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Well firstly I've got to say it's hard to believe it's already December! No advent calendar for me this year! Don't think they have them here though I haven't looked so I'm not sure.
Anyway, this past week I've had some busy days with quite a lot of time on buses and a few quiet days too!
Saturday (26th) was a travel day to get to Latacunga from Mindo. The bus to Quito took 2 hours and the bus from Quito to Latacunga took just over 2 hours. In between the bus between the north and south terminals of Quito took about 90 minutes! The guy said I could stay on the bus to get to the south terminal and it would only cost $1 which was cheap but I kind of wished I'd got a taxi when it took so long- I mean I nearly got to see the whole of a film in the time it took to get there! Ha ha I was tired when I arrived, travel days are always tiring, even though they mostly involve sitting on a bus. It didn't help that all I ate all day was a packet of crisps and some biscuits- grabbing food in bus terminals is never good or healthy! I then had pizza for dinner as I missed the Mexican I'd been recommended but of course saw it on my way back!
Latacunga is where you come to 1) visit and/or climb Cotopaxi, one of Ecuador's volcanoes - 5897m tall (looks great and can see it from the hostel roof terrace but I don't plan on going there- too high!) and 2) visit the Quilotoa lake and/or hike the Quilotoa loop. Last time I was in Ecuador I saw a postcard of the lake and really wished I was able to visit as it looked amazing but I couldn't as it wasn't on the 2 week tour itinerary. Therefore this time it was top of my to do list in Ecuador as I really wanted to see it….having discussed the options with the staff at the hostel I was unsure of what to do so decided I might not go anywhere but whilst having a late breakfast I got chatting with Markus from Germany and ended up going to Isinlivi with him!
Sunday-
Got bus at 1pm to one of the villages that is on one side of the loop called Isinlivi. It took about 2 and a half hours and I would assume we passed some great scenery but we missed most of it due to low cloud, I say low cloud but we were going up to 2900 metres so it wasn't that low! It was like driving through fog and we couldn't see anything for most of the drive. When we got to the hostelLlullu Llama I asked about the possibility of visiting the primary school as they had a sign up about volunteering there. I was able to go and speak to the headteacher and organised to go and visit on Monday.The cloud had gone so we could see the views of the surrounding countryside- very pretty. The hostel was really nice and food is included in the price so we relaxed in the afternoon and ate at 7pm. The food was delicious and after a hot chocolate it was an early night ready for going to school the next day!
Monday-
Got up at 6.30, had breakfast then went to school! I got there as the children were starting to march lined up in their classes (1 per year) and then they sang the National Anthem. Then one of the teachers spoke to them about the National Anthem as Saturday had been the day of the National Anthem here in Ecuador- I should have asked if they sing it every day or just because of that. The headteacher then spoke to them and introduced me. At 7.15 lessons started and I was with the English teacher going into her lessons. All the children could sing a few songs in English and I joined in for "Heads, shoulders, knees and toes"! In a few classes I sang "Jingle Bells" as they were going to be singing that for Christmas! (I apologised in advance for my awful singing! Ha ha) Unfortunately they were doing tests but I did get the chance to speak to the children and marked some of their work too. It's a small school with 8 teachers and 90 pupils, class sized ranged between 9 and 18. Only a few of the children live in the village, the rest live in the surrounding area and the English teacher said they may have to walk 1-2 hours to get there, though hopefully some also get a lift too. It was interesting to be able to visit for the day so it was good to have the opportunity. Afterwards I had a packed lunch at the hostel whilst enjoying the views then went to wait for the bus. The bus was busy with people having been to one of the local markets to either buy or sell. Two young lads were full of questions for me and wanted to know all about my trip and things about England too. Back in Latacunga I went to the supermarket so I could make dinner- got ingredients for a stir fry, including egg noodles, but it didn't turn out as nice as I'd hoped. I went to bed quite early ready for going to Quilotoa laguna on Tuesday and was tired from my early start.
Tuesday-
Based on the fact I get out of breath climbing the stairs here in Latacunga (2800m) and when walking up a small sloped street in Isinlivi I realised I wouldn't be able to manage to do the Quilotoa loop but decided to stay overnight at the lake as I had been recommended to see it in the morning. I decided I'd try to do some walking there too but mostly I was looking forward to seeing the lake. I got the bus at 10 which took about 2 and a half hours. We drove through the countryside passing small villages climbing higher and higher- it turned out Quilotoa is at 3900m, much higher than I thought! Once there I got a room at a place I had been recommended and added my fleece and jacket because it was already cold (at 1pm!). Being at 3900m showed when I once again struggled to catch my breath on walking up the slight sloped road to the lake :-( I had lunch and then after I went to the look-out point over the crater lake- it really was a beautiful as it had looked on that postcard 2 years ago :-) I took lots of photos and then started to walk around some of the crater, enjoying the view. The village of Quilotoa is small and the indigenous people work hard and work together, which you could see from their work on restoring the path that goes down to the lake from the crater rim. They are building a wall and restoring the path and a big group of residents are involved. Carting wheel barrows full of stones or cement up and down the path- not an easy task. At this point I should mention the path which takes you down 400m to the lake- I had spoken to various people who had gone down and said coming up is really hard- fit walkers take an hour. I considered doing it but realised that I would really struggle, at 3900 metres walking uphill I would not be able to breath and it would take me a very long time to do it. It's also possible to come back up by horse but I'm not keen on being on a horse so I decided to give it a miss. At about 3 I headed back to the hostel as it had started to get colder and by 4 the cloud was really thick. It was so cold! I ended up wearing 3 T-shirts, hoody, fleece, scarf, trousers, bed socks lying in bed trying to keep warm! The couple next door (who I'd met in Isinlivi and had just arrived after 2 days hiking the loop) made hot water bottles out of plastic bottles and hot water- they knocked on the door and gave me one of them, what a nice present, just what I needed and helped me to warm up! We stayed in our rooms til 7.30 which was dinner time and the discovered dinner wasn't where I'd thought it would be and that the accommodation was bigger than I thought! We found out we could have been sit in the restaurant area with wood burning stoves so could have been warmer! I found it funny but also annoying, I wished I had known! Dinner was fine and then they went round lighting the wood burning stoves in the rooms (the main reason I had been recommended this place!) so the room was then warmer and I didn't have to go to bed in all my clothes as I had thought I would, ha ha! (Have to say I'm looking forward to getting somewhere that is warmer at night as it seems like I've had warm days but cold nights for at least a month, if only there was heating like at home, then it would be ok). In bed by 9 with a warm stone at my feet (like a hot water bottle!) and the fire warming the room, slept ok though did wake up cold in the night, which was to be expected!
