Photos of Cotopaxi

 Our (freezing cold) Chalet!

 The restaurant Paja Blanca, across the road from our chalet.

 lagoon

 sunset on friday night, I can´t remember which volcano that is

Cotopaxi at sunset

 

The next day hiking with Lela, Lo and Sarah towards the snow!

Cotopaxi National Park (October 29-30, 2010)

Our next weekend destination was Volcán Cotopaxi (19,350 ft.), located about 2.5 hours south of my house in the north end of Quito. Friday morning I met up with three other girls from CIMAS and we took a few buses and trolleys and were eventually dropped off on the side of the Panamerican highway at the road that leads to the entrance to the National Park, which surrounds the volcano.

We easily found a van that could take us up 16 kilometers to a hostel. The road was bumpy and dusty, but the views of the volcano were improving by the second as the clouds swirled around the top! We reached the Paja Blanca hostel and restaurant at about 1pm and we moved into a very primitive chalet without electricity. It sort of felt like we were camping!

After a hefty lunch of grilled trout and all of the usual Ecuadorean side dishes, we checked out a small Cotopaxi “museum” that was next door and tried to find maps and information, but there was very little. Then we started hiking up to a lagoon that was even closer to the volcano.

Past our hostel, the road climbs for approximately 8 km to a refuge where climbers who are summiting can acclimatize and begin their ascent. Other than where we were staying and the tiny refuge hut way up the mountain, there were no other buildings! There were also very few people and cars on the road, so we felt very solitary and relaxed with the wide expanses of paramo (grassland) all to ourselves! After reaching the lagoon and getting some good views of Cotopaxi, as well as another nearby volcano, Volcán Rumiñahui, we headed back down because it was getting chilly. We got some tasty hot chocolate back at the restaurant and saw an incredible sunset before spending the evening in our little hut playing cards and relaxing. The four of us hadn’t experienced temperatures much below 55 F since coming to Ecuador, and that night in our little cabin it was definitely in the 30s! Thankfully we had a lot of warm clothes and blankets.

We slept in a bit on Saturday, but apparently not for long enough because the family that ran the hostel/restaurant was very late with our breakfast that was included. At 10 am we finally chowed down and then we were off again for more hiking around the volcano. This time we made it closer to the snow and massive glaciers, and we were able to see at least 5 other big volcanoes besides Cotopaxi!

We had originally planned to stay until Sunday, but the park was rather underdeveloped and there were not a whole lot of other activities, besides paying a guide to take us to the top! None of us had the time or the money for that, so we grabbed our stuff from Paja Blanca, said goodbye to the family there and started walking down the road back towards the Panamerican. Within about 3 minutes we were picked up by a really nice Ecuadorean family and the drove us all the way down to the highway, and then offered to take us into Quito too!

We made a brief stop at a restaurant next to the highway, where we enjoyed salads, which can be few and far between here! The family dropped us off in the Mariscal and refused our offer of payment for the ride too. It was about 7:30 pm when we arrived back home, much earlier than we expected considering that we didn’t have to take as many buses! Overall, the trip turned out to be a very fulfilling and relaxing breath of nature in a short amount of time!

Also, we came back in time for me to ride my host dad´s bike in the Ciclopaseo again this Sunday! http://www.ciclopolis.ec/root/

More Recent Pictures

 Traditional Ecuadorian Lunch-each Ecology student made a dish

Colada Morada, Choclos, fried plantain with cheese, tree tomate and cheese empanada, llampinganchos

 And of course there was soup! Sarah made Sancocho

 La Mitad del Mundo

 The true site of the Equator

Colada Morada, an amazing mixed fruit drink, and Guaguas de pan (bread shaped like a baby with a filling) eaten during this time of year to celebrate día de los difuntos

Photos of La Hesperia

 Director of La Hesperia Alexandra with a coffee tree

 The cabaña we stayed in!

 Living room of our accomodations

 BANANAS!

 The cook, Elsa, helping us make coffee

 Grinding chocolate!

