Quilotoa

Day 2-Laguna Quilotoa Hike

I’m experiencing the Andean High. There has to be something about living in high altitude, clean, dry mountain air. I feel so healthy. I am sleeping so well. I feel awesome. The yoga studio was a great place to do some practices before breakfast. They have homemade muesli, milk from the cow, fresh fruit, strong coffee, homemade bread and jam.

The hike yesterday was from Laguna Quilotoa back to Chugchilan. I caught a pickup truck for an hour bumpy ride to Laguna Quilotoa. From there we gazed into this volcanic crater lake. The color is just indescribable…sort of greenish, blue depending on the color of the sky, position of the sun, etc. The lake is very significant for the indigenous people of the area. The crops grow very well in the area and the animals are strong, all because of this water. So the first part of the hike was going part way around the Laguna. It is over 12, 000 feet and windy! Then we hiked away from the lake through fields of mountain wild flowers, a sandy beach from a high mountain stream, over bridges to a canyon look out. From this point you could see the entire canyon, valley and mountain/hills. Spectacular. Then it was down, down, down into the canyon on in old Inca trail. As my guide told me, “Tu sabes que todo esta bajada hay que subir” (translation-You know, all this going down hill, we’re going to have to come back up). Yep. And up we did. The last hour or so of the hike was up up up. I think the concept of switchbacks has not arrived yet to Ecuador. It’s like point A to point B-let’s just go straight DOWN or straight UP. Well, it gets you there quickly, but definitely not easy. Finally at the end of a 4 hour hike, we arrived to the village of Chugchilan. Wonderful hike.

Let’s just say my glutes are feeling it this morning! To alleviate my soreness, the Black Sheep Inn has a resident masseuse, an indigenous woman who trained in Quito. She has a cozy little room with a fire lit. Andean flutes are playing in the background. So even though the air outside is chilly you are nice and toasty. I was very impressed with her massage, it felt great! It’s interesting that she, as an indigenous woman is a masseuse. The fact that she touches, manipulates, kneads other people’s bodies (men and women) and heals them though touch has to be very empowering for her as a woman in a culture where usually women who touch men are looked down upon. (you get what I’m saying…)

The fun part of traveling is meeting other travelers. I’ve met John and Gina, a couple from Southern California, taking it easy in Ecuador. Yesterday was a group of 20 high schoolers doing three weeks in Ecuador combining service and learning (they were loud and kind of annoying, so I’m kind of glad our time only coincided by one night). Other solo travelers hiking around…

As I’ve written, dinners are family style, everyone seated around a big table, sharing stories of the day’s adventures. Last night was cream of cauliflower soup (straight from the garden), four cheese pasta (with cheeses from the local cheese factory), marinated beat salad and homemade oat bread-all using local ingredients. Que delicioso!

Today I’ll be hiking up to the cheese co-op and then up further into the cloud forest. More pics and stories to follow!