Wednesday-
I was awake by just after 6 with a really bad headache- probably from the altitude. Had breakfast at 7 then walked to the lake to see it in the morning as had been recommended to me.I think it was even more beautiful in the morning and despite the cold I was glad I had stayed over to see it. The reflections were clearer and the colour of the water seemed brighter. It was warmer in the morning with the sun out and I managed to take off both my jacket and fleece by 8, only needing my hoody! My head was still hurting so as it was probably due to the altitude I decided to head back to Latacunga- I got a colectivo pick up truck to Zumbahua then the 9am bus back to Latacunga. As I was walking back to the hostel I met Colin and Katie who were heading to Quilotoa to start the lake so we had a quick chat about what we've done since Mindo- I wonder if I'll bump into them again! At the hostel the afternoon just seemed to disappear- skyped with Mum, sorted through some of my photos, wrote some of my blog…..Decided I wasn't that hungry to cook dinner in the evening so just ate some granola I have been carrying around since Popayan!
Thursday-
Thursday morning I went to the market in Saquisilí- apparently used to be one of the most un-touristy markets in the central highlands but we (I went with a girl from the hostel, Sarah) didn't see that many tourists though and it was interesting to wander in one of the market's plazas (there are 6 I think) which sold a whole range of things, ranging from live animals to cookers, from fish to stuff a hardwear shop would sell. We got bargain pineapples for 50 cents each (30p)! Another plaza had stalls with wall hangings and alpaca wear, some of the stall holders were from Otavalo and had just come to sell for the day. There were people with sewing machines doing alterations and stalls selling lunches to name just a few other activities going on at the market.On the way to get the bus and whilst in Saquisili pupils from the high school in Latacunga stopped us and asked if they could interview us for an English assignment. I ended up helping them with their work and making some corrections- I went into teacher mode! In the afternoon I went to get stamps for my postcards- 7 postcards cost $14 to send, approx. £9! Unbelievable! I unfortunately won't be sending many cards at that price :-( I also put laundry in and when I went to pick it up I walked with a German girl called Nessy who had arrived today. We went for dinner afterwards at a Mexican restaurant; it was good value and made a nice change! :-)
Friday-
Slow start then went to get some more ingredients that I needed for cooking lunch for the hostel staff- nothing exciting but I made stir fry veg and noodles. As usual it didn't turn out as good as it should have done and I needed more soya sauce. Never mind though I think they appreciated the gesture and I enjoyed cooking as I haven't been doing much of it recently. In the afternoon Sarah, Nessy and I watched a film "Love in the time of cholera" based on the famous book by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. It is set in Cartagena (Colombia) so it was good to see places I had been to and I thought the story was good but the acting in the film was awful. The book is (as is often the case) supposed to be much better, will try and read it sometime. We had dinner at the Mexican again and tried some of their other dishes. Afterwards we went out with one of the guys, Jacob, who works on the reception at the hostel. Haven't really been out since my birthday so was good to have an unexpected night out. First we went to the square near the hostel which had a party going on with a concert. There were lots of people watching and some dancing and singing along. We observed the Ecuadorian drinking tradition that is having one bottle of beer open and pouring a bit into a glass for one person, they when they have drunk it, pouring again then passing onto the next person! Tried a typical shot which was hot and only cost 15p! It couldn't be drunk as a shot though as was too hot. We stayed at the fiesta for a bit then went to a bar with cocktails- mine was pure alcohol so I had to get them to add some sprite! After that I reverted to vodka, coke and fresh lime I used to drink at home. 2 drinks for $5, about £3, very cheap and they were strong! We then went to a disco that had a mixture of salsa and dance/pop-type music. Finally my first dancing night out on this trip! I had a go at salsa dancing but wasn't very good (as expected) I definitely should take lessons sometime somewhere! I preferred the other music so I could just dance without thinking about steps!
Saturday-
Today was a lazy day as a bit tired after the late night out! The morning was fun, looking up and singing Christmas songs with Nessy playing them on her ukulele :-)For lunch we went out for the Latacunga local speciality, well Nessy gave it a try 'chugchucara'- a couple of different types of pork meat with potato and plantain and corn served in at least 3 ways; I had it without the meat!
I once again stayed longer than I intended to! But it's a really nice hostel and I have had the chance to speak quite a lot of Spanish here and have hung around with some nice people. I think I sometimes worry about wasting days but sometimes it's good to stay put for a few days without doing too much and just enjoy being where you are with the people you are with. I had intended to make a bit of a plan for my next few weeks travel but haven't done that either, oops, though I have a rough idea of what I want to do….need to speed my travel up a bit though as my Mum should be coming to visit and travel with me for a few weeks in less than a month so I'll need to be in Peru by then!
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