 Views from our hike up to the upper cloud forest

 The other students and Alexandra at our campsite

 Double rainbow in the evening

Water slide that we went down on the final day

Field Trip to La Hesperia Cloud Forest Reserve (Monday, October 18 -Thursday October 21)

The first field trip of the Conservation Ecology CIMAS program left Quito at 8 am on Monday, less than 12 hours since I’d returned from Baños! But I was ready to explore La Hesperia, a private cloud forest reserve about 2 hours from Quito. Our tour guide and the director of the reserve, Alexandra accompanied us in the van and pointed out important plant species during the drive and during our very hot 30 minute hike up a dirt road from the highway to get to the reserve property. We moved into to our cozy accommodations and got a tour of the developed part of the property, including a veggie garden, fruit trees, horses, cows, chickens, a Montessori school, a volunteer house, a pond, and of course, lots of forest! We sat down to a delicious lunch, the first of many fresh meals that we enjoyed at the reserve. Next, we learned more about the mammals and reptiles of the reserve, and then we proceed to make our own coffee and chocolate from materials gathered on the farm! Wow it smelled good! A night hike led by two of the volunteers followed dinner, and we saw bioluminescent moss, some pond toads and firefly-like beetles!

On Tuesday morning we sampled some of our tasty coffee and hot chocolate before climbing uphill to the high montane cloud forest. We traveled with the 6 members of the volunteer crew, who would be helping us with our quadrant survey. After a 3-hour hike we reached a flat grassy camp spot overlooking most of the gorgeous reserve. Following lunch we tromped through the woods behind Walter (the volunteer director) and Alexandra, who I am convinced can identify every plant in the forest! We completed our biological survey of the plants, insects and soil and returned to the campsite for skewers over the fire and s’mores with chocolate cake! The whole group chatted outside in the dark for a while before retiring to our tents and vintage sleeping bags both borrowed from La Hesperia.

After a rather uncomfortable night, we awoke to bright sunshine in the “cloud” forest and hiked down quickly. After showers and refreshments we were off to survey two different pre-montane/low montane forest sections of the reserve and they contained noticeably larger trees with less epiphytes than the plots up above.  We finished just in time for the weekly soccer game with Hesperia volunteers and employees and locals from the community on the highway down the hill. With 6 more added from my group, the game was a little too large, but still very fun. We wrapped up the evening after dinner with a night hike with Alexandra where we saw an owl, a tree frog, lots of giant insects and possibly a very dangerous snake!

Thursday morning we left at 6:30 am to go bird watching for an hour before breakfast and we saw many interesting species, including a toucan and hummingbirds. The bird show continued after breakfast on our hike to a water slide in a small stream on the property. All of us took a quick dip in the frigid waters and the natural slide was quite a thrill! After we hiked back and had lunch our next task was sadly to leave. However, the reserve always needs volunteers to continue preserving the incredible property, and I look forward to doing that in the future!

 Hostal in Baños!

 Rafting!

 I looked just like the girl painted on the gate to the hostal.

 View of Baños from our hike

 The group at the top of our hike!

 La Virgen thermal pools

 Waterfall right next to the pools

 Pailon del Diablo falls-what a gusher!

 el diablo again

 chocolate banana empanadas for lunch!

 rafting/hiking race that we saw from our bike ride

 one of the first views into the Amazon from the bike ride

 I´m up in a tree! (on our second hike from Baños)

View of the volcano from the bus on the way home

BAÑOS!

After another four days of classes, which included more Biology and information about cloud forests in Ecuador, we were ready for a little vacation! We left Thursday afternoon for Baños, a beautiful but touristy town about 4 hours from Quito that lies at the base of Volcán Tungurahua. We arrived Thursday night and checked into Hostal Nomada (“Nomad”), a tiny family run place with a convenient location in town.

Friday morning we woke up early to eat breakfast before heading out on a rafting trip! The rapids were classes 3 and 4, making it challenging, but not too scary! No one in our boat (6 Washington students including me, plus a guide) fell out, but we all got very wet and at separate times two other boats lost all of their passengers! We took a break midway down the river to swim in a side stream and jump off a huge boulder into a small pool of water. Afterwards on the way back to Baños we stopped for lunch and chatted with our guides.

The remaining 4 students arrived just as we were returning and we set out on our next activity. We hiked on a trail that started just a few blocks away up the side of the volcano, and we were rewarded with gorgeous views of the town and the surrounding valleys. After descending, as it was getting dark, we checked out some of the actual “Baños of Baños”, the hot springs that the town in so famous for. Switching between the freezing cold-river temperature pool and the 118 F hot pool felt good on our tired muscles!

Even though we were feeling really relaxed after the soothing pools, the day was not over yet, and the group decided to test out the salsa dancing clubs of Baños. We all lasted pretty close to the 2:30 am closing time, and many of us agreed that Friday was one of our favorite days in Ecuador so far!

Saturday was our designated bike to Puyo day, a 60 km trek along the “Route of the Waterfalls” from the Andes to the Amazon. On bike you can pass along the side of cliffs on the outside of tunnels and get great views of all the waterfalls. We made sure to stop at the giant Pailon del Diablo waterfall to hike down to it and then literally underneath it! Back at the top of the hill we were amazed by delicious chocolate-banana empanadas!

