Quilatoa

Sorry its taken so long to update this - I've been very busy. Last Friday, the university that i take classes at, La Catolica, had a big party for the sociology department (one of the classes I take there is a sociology class). We all met at the school on Friday morning and they took us on buses to a small indigenous village about an hour away called Calicali. It was in the mountains and right on the equator. They took us to a big field with a pretty courtyard and small waterfalls and benches. There was also a band and lots of food and drinks. We each had to pay $8 for the bus, the band, the food, and the drinks. We got there at about 10 am and we didn't leave to go home until 7 pm. It was very fun for the first few hours but it got pretty cold since it was in the mountains and we got tired after a while and we were stuck at the place since it was pretty much in the middle of no where. It was still really fun though. 

Saturday we slept in and then at about noon we left to go to Quilatoa. Quilatoa is a place I have wanted to go since I first got to Ecuador. I felt pretty sick Saturday morning but I went anyway because I really wanted to go. Quilatoa is a lake in the mouth of an active volcano. It was a trek to get there. We had to take the ecovia to the trolly bus, two different trolly busses just to get to the bus station. And then from the bus station in Quitumbre, we had to take a bus to Latacunga. Then one to Zumbahua. And then finally one to Quilatoa. It took a total of about 5 hours but only cost a total of $4! When we got to Quilatoa it was dark so we found a hostel. We found a nice one that cost $10 which included a big room with 6 beds (there were 6 of us) and a fireplace, dinner, and breakfast. Quilatoa is at such a high altitude that it is freezing and no where in Ecuador has heating. Our hostel had a big communal room where everyone at together. The room was really warm because of all the cooking. While eating dinner we met a group of people in their 20s from France who were traveling around Ecuador and we met an elderly couple from New Zealand. 

After dinner we went to our room, put on all the clothes we brought, and huddled near the fire. Luckily, one of my friends knew that there would be fireplaces in the room and brought s'mores supplies. So we spend the night playing games and make s'mores out of cocoa cookies (which are a mix between graham crackers and shortbread cookies), nutella, peanut butter, chocolate, and marshmallows. They were amazing. 

The next morning we woke up bright and early and had breakfast with our new friends. Then we set out to the lake. A spectacular view of the entire lake was a mere 2 minute walk from out hostel. However, we decided to hike down into the mouth of the volcano so we could actually touch the lake.

It took about 30 minutes to hike down the rock and sand. Once we got to the water, we hiked around a bit. Then two of my friends decided to go swimming. So while they were finding a good place to swim, my other 3 friends and I found a crazy boat that cost $2.50 to rent. It was a piece of plastic with 4 lawn chairs stuck onto it and wooden paddles. So of course we rented the boat and paddled out to where our other crazy friends were going cliff jumping into the lake. They didn't jump from very high but it still looked pretty scary, and it was very cold. After hanging out by the lake for a few hours, we made our way back up. However, i was pretty sick by this point and one of my friends has a very bad knee. The hike back up takes about 2 hours and is extremely difficult since it is sand and rock and since we were at such a high altitude. So my friend Liz and I decided to rent horses to take us back up. It was the best decision I have ever made. It was a bit terrifying at first since the horses were pretty much climbing up rocks, but when we passed by our dying friends, it was definitely worth it. When we got back up, we had lunch in town and began the long journey home to Quito.

The next day I was really sick and spent the entire day in bed. It turns out I had strep throat so I took antibiotics and by tuesday afternoon I felt great. Tuesday night, after class, a bunch of my friends and I went to a soccer game. La Liga (one of Ecuador's professional teams) was playing. It was really exciting since La Liga won the South American Cup last year so they had lots of fans. They played a team from Chile and ended up winning 6-1. Last night (wed night) we all went to my friend Zach's house after class and made the rest of the s'mores on his patio outside. And tonight, we are going to the beach! Some of my friends have work or school related things this weekend but a few of my friends and I were talking and have nothing to do, so we figured - why not spend a few days relaxing on the beach?