We climbed a volcano yesterday....

After an early pick up and a two hour drive we arrived at the Cotapaxi National Park parking lot, which at 4,500m is the starting point for the hike.

Van to go up, bikes to go down

We hiked slowly to 'Jose Rivas' refuge 4,810m which is on the snowline, then those of us who wanted (and were able) to then hiked a further 200m with our guide to reach the glaciers at 5,000m.

At the glaciers; 5000m

Descending by bike to Laguna Limpiopungo was an exhilarating experience and the scenery was breathtaking.

On the descent......

School's out for summer.....

Wahoo!

We didn't exactly 'graduate' from school, more fell out of the classroom with relief, but we have the basics and now we just have to 'practica, practica, practica'.

After a couple of post study beers in Foch Plaza tonight we came back to the hostel - left over quinoa and vegetables for dinner.

Tomorrow we're being picked up at 06:45 to climb Cotapaxi - we're mountain biking down which I'm really looking forward to - I really hope that I bought the right insurance policy.....

Hopefully the walking will be good practice for Machu Picchu and the ride should help us prepare for mountain biking on the Yungus Road (Death Road) in Bolivia.

Assuming we make it back we're heading to Astrid Y Gaston for dinner - to celebrate our one month anniversary - hard to believe a month has already gone by.

Then at 11pm on Sunday we take a night bus from Quito to Lago Agrio for our jungle trip to the Amazon - we're going to the area where the two girls were kidnapped in the first week that we were here - we've been assured that it's perfectly safe. 

HHHhhhhmmmm, I really wish I'd brought a copy of my insurance policy with me.

Raine x

Mercardo Santa Clara

Great day at school yesterday, I went on a 'school trip' with my teacher to Mercardo Santa Clara, a fresh food market about 10 minutes away from the school by bus.

I had read that South America has more fruits than we in England have names for and at the market I had the opportunity to see and taste some of them.

Fruit stall

I tasted; Orito, Tuna (a fruit not a fish), Uvilla, Granadilla, Naranjilla, Taxo and Tree tomatoes. Aside from the Tree Tomato which I didn't particularly like, the fruits were delicious and so cheap - getting your five-a-day in Ecuador is easy!

After school and the customary glass of post study wine, Abs and I made a vegetable and quinoa soup/casserole which we shared with Steve who we met at the hostel a few days ago, he kindly donated a bottle of red and some Taxo for pudding.

So, by my calculation, with the seven fruits I tasted, the five I bought for Abs and the nine vegetables in the soup we're on about 21 a day! 

Last day of school today - early start tomorrow as we're climbing Cotapaxi before heading to the jungle on Sunday night.

Raine x

Feliz cumpleanos (Happy Birthday)

Happy Birthday Mum have a lovely day.

Lots of Love,

Raine x

All time favourite photo - you are too cute!

I'm so sorry not to be with you today, but it was you that introduced me to 'Ithaka' so I guess you're at least partly responsible for where I am today (thank you).

I look at this picture of you and think you are the most adorable little girl in the world - I count my blessings that you grew up to be my Mum.

I love you.

Raine x 

Guinea Pig Lake

In Ecuador they don't just eat guinea pigs, in Cotacachi, 20 minutes from Otavalo they name their lakes after them!

Abs and me at Cuicocha

On Sunday morning we were up early and after a quick coffee we were picked up by David (a native Cotacachi)  who took us treking - bizarrely my fingers swelled to the size of chipolattas - the altitude I guess.

At 3,500m

Apparently on a clear day you can see the Cayambe and Cotapaxi volcanoes in the distance, we didn't see them.... We could only just see the nearer Mama Cotacachi and Taita Imbabura volcanoes because of the low cloud.

We plan to get up close and personal with Cotapaxi this Saturday - good Machu Picchu preparation!

Raine x

Plaza de Ponchos

After the craziness of the animal market and a breakfast of fruit and granola we headed to Plaza de Ponchos to visit the artisan market. Saturday's are renowned for being very busy but it's low season and there were only a handful of other tourists.

As with all markets, some of what's being sold really is tat but a lot of the stalls were selling beautifully handcrafted; tapestries, blankets, ponchos, jumpers, embroidered traditional blouses and fake shrunken heads (that's for another day...).

Spices

While we were browsing one stall I heard someone shouting "Abby and Lorraine" - Ben, Zoe and Lara, the children we'd met at our hostel in Quito had spotted us from a restaurant balcony - we had a quick chat and Mo & Martin (their parents) invited us over to their apartment for dinner one day this week - roast dinner, can't wait!

We bought some strawberries and a 'Guaba' pod (Aka Ice cream bean) from the street vendors as well as a few momentos.

Abs with a 'Guaba' pod

It was a hot day and we were soon all 'shopped out' and so decided to find somewhere for 'dos cerveza', en route we bought an empanada from a little girl who expertly handled the transaction and then continued on our way to a beer garden we'd spotted the day before.

Travelling is tough......

Raine x

Do chickens have ankles?

I was looking forward to leaving Quito on Friday. We bought our $2 dollar tickets and boarded the bus for the 2- 3 hour trip north to Otavalo. As we got further from Quito the clouds  lifted and the sun began to shine. The bus journey was pretty uneventful apart from the novelty of street vendors boarding the bus at every stop to sell, mandarins, crisps and icecreams for 50c. The mountain road was lined with eucalyptus trees and the smell made it in to the bus like a Magic Tree.

My first impression of Otavalo is that it's a friendly, vibrant city.

Otavalo Town Square

We woke early on Saturday to go to the animal market, a spectacle not to be missed according to the guidebooks. We left our hostel at 7am and knew we were headed in the right direction as occasionally someone would walk towards us with a goat on a lead or with a chicken being carried upside down by its ankles (chickens don't have ankles do they....) anyway, we crossed the main road and all of our senses were completely assaulted by the sound of pigs screaming, the sight of guinea pigs being held by their throats and the smell not only of the animals but of tripe and whole pigs being cooked (for breakfast!).

We saw a small number of tourists but this is not a tourist attraction, it's a local market for local people - we watch deals be done and pigs and cows change hands. It was a bit of a culture shock and I found it quite distressing; the sacks full of guinea pigs, rabbits and kittens for sale and particularly the sound of the pigs screaming - I was glad to leave.
We picked up a small bag of doughnuts from a street vendor and headed back to our hostel for breakfast before going to the Artisan market.