Last 24 Hours in Quito and Then On To Otavolo
The last 24 hours in Quito were definitely ones to remember. Mel and I got up, filled my backpack for the day and got a cab to the TeleferiQo, a cable car that took us up a good distance, but decently shy of the summit of Rucu Pichincha (like many in Ecuador, an active volcano). We originally thought we’d hike at and around this junction with zero intention of making an attempt at the summit. I’ve mentioned altitude already, at the end of the ride on TeleferiQo it puts us just shy of 13k above sea level. Way more than where we were at in downtown Quito. So we walked around a bit. Tried a few uphill climbs. Felt genuinely great - thought “what the hell!” - and started taking the trail to the summit with the strict caveat that we’d check in regularly and turn around when one, or both of us needed to head back down. When we reached our “ok that’s enough” point - the Cueva del Oso (there was no bear there, no worries) - we were both ecstatic to find that we’d hiked up to 14510 feet ASL (roughly, since I was using the Compass app on my iPhone), a little over 1000 feet from the summit.
It was the highest elevation Mel and I had ever hiked at and the views were just unbelievable. Seriously, these pictures do the view we had of Quito and everything around it so little justice.
It was an amazing day to say the least. We got down the mountain and into Quito to find the city ransacked with, apparently, the normal Saturday crowds (it was INSANE). When we made it back to our AirBnB we looked in the mirror and saw the only downside of the day. While we both wore pants and long sleeves, we failed to put sunscreen on or wear our hiking hats. We got completely lobsterized. It was all good though, we made dinner in that night and fell asleep to all of Quito’s church bells ringing, celebrating 40 years since the declaration of Quito’s historical center being named a world heritage city. It was calamitous, but also lovely.
The next morning we moved slow because of the hike the day before, but were also energized to pack up and move onto the city of Otavolo. That trip necessitated a 2 hour bus ride from new town Quito (which we hadn’t seen since spending all of our time old town) affording us new views of the country side and our first bus experience in Ecuador. One quick aside, Ecuadorians are just the kindest people. Even when they are frustrated (which rarely happened) with our lack of knowledge of their language, they try so hard to help us out. Mel and I often refer to our grasp of Spanish as “it’s broken, but still working” and that hasn’t been pressed home as much as it has on this trip. We try, they try harder, and we always get to some form of both of our initial objectives. It kinda gets me misty thinking about it. Humans… we can be lovely when we want to be. Regardless of where we come from. We just have to give a damn and try.
We got to Otavolo in the early afternoon to find that, if we aren’t the only people at this rather large lodge, we gotta be one couple of two. Max. The La Casa Sol Andean Lodge is everything the listing said and more. Utterly charming with incredibly friendly and accommodating staff. We are staying here through our anniversary day so we hoped it would be a special place and it’s delivered in spades. In the room, there is a fireplace, so we naturally had a fire the first night. It was magical, and needed, as it get’s pretty chilly at night.
That night we slept like babies and got up early and checked out the sacred Cascada Peguche, a waterfall that is an easy walk from where we are staying. It was really beautiful and clearly loved by the locals and tourists alike, judging by the sacred offerings of food around the waterfall and the wear and tear of the trails leading up to it. We both took off our socks and shoes and waded into the fall’s cold and sacred waters. It reminded me of when Mel and I bathed in the Ganges in Rishikesh, India. You don’t have to be religious to feel something when you come in touch with bodies of water that are revered by many, for hundreds of years.
After that, we made our way into town for our first walk through downtown Otavolo. We walked it’s streets, had a great lunch, hit its very well known central open market, and then made our way back to our humble abode. It was a long day with 10 miles logged. After I finish writing this we going to grab a bite to eat before crawling into bed and fueling up for whatever tomorrow brings.
I’ll think I’ll end this here. More on another day!