Quilotoa

What a great group of people I work with. There is often a suggestion for a trip that someone starts and quickly a group is put together. This weekend was a trip to Quilotoa. We rented a can to pick us up from school and after around 3 hours we arrived at the black sheep inn.

The drive there was amazing with all of the vistas.

Our destination is way out in the distance.

Black sheep inn is an eco hostel that serves vegetarian food only and focused on nature and preserving and conserving resources. They have a great facility and full meals and snacks all day long. Add in massages, helping with transport to hikes, games and things to do.

Beautiful lodge for meals and gathering.
The bunk house with quad rooms to share.
Yoga room with hammocks.
Single house with private bathroom. All others are shared. This is where I stayed as I love privacy and sleep as I am a very light sleeper.
It did get chilly here at night as it is 1000 feet higher than Quito. It is a little cooler here.
Composting toilet. It is a pit toilet that you sprinkle bits of leaves etc. for composting.
Private shower with hot water.
Worth the extra 40 dollars a night.

They have one very friendly cat, named Choco who loved to hang out around my house.

On Saturday, trucks picked us up to go to Quilotoa. The ride had some other great views of mountains. These two peaks are husband and wife, esposo y esposa called Ilinazas.

Quilotoa is a water-filled caldera and is one of the must do hikes in Ecuador. The caldera was formed 800 years ago when the cone of the volcano collapsed during a massive eruption. Over the centuries, the caldera filled with water, and now you can hike along the rim of the beautiful crater lake.

The surrounding area is also home to several indigenous communities that have lived in the region for centuries, mainly the Kichwa. They have a rich culture and history and still practice traditional farming. I love how they maintain a deep connection to the land and the natural resources. Of course they have built structures to support and encourage tourism.

The hike is pretty difficult. It is 1000 meters above Quito so the air is thinner. It is also a pretty difficult hike with the ascents and descents. I decided to do one kilometer and then turn back. The full hike of the rim is 5 hours. I chose instead to hike down to the bottom of the crater and back up.

Carrie decided not to do the full hike with me and we headed back to hike down the crater.

At the start of the hike we were all together.

Three dogs followed us and continued most of the way. I think they smelled our lunches we carried.
The path from the top where I am standing down to the bottom is 2 km, steep and lots of loose gravel on a path that switches back and forth.
Starting the descent down.
There were llamas to get pictures with and mules or horses to take you back up.

The path up was very steep and loose gravel of course. We were not in any hurry as our friends were taking a long hike. So we stopped often to take long breaks.

Finally we made it to the top.

At the bottom we met Mario who we spoke to in Spanish. We decided to all have beers since we decided to hike up. He took a mule
This is taken for altitude sickness.
A band playing right before we were leaving.
Just a girl and her alpaca.

Sunrise the next morning.

The town of Chugchilan is where the inn is at. I walked around the last morning to look at buildings and people.

A great weekend with amazing people. When Carrie and I left the group, everyone hugged and we were wished a safe journey back. People are very friendly and caring