Teleferiqo Fun: An Afternoon at 4100 Metres

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Today we road the Teleferiqo. It was fun.

We initally didn´t think we would be able to becuase it was very cloudy on the mountain from the moment we woke until about 10am or so when we resolved to go back into the old town, and possibly have a picnic. On our walk into the old town, the skies clear, the sun shines, and we can see the top of the mountain and the teleferiqo cars acending to the top of Cruz Loma. We had to go. We turned around, got a cab, and were at the base of the Teleferiqo in less than 20 minutes.

By the time we got there, it clouded over again. We thought to ourselves, it is just our perspective: it was clear on the ride over, we just can´t see the clear top through the few clouds that are in the way. So, we got our tickets (normal, not express as there were only like 10 people in line), and waited for our turn to get on board.

Soem background is in order I guess. The Teleferiqo is a large ski lift like thing that takes you to the top of Cruz Loma, a little peak on the slopes of Volcan Pichincha, right beside Quito. It is only a 10 minute cab ride, 10 minutes in line, and a 10 minute ride up and you are at 4100 metres. Quito is at about 2900 metres I believe, and you ascend to 4100 in 10 minutes. Impressive.

A minutes wait in line and we were on board: Jackie, I, and a young couple from Quito recently out of High School. They had done it a few times, which was reassuring. Jackie was a bit scared, and I was excited and nervous...a little. The ride up was so neat. For the first half we had excellent views of the city. Then we went into the clouds. We were surround the rest of the way. It was quite surreal.

We arrived at the top and were totally in clouds. The clouds came inin the 20 minutes between deciding to go and getting there it seemed. But we had a great time none the less. The landscape was amazing. Barren. Desolate. Harsh. Cold. Cloudy. Very little vegetation. This was the highest either of us had ever been. 4100 metres is 13451 feet. That is quite high. The air was cold and thin. We even had a bit of trouble doing the small hike up the groomed trails surrounding the complex of shops and view points at the top. We hiked about 20 minutes.

We took lots of photos...too many probably.

After about 45 minutes at the top, we took the ride down, which was great. The clouds cleared early, and we had spectacular views most of the way down. Very worth it.

And now we are going back to Nanegal tonight, and back to Santa Lucia tomorrow morning. Cotopaxi will come next weekend, followed by the Quilotoa Loop and then the Galapagos. We are so excited.

Peace

Jack and Jackie

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