In the afternoon we continued on, and I had doubts that the 10 of us riding as a group could make it all the way to Puyo. But the scenery was so beautiful and even with a drenching monsoon passing through about an hour from the end, 8 of the 10 Washingtonians made it all the way! The route is described to tourists as “completely downhill”, but we soon learned that the tourists only make it so far, so by the end we had climbed some impressive hills. We caught a bus back to Baños and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful bike rides of my life!

After a very traditional Ecuadorian dinner, complete with pig snout and chicken feet in the soup, we made it back to the hot springs again, but we didn’t have as much time as we hoped. We were much too tired Saturday night to go out again, but we sure slept well!

Sunday morning we found a fancier restaurant for breakfast with amazing homemade bread and an odd, but decent attempt at pancakes. The group split up afterwards and half headed back early, while the other half of us couldn’t pull ourselves away from the plentiful activities of Baños! We hiked up to a huge religious statue and then we kept going up up up with another group of students from the US from a different school. The hike treated us to more gorgeous views of the nearby valleys as well as taking us right by rural farms and back roads. Before leaving Baños on the bus we indulged ourselves with empanadas one more time!

The final hurrah of the trip was getting to see the top of Volcán Tungurahua on the bus ride home, completing the weekend of non-stop fun highlighted by getting to experience four of my favorite hobbies: hiking, biking, rafting and swimming! Hanging out with the other students in my program was very fun too and we were all ecstatic to share our first views of the Amazon!

Car Race in Ambato

 Inside of Juan Carlos´ Race Car

 The car during the race in Ambato

Cousins, Sisters, Brother (pilot), Co-pilot and me after the race! 

Second place trophy!!

Adventures of Last Weekend

 The view from Parque Metropolitano

Art near Parque Metropolitano

 Ice cream in Salcedo!

 My host mom and me! 

Family birthday party in Ambato-host mom with her dad

City Tour of Quito with CIMAS Pictures

 Guards at the Presidential Palace

 The Washington Group!

 La Compania de Jesus Church

Indigenous Art Display

Monday, October 4, 2010 - Sunday October 10, 2010

My first week of school at CIMAS got off to a fun start, as Monday mostly consisted of getting to know the school, the academic programs, and the other students. My favorite part was a walking and hugging/greeting exercise to introduce us to the formal Ecuadorean way of greeting. After going out to a $1 lunch, we viewed a very interesting “Megadiversity of Ecuador” powerpoint presentation. After class I found out that stamps costs $2 for either a postcard or a letter to the US, so I won’t be sending mail very often!

Between Tuesday and Wednesday we had a total of about 7 hours of lecture on the history, development and land policies, and Indigenous culture of Ecuador. These were almost completely in Spanish, but I could understand nearly everything! On Tuesday afternoon the Ecology students had our first Spanish class with Karina. We spent some time getting to know the different provinces of Ecuador, and at times it was a little hard to hear other people, because there was a giant thunder storm going on outside. On Wednesday all of the Washington students ate lunch at a nearby cevecheria! We were mighty full during the afternoon lecture, which was a “How to be safe in Ecuador” talk from a guy from the US Embassy. In the afternoon I walked home again in the pouring rain, started on the first Ecology reading packet they gave us (approximately ½ Spanish, ½ English), and I got to see all three of the Parades kids at dinner!

Thursday was a beautifully clear morning, and I took advantage of this by snapping lots of pictures of the nearby volcanoes, which can be seen from my house and CIMAS. I also walked to school for the first of what I think will be many times with two classmates. We had a total of 4 hours of Spanish class on Thursday, interrupted by an awesome game of Ultimate Frisbee! Another highlight of the day was finally being able to Skype with my mom in the afternoon!

Friday was our Quito Tour day! First we took three different buses and troles to get to the south bus terminal in 1.5 hours. From there we can travel to almost anywhere in the country to the east, west or south. Afterwards, we hopped back on the bus to the Old Town. We got to see La Ronda, the inside of La Companía de Jesus, a closer look at the Palacio del Gobierno, Plaza Grande, and Plaza del Teatro, all with lots of history and facts coming from our CIMAS tour guides Luis and Antonio. After a delicious lunch at Tiaguez in the Plaza de San Francisco, we checked out the under-the-church Indigenous art displays. Before heading back to CIMAS on the bus we stopped for some amazing gelato (chocolate coconut for me)! Most of