Ecuador volcanoes

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Ecuador's Volcanoes
On my return to Quito from three fascinating days at Santa Lucia I had a couple of days booked to visit volcanoes. My first choice had been Cotopaxi, but the whole region had been closed as the mountain was erupting, as I saw from the bus to the Antisana Volcano, which stands 5755m high. Antisana is glaciated and even at 4000m it was freezing cold, despite being virtually on the equator, just after the equinox. A short walk to a view point and a mountain bike back down the road warmed me up a bit. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and were able to watch a condor on it's nest through a telescope. The next day I went to Quilotoa lagoon, a crater lake, on the way visiting the market at Saquisili and an indigenous home, where they keep the house warm by keeping over 200 guinea pigs inside, year round. Some of the exotic fruit I bought at the market were delicious, although some were acidic. The lagoon is an amazing site, the volcano is still active and bubbles can be seen rising to the surface.

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Photos

Cotopaxi eruption
I had seen a much more violent eruption from the Antisana road the previous day, but could not get a decent photo from the van.