Adventure: Crate Lake Quilotoa

Johnny and I, along with our two Australian neighbors, went on an adventure to a crate lake about 2.5 hours south of Quito. Since we wanted to spend most of the day there (but not have to worry about having to spend the night) we decided to hire a car with a driver ($90) instead of taking multiple/unreliable/confusing buses. Our driver was awesome and actually showed up early to pick us up right in front of the house. After a few construction detours we arrived in Quilotoa around 10am. Our driver dropped us off at the lookout point for the crater and said that he would see us in 5 hours.

First view of the crater from the lookout point.

 The first view of the crater was breathtaking.  We could not have asked for better weather. The sun was slightly hidden by the clouds but the colors of blue and green on the lake still looked beautiful. Quilotoa Lake has been on our list of things to do for a while. I wanted a pretty picture of the lake of my own. After taking in the crater for about 15 minutes and getting necessary pictures we started off on the 9 km (5.6 mile) hike. We decided to hike counter-clockwise around the crater. 

The hike was super interesting and the views of the crater got better and better. We actually had good views on both sides of the hike.  When we weren't looking at the crater we saw views of the mountains and little villages in the valleys. Everything looked so peaceful and it made us want to live out there instead of in Quito. The first part of the hike was fairly easy with litter ups or downs. Then we can across this gigantic uphill that seriously looked vertical and impossible. With John as our leader we slowly made it up the trail (note: John was not slow). The views from the top were even better and made the climb worth it. The trail continued with a few more ups and downs until making its way to a field of potatoes. At this point we were about half way through the hike and decided to break for lunch. We picked a spot with an awesome view of the lake and out of the wind. After refueling we continued along the trail. The second half of the hike took us up and down, over a flat space that looked like the moon or something, through a pine forest, over a sandy dune type place, and into a super humid small bush/tree forest type place. The changing landscape definitely kept the hike interesting. Of course all along the way I kept stopping to take pictures : ) Our hike lasted about 5 hours, and we could have stayed 5 hours longer just taking in the scenery. 

Lunch spot

I have more pictures up on my facebook page. 

Interesting driving fact:  When a car is coming at you (whether you be a person or another car) if they flash their brights it means that they are going to keep moving and you should move out of the way or they will hit you.  This is opposite from the States where a flash of the brights means that you have the right of way and the coming car will yield for you. Watching the cars drive here in Ecuador is really a scary sight to someone who is not used to it. Surprisingly, even with the unsafe driving habits, there are not many accidents.

The Roof of Ecuador

My bed

Vincuña.  Kind of like a little llama

BOn January 12 Carlos, Francisco the guide and I climbed Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador (20,702 ft).  Also, because the Earth isn't a perfect sphere and bulges in the middle, it makes Chimborazo the farthest point from the center of the Earth, and the closest point to the sun.  I'm sure I can milk some other meaningless milestones out of this one.  I'm going to guess it's probably the closest point to the moon too.  Also, there is no other point in the Americas north of Chimborazo that is higher than it.  It's also my personal high point.  Okay. 

A couple of days after I climbed Antisana, Carlos my climbing partner wrote to me and asked if I wanted to climb Chimborazo before he had to return to Bolivia in late January.  All of the past climbs have been with an organized group named Zona Verde, but this time it would just be me, Carlos, and Francisco  my guide from Cotopaxi and Antisana.  Zona Verde has plans to go Chimborazo in late March, but I decided to go with Carlos instead because it was cheaper, the weather is usually clearer in January, and I knew Carlos and Francisco would have no trouble with the long climb up.  The weekend started with a semi-private van ride 3  hours south to the city Riobamba.  We were to meet Francisco at the bus station in Riobamba at 1:00 but we got there too early, so we ate some breakfast.  The restaurant we went to had my favorite, seco de chivo (goat stew) and Carlos got Encebollado, which is like a fish stew.  Francisco arrived and we got a ride from a local up to the refuge on the mountain. There are two refuges on Chimborazo.  One at 4,800 meters above sea level, and one at 5,000 meters. The refuge is in a state of repair at the moment so there were no beds, just the floor.  Our plan was to wake up at 10:00pm Saturday night, and start hiking at 11:00.  I went to bed at 6:00pm, but once again either the altitude or my excitement kept me from sleeping at all.

The first 30 minutes of the hike were really easy.  Just slightly uphill.  When we got past the second refuge, the terrain abruptly got much steeper and wouldn't level out until the top.  We hiked on sand and rock for the first few hours and finally we reached the glacier.  I was relieved to get to the ice because it's a little easier to walk on than sliding down in sand.  However, the glacier section felt like it was never ending.  It just kept going and getting steeper.  I'm glad we were hiking in the dark though.  It seemed to help mentally by not seeing just how much farther I had to go.  As we got higher, I could start to feel the effects of the altitude.  I felt a bit dizzy and our pace slowed down.  I sang 99 bottles of beer in my head to pass the time and to make sure I could still think straight. 

