like we just had maybe 30 or 40 kilometers to go after pulling off the main highway. Like an idiot, I figured we could do than in no more than 45 minutes. I was wrong. Way wrong. After passing through two towns, and seeing lots of signs letting us know we were on the right way, it became clear it would be a long 40 kilometers. This was not a paved road, not a gravel road, not even what I'd call a dirt road. This was a very, very poor attempt at a cobblestone road. But rather, was like driving through a dry riverbed, or so I imagine.
So, instead of 45 minutes I think it took us close to three hours. About every time we'd give up and be sure we were lost, we'd see a sign for all the Cotopaxi lodges and keep going. Luckily, we ended up at the right place, and as we had a reservation, the two person staff was still up to make us a very late dinner. We enjoyed the tranquility and incredibly clear sky to do some star gazing before we hit the hay in our wood-heated cabins. The outrageously beautiful views in the morning were worth the long drive.
Our next stop on the trip was Laguna de Quilotoa, which is a big crater lake southwest of Quito. We made our way there on the winding roads that were often way too close to the dramatic Andean cliffs for comfort. But, we didn't tumble down the side of the mountain, and we were soon in the tiny town next to the lake. Despite tourism being about the only thing going on in town, and staying at the place recommended by the guidebook, that didn't mean the hotel had figured out how to heat rooms with wooden stoves and keep the smoke out of the hotel. But, it was just one night. The next day we hiked around the top of the crater a bit, then made the hike down to the bottom of the lake, checked out the views, Alex, Keerti, and I hiked back up-quickly, as Alex wanted to beat the estimated time in the book (we did so handily). Kat and Kim took the donkeys up-as they didn't feel like getting tired-it is vacation.
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