Quito
Leaving Colombia was bittersweet, we enjoyed our time in the country and wished we could’ve visited more places, but we also started longing for some familiarity and started to experience aches of homesickness. Luckily, although new to me, Paul has spent plenty of time Ecuador with Galakiwi which really helped feel us grounded, confident, and knowledgable about the area. In fact, it felt serendipitous because on the day we arrived Ecuador played Qatar in the the first game of the World Cup. The entire country seemed to tune to watch the game of the decade - every establishment had it on and adorned colorful balloons. We ended up watching the an exhilirating victory for Ecuador and felt the positive energy, excitement, and the patriotism from Ecuadorians We also have several friends in the area that blessed us with advice, support, recommendations, but most importantly good company. In Quito we met another CPAM 2015 summer course participant, Marcela. She is an incredible human being who is immensely knowledgeable about protected areas in Ecuador. Her warm, helpful, and pleasant demeanor made us feel so welcomed and impressed by the wanders of protected areas in Ecuador. We had the lucky opportunity to meet over dinner with her and explore Quito thanks to her recommendations and the recommendations of another peer, Augusto. Landing in Ecuador felt cozy and comfortable and it was a joy to finally visit the place that Paul loves so much. A few days after arriving we ventured to Mitad del Mundo, hiked up the Teleférico to some incredible vistas, and walked around the Historic Center. Each of these experiences made adore and appreciate the enormity of Ecuador from the importance of cocao farms to the impressive Andean mountains and volcanos. Paul and I got quirky and let out our inner child out by swinging on swings, indulging in chocolate tasting, and taking funny photos between “both” hemispheres, what else could could we ask for?
Below I’m sharing our experiences from mainland Ecuador which also include Cotopaxi and Baños. I opted to do a separate post for the Cuyabeno Amazong Reserve and Galápagos because they made a huge impact on us and there’s much to share.
PS - Photos on Blogger are super tough to upload and adjust photos. I think I’m going to do a huge Instagram dump of many of our photos. Feel free to follow me on IG to get higher quality photos.
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| Selfie taken outside of Plaza Foch. Every restaurant was playing the World Cup game and supporting Ecuador. |
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| Mitad del Mundo |
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| Another silly Mitad del Mundo photo |
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| Paul enamored by all the chocolate. |
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| Living my inner child as I swing on the Andes. |
Cotopaxi
Many that know have heard me say that my favorite mountain of all time is Mt. Sopris. It’s a mountain located in the Western Slope near the little town of Carbondale, Colorado. I grew up looking and admiring that mountain since the first grade and it has taken my breath since. Even when I see it now, it’s still one of my favorite landscapes and one that brings me the most sense of place. Well, I’m here to share that Cotopaxi is a close second to evoking that similar emotion in me. It is an impressive formation that seems powerful yet peaceful. The shear enormity, snowy peak, and plumes of smoke offering gentle reminders of it’s active status, are scenes that I will never forget. The fact that volcano is standalone amid a steppe and tundra terrains is quite impressive and humbling. In order to visit the National Park we had to hire a driver to show us around. We were pretty bummed about that because we’re used to exploring areas on our own, but know that management practices vary per country and so we obliged and respected the policies. We also used this opportunity to do some horseback riding. If we were going to be guided might as well try something new for us. Turns out I’m pretty good at horseback riding! I really enjoyed connecting with nature in this way and it gave us the opportunity to soak in the scenery. Paul and I really enjoyed exploring Cotopaxi National Park and we even had the chance to hike to the first Refuge Camp. No joke, the climb was short but very steep and with thin air our lungs felt extra tired. Nonetheless we persevered and arrived at the Refuge camp which sits at about ~16,000ft! Inside the camp we enjoyed a warm cup of hot chocolate to beat the cold weather and connected with employees running the restaurant. We learned that they carry nearly 30 kilos of gear every day up that same steep hill we had just experienced - talk about endurance! The guy we spoke with was known as “El Lobo” or “The Wolf” and he has been working there for over 8 years with wind, snow, or shine. After our exciting day exploring the park, we returned to our hostal enjoyed a warm meal by fire and drank some delicious Canelazos, the national drink of Ecuador. We only spent a few days in the area to enjoy a few days in lower elevation in Baños. We took a bus from Cuscungo, Cotopaxi to Baños for $5 each and about 4 hour drive. It was really cool to experience the high quality bus travel - highly recommend.
As a quick side note, en route to Baños Paul and I started listening to the audiobook “Everybody Fights So Why Not Get Better At It” by the Holderness family and it’s been a game changer for our relationship. Frankly, I think the audiobook paired with constant companionship has made us a stronger couple. We still need our space, but this time has really showed us the importance of open communication and addressing issues head on. I can already tell we discuss things differently and do so with a great deal of respect and curiosity. We’ve been able to unravel many things in our relationship and even our individual life which is making us more compassionate and understanding individuals — it’s pretty neat.
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| An Andean Wolf crossing the road near the Cotopaxi basecamp |
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| Reaching the basecamp of Cotopaxi at 15,953 ft |
Baños
The area near Baños is quite simply beautiful mainly because it’s at the confluence of the Andes mountains and the Amazon Rainforest. On our first day, I quickly became enamored by the landscape after visiting a garden known as the Casa del Árbol. The area had perfect views of a nearby volcano and it was surrounded by the indescribable colorful of flowers. We took tons of photos and struggled to narrow down which ones to share on here. We used our time in Baños to explore gardens and waterfalls but we also used it as our launch area for the Amazon so we only spent a few days in town. Even though our time and budget were tight we managed to celebrate Thanksgiving in town by calling family and eating a delicious cup of instant ramen - delicious! On the following day, we had the opportunity to bike down to lower elevation and marvel incredible waterfalls albeit the day was very rainy, but it just made the waterfalls that much more beautiful. It’s some of the best I’ve seen and we thoroughly enjoyed playing in the rain. While biking down many of the establishments on the side of the road were playing the World Cup so it was quite thrilling to occasionally stop and catch a glimpse of the games on our way to Rio Verde a total of 18kms on bike. In Rio Verde I witnessed one of the most impressive waterfalls I’ve ever seen. We were in a lush green forest only to be surprised by a powerful waterfall. In this little town we also had the best empanadas to date. Shockingly enough it was a dessert empanada made with chocolate and banana - worth very penny. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Our time in Baños concluded with an early morning trip to the farmers market where we indulged in Uvillas/uchuvas (golden berries) and a trip to the local hot springs and an inexpensive massage. Though the relaxing effects of the massage came to an abrupt halt with an overnight bus trip to Lago Agrio, the starting point of our excursion to Caiman Lodge in the Cuyabeno Amazon Reserve. We spent 3 nights and 4 days in the reserve and it’s by far one my favorite life experiences so it deserves it’s own post. We liked it so much that in the short span of time we made amazing friends that I hope to meet again the future.