A  small looking 5,000m peak on the right

 At around 4:25 am we finally made it to the first summit.  The top of the mountain is long and broad and the highest summit is still another 45 minutes from where we were.  We took a long break and then slowly headed toward the highest point.  We got the top too early, and had to wait about an hour for the sun to rise.  Luckily, the weather was nice and not much wind, so we didn't get too cold. The wait was worth it.  Some mountains that look huge from the ground, looked like hills from up there.  We could also see some ash come out of the nearby volcano Sangay.  The view was stunning as the sun shone on the clouds below us.  We got as many picture as we could and then headed back.  We passed two other Ecuadorians and two Germans and their guide on our way down.  We made a toe-breaking downhill hike and eventually got back to the refuge by around 9:00.  For the near future, I don't see me doing many more climbs.  The program for Zona Verde isn't very appealing the next 3 months, and there's only a few more I'd really like to climb.  Amber will be happy with this.

In other news, Amber and I went to get our visas renewed last Tuesday.  Our boss told us to get to the office by 7:30 so we could get in early.  41 people were ahead of us.  We spent a total of 7 hours at the office.  They tried to tell me I didn't have all my documents even though I did.  She then told me I could go downstairs and change one of the papers online and come back.  I left and had no idea what to change.  Finally Amber's boss came to see what the problem was, and the lady at the visa office said everything was fine and she was looking for me after I left.  We have to go back next Thursday for the second step of the process.  It makes the BMV seem like an efficient, speedy bureaucratic machine.

Interesting Fact:  Soccer is by far the most popular sport in Ecuador, but the second most popular is Volleyball.  Actually, it's called Ecovolly, because they play it a bit differently.  The net is set up much higher than regular volleyball which means no spiking the ball.  They use a soccer ball instead of a volleyball and it is just played 3 vs. 3.  It's really common to see pretty competitive impromptu matches along the road or sometimes in the road.

New Year's Eve in Ecuador

Johnny and I recently celebrated our first New Year's Eve here in Ecuador (which for those of you keeping track, means that we have been gone for just about a year now).  We had an amazing time... this is what went down:

Johnny with a "dummy" drinking beer

A Sponge Bob dummy

The man in a dress on the left climbed on the motorcycle

          Our boss and his wife picked us up from our home around 8pm. By this time there were a ton of people in the streets having a really good time. Among those people are men and boys that dress up (heels and everything) as women and stop all traffic and ask for money. The purpose behind this is that they are representing the woman that is about to become a widow when the Old Year "dies". You have to give them money so that they can survive in the New Year. Literally they pull ropes  over the road that act as blockades and you HAVE to pay.  We saw some of them climb on to people's cars and get on the back of motorcycles. They also prey on pedestrians, as John was molested by a rather convincing male in a dress earlier in the day (we gave him/her a whole 10 cents). Also along the roads are "dummy dolls" made out of newspaper stuffed in to old clothes and masks for heads.  These dolls represent the Old Year (more on that later) and people make little displays for them to sit in. We passed by about a dozen road blocks with cross dressers and quite a few dolls on the way to our boss's family's house. Some of the dolls were huge (10ft tall) and they could be dressed as anything. We saw the Hulk, Spongebob and supposedly there were a few of the President here in Ecuador. 

Men dressed as the widows of 2013

At the house we were fed a ton of snacks and there was more than enough to drink. I stuck to water because I do not like to bring in the New Year with a headache. Boring, I know, but I still had a good time. Around 11:00pm we were invited to get a plate and start eating a huge feast that the family had prepared. There were three salads, delicious baked tomatoes with cheese on top, a ton of meat, pasta, olives, bread and so much more. Everything was so good... I even went back for more tomatoes : ) We ended up finishing the meal with 4 minutes to go until midnight. Everyone filtered outside and what happened next was just jaw dropping. 

Johnny jumping over the Old Year

This is me being all shy about jumping.

The hours leading up to midnight random people were setting off fireworks, but only one or two. At midnight the sky exploded with fireworks from every direction. The house we were at offered an amazing view of no fewer than 50 different people setting off wonderful shows. The sky was lit up with fireworks for about 30 minutes. The family we were with had some cone fireworks and Roman Candles. Also at midnight is when you bring the "Old Year doll" outside. It is laid on the ground and then you light in on fire to symbolize the end of the old year. It is then tradition to jump over the fire. Of course Johnny had no trouble with this because he is a giant. I had to wait until the flames were not as tall as me to get up enough courage to jump. It was a pretty scary thing but I am glad I did it. Everyone got a glass of champagne and twelve grapes to eat.  The twelve grapes, or so I was told, represent the twelve months in a year. It was hard to eat all of them because we were stuffed from the the feast and the grapes were huge. 

Johnny being a good sport : )

We got home around 2:30am and our part of town was still in the party mode. In fact the music did not die down until 6pm the next day... Ugh. Both John and I agreed that night that this was one of our best New Year's Eves ever and we had a wonderful time. Personally, ringing in the new year with a full belly, jumping over a fire and watching an amazing fireworks show counts as pretty great.  



Interesting fact:  About a month before New Year's Eve there are stands at the market and around Quito that sell only yellow underwear. Supposedly you are supposed to wear yellow underwear on this night and it will help you to bring in money in the new year. John and I did not partake in this tradition. Also, if you are going to travel in the next year you are supposed to run around your house with a suitcase. Guess we should have done this one : )