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Published: April 11th 2006
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A view plus one llama
Here is the view from our bedroom at The Black Sheep Inn which included one pet llama! Well, we have once again reached Quito, for the fourth and final time, flying back to Lima tomorrow afternoon. The Quilotoa Circuit was safely negotiated, with a lovely two night stay at the Black Sheep Inn in Chugchilán. Now, back to our story.
Taking it slowly, we waited until morning to pack and ate breakfast at our hostel. Though we were told to catch an early bus, our desire to do so was tempered by our desire to sleep. The compromise was an 9am bus arriving in Latacunga at 11am for a 12pm bus to Chugchilán. Once again, it seems no one in Ecuador cares to get to the terminal, as there were only 3 others that bother to show up. Instead, we got a whirlwind, 45 minute tour of Quito, driving the street while the second in command shouted out our destination to anyone who cared to listen. A most inefficient system, but apparently they like it that way. We reached Latacunga a little before 11:30, and asked at the terminal where the bus to Chugchilán left from, with all fingers pointing down.
Once again, we were the first once aboard, though to be fair there are several
Laguna Quilotoa with the Polarizer
This lake set in a crater was a beautiful green and extremely still, though it took the polarizer to show it, unlike. . . buses to our destination on Sunday. We left approximately on time, but with few passengers on board we had another city tour, along with parking for 15 or 20 minutes hoping for more. The bus was a little over half full by the time it left the city for our 3 to 4 hour journey (on a $2.25 fare; again, how do they pay for gas?). The first 2 hours go smoothly on a paved road, until we reach Quilotoa. For the next hour, Sara and I feel like popcorn, bouncing up and down, up to a foot out of our seat, as our bus driver negotiates the rough dirt road. After the first hour, we realized that being behind the back wheels greatly exagerates the bumps and move forward a row. Much better, though the waterproofness of the bus has come under question, as the rain outside seems to be joining us inside. At a little after 4pm, we reach Chugchilán and are greeted with a sign indicating 1/2 km to our hostel. At 3200 m (10,400 ft) we do not feel much like walking, but do so with little other choice.
The hostel, ´The Black Sheep Inn´,
This Picture
Which is what the lake looked like with the reflections, or without our sunglasses! is as nice as we had expected. This was one of the first places I came across when researching for the trip, and Sara was quick to voice her approval upon hearing about their vegetarian only menu. In addition, they have composting toilets which is definitely something we want to incorporate into our house in Utah. In fact, almost everything they do is sustainable! Sara went straight for the brownies as well as the full copy of ´The Birds of Ecuador´. After a little rest in our room, we had dinner at 7pm, which is apparently the traditional Ecuadorian dinner time, sharing this dinner hour with the Galapagos trip and our hostel in Quito. The vegetarian fare was quite good as I had seconds on soup, followed by conversation with our fellow boarders. The plan for tomorrow? Hike.
The inn has a more leisurely schedule than most we have visited, with breakfast at eight. Our plan was to hike from the Quilotoa Crater back to the hostel, a hike of a little under 5 hours according to our host. Our transport from our hostel to the crater arrived at nine, taking an hour and a half time-wise and about
Indigenous people working the land
As we finished eating lunch, we noticed a group of people tilling the land on the hillside. 10 hitch-hikers person-wise. The fellow passengers, getting a free ride as far as money was concerned, came in handy when we got stuck. I didn´t feel too bad making them get out and push. Once at the crater, we were fortunate to see the clouds clearing and, after paying the entrance fee of $1, enjoyed the views from the mirador (viewpoint in Spanish). Since we would be hiking along the crater and there were several vendors or guides harassing us with their wares, though not agressively, we decided to move on. As we hiked, the views only got better with the green tint of the lake becoming more spectacular. There were also views of the Illinizas, one of which we had initially intended on climbing. Judging by our lung capacity at 12,400 ft, opting out of going to 17,000 ft was a good idea.
The first hour of the hike was spent second guessing ourselves as we had run out of trail posts and had forgotten the map at the Black Sheep. We finally found a hefty looking marker with a large piles of rocks by it, determining that this must be the place to head off the crater.
Sheep on the hillside
Our dayhike from Laguna Quilotoa to Chugchilan gave us beautiful scenery as well as a peek into the subsistence farming lifestyle of the indigenous people in Equador. One last view, and we began the steep descent. This did not last too long as we soon lost the trail through a field, taking the opportunity to have lunch. While snacking I spotted the town we were to head to, Guyama, so we went in that general direction and soon regained the path. After several vicious, and some not so vicious, dogs that required us to inappropriately use our trekking poles, we reached the two street town and moved on to the canyon we were to cross. Our destination was in sight, but a 1300 ft descent and ascent separated us from it. With many stops to catch our breath, a few narrow passages to traverse, and a jump over the river, we finally reached the town and soon our hostel. Another dinner and another night of pleasant conversation yielded a well deserved gift: sleep.
The following morning we packed up, had breakfast, and were on the move once again. The plan was to take the milk truck to Sigchos, about an hour away. This truck collects milk from the local communities every day and arrives at about 9 am. Fortunately, it was running late and gave Sara
Hillside on the way to Chugchilan
The canyon below was the only thing separating us from our destination! time to realize that we would not arrive at the bus station until after dark. A bus station that our guidebook calls ¨Unsafe at any hour, especially at night.¨ Not a ringing endorsement. We agreed that the $60 truck to Latacunga was a potentially better deal than the $4 version by bus, as we would reach Quito by 3pm and have less chance of losing our gear. We had the added benefit of seeing Cotopaxi, a massive volcano rising above Latacunga. After getting taken to the cleaners by our cab driver from the bus station (not literally, though my clothes could use it), we check back into our Quito hangout, and we are up to date. Hopefully, the remaining travels contain as few hitches as the past few days. We hope to meet up with Jill again in Huaraz, Peru, in three or four days at the latest. Additionally, Sara has reached a milestone of sorts at 300 birds for the trip, though two of our fellow lodgers at the Black Sheep have a friend over 5000, or over half the world´s 9800 species. Wow. Well, cheers for now!
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Bernadette Thomasy
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fabulous photos
Matt and Sara, Thanks for posting the pictures. The birds and other creatures are wonderful to see. Also loved the couples, including our favorite travelers. We viewed the pix at the library to get the full effect and enjoyed all of them. Have a safe trip in the high mountains. Love, Mom and Dad