Day 11: Quilotoa & CotopaxiWe ended up leaving the hotel at 5 am the next morning, in order to go hike Quilotoa. I was especially excited about this hike, for my part of my group presentation was about the Quilotoa loop!
Quick Facts About Quilotoa:
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About half an hour later we were at Quilotoa. Once we got out of the bus, we had our lunch before starting the hike down this caldera. As we ate, we were all greeted by three stray dogs all beginning for food. It was sooooo sad!!
Soon after we began the hike down to the water. The paths were all sandy and it was quite difficult not to slip down. With us taking our time, it took about 45 minutes to get to the water. Mostly everyone was planning on kayaking on the lake;however,there was no one around for us to rent kayaks from!
After spending an hour or so here and going our separate ways (hiking, talking, playing with dogs) Tait decided it was time to go back up. One could either hike up the caldera or take mules up! Aidan and I decided to hike, like half of the class, while the other half of the class took mules up.
Aidan and I were the first pair up the mountain and even after stopping every two turns to catch our breaths, it still only took us an hour! Which was average for this sort of hike. It was physically, one of the most grueling experiences I have ever gone through! About half an hour later everyone else was up. Knowing that we were running late on time we all quickly grabbed sweet empanadas and snacks from the local restaurant and started heading back to the bus. To be fair, we all did stop to play with a puppy we met, before leaving! Before long, we were on the bus and on our way to Cotopaxi!
Soon after we began the hike down to the water. The paths were all sandy and it was quite difficult not to slip down. With us taking our time, it took about 45 minutes to get to the water. Mostly everyone was planning on kayaking on the lake;however,there was no one around for us to rent kayaks from!
After spending an hour or so here and going our separate ways (hiking, talking, playing with dogs) Tait decided it was time to go back up. One could either hike up the caldera or take mules up! Aidan and I decided to hike, like half of the class, while the other half of the class took mules up.
Aidan and I were the first pair up the mountain and even after stopping every two turns to catch our breaths, it still only took us an hour! Which was average for this sort of hike. It was physically, one of the most grueling experiences I have ever gone through! About half an hour later everyone else was up. Knowing that we were running late on time we all quickly grabbed sweet empanadas and snacks from the local restaurant and started heading back to the bus. To be fair, we all did stop to play with a puppy we met, before leaving! Before long, we were on the bus and on our way to Cotopaxi!
Quick Facts About Cotopaxi: |
To our disappointment, we got to Cotopaxi later than expected (5pm) so we could not hike it. Instead we all tried to make the best of the situation!! We took pictures at the base of it and hiked near it for about a half hour. Then we were on the bus, once again! After traveling for another hour or so, we checked into our hotel: Embassy hotel. Victoria and I had an issue with our hotel room lock, so we ended up staying in Jackalyn, Iguana and Laurel’s room for the duration of our stay in Quito. After getting all unpacked, everyone went around the town with Diego and Tait to sight see! We ended the night, with another group dinner. |