Road Warriors! (Part II)

Saturday morning we awoke to some bad news - Shannon had a migraine...and forgot her medicine back in Cuenca! The migraine was no doubt due in part to the extreme altitude changes - up and down - from the drive on Friday. Finn, Elliott and I arose and left to have breakfast and to find a pharmacy. Shannon gave me the names of three different medications that would help, and naturally, the pharmacy didn't have them. The pharmacist gave me some pills which she assured me were for migraines, and we went back to the hotel. Turns out, the pills were just very strong doses of acetaminophen, but they at least dulled her pain and we set out on our way to Quilotoa.

Quilotoa was a volcano that erupted in an enormous explosion about 800 years ago, and left a huge, perfect crater that has since filled with water - an 825-feet-deep lake. It is a great place to visit, with a nice hike down to the lake from the top of the crater - a 1,320 foot drop.

This panorama doesn't do a great job of showing the scale - but from the top, the people at the lake below looked like ants.

We set out from Latacunga around 9:30, expecting about a 1.5 - 2 hour drive. Along the way, we stopped off in the small town of Zumbahua, which is known for a vibrant Saturday market. The entire area around Quilotoa is sparsely populated, and primarily with indigenous people. Almost all of them were dressed in their traditional clothing, colorful, topped with hats (everyone over the age of 10, it seemed), and without exception. The women's dress is particularly striking, since they seem to wear the same beautiful clothing no matter their task. We saw women tending to farms in what would be Sunday-best back home, and wearing the same in the marketplace.

We shopped in the market for a while, and picked up some nice wool jackets for the boys and a beautiful alpaca-wool sweater for Shannon, and then continued on our way.

From Zumbahua, it's about a 15km drive to Quilotoa. A few kilometers outside of town, we came across a beautiful, barren canyon. The rock all around seemed to be sandstone of some kind, which I assume are the remains from the blast of the volcano 800 years earlier, and the river carved out a gorgeous canyon. We stopped off on the side of the road to look at the canyon, and of course, to throw rocks to the valley below.

Shannon's head was still throbbing...what was she thinking here?

After a few minutes, we completed the ascent to Quilotoa. The ascent was as picturesque as our drive before, winding up the mountainside, but there was no view of Quilotoa itself.The road takes you to the very top of the volcano - there is no majestic cone to be seen.

We pulled in to our lodging for the night, the cozy Hosteria Alpaca, checked in, and walked out to head to the lake below.

 At the top of the mountain, it was quite windy and cold, so we bundled up. Since we will experience every type of climate while in Ecuador (indeed, they say you experience the four seasons every day in Cuenca), we don't have heavy winter clothing. As such, we layered up, and on a weekend trip, that meant that I was wearing nearly every article of clothing I packed, save for a raincoat and extra pair of pants, and nearly the same for the boys.


And with that, we set out for the hike down to the crater. And the first view was stunning.

This might look familiar come Christmas.

The sun came out just as we began to hike down. This was a mixed blessing. The sun at this altitude and at the equator is incredibly strong. It warms up quickly when the sun is out, which is nice. But it also meant that we had to shed clothing. This in itself wouldn't have been a big deal - but recall that the rock around here was mostly sandstone. Well, sandstone does one thing, especially when there's a lot of wind and a lot of feet trampling over it - it turns to dust. So with each new layer that was exposed, a new layer of clothes filled with dust.

The route down began nicely - the indigenous folk who manage the area have been building a nice walkway. It was nice at the top, the descent wasn't too steep, and when it was, there were stone stairs.

However, it didn't take long for that to change. At one particular point, a land/sand-slide destroyed the trail, and we had to cross this treacherous spot holding on to a rope, while our shoes were buried in the loose dust and the wind whipped the dust everywhere. It wasn't much fun trying to guide two boys across this area while trying to keep myself upright and at the same time blinded by a dust storm!

There was no hope of anything being clean after this...and I don't know if our shoes will ever be free of this dust.


It took around 45 minutes for us to reach the bottom. There wasn't a whole lot to do down there other than to feel the cold water and eat a snack. There were a few kayaks and canoes available, which Finn really wanted to rent, but I really didn't feel like paddling around the lake after an arduous descent, and especially not with the arduous ascent in front of me. (Later in the day, when asking the boys what there favorite part was, Finn said, "My favorite part would have been taking a boat on the lake." Ingrate.)

After a little rest and a snack, it was time to begin the ascent. Before we walked down, I thought the boys might be able to walk back up, so long as we took our time, stopped to play, and had plenty of snacks. I grew a little concerned when we were very close to the bottom and we met three hikers on their way up, and they were already huffing and puffing. There was always a backup plan though - horses. The locals ferry horses to the bottom and let the tourists hire them for the ascent. It was an easy decision for us - both boys would go up on horseback.


Here we had another mixed blessing. On the plus side, we didn't have to deal with whiny kids requesting that I carry them. On the down side, those horses are strong and in shape. They're capable of carrying adults up the trail 4 times a day - so two 45 pound kids were nothing. The guidebooks say that it should take around 30 minutes or so for the descent, and an hour and a half or more for the ascent. That assumes a nice easy pace with several breaks. But the horses didn't need to take a break, and their handler wasn't quick to offer breaks, either. Those horses powered right up the hill, and since we couldn't leave our kids alone at the top, we had to power right up with them, panting heavily. Elliott didn't help matters with his constant, "What's taking you guys so long?" Did I mention that the top of Quilotoa is about 13,000 feet?

Once it was all through, I was a tired, hot, sweaty mess. Shannon, still dealing with her headache, was not in a pleasant mood. She shared her feelings about Quilotoa once the hike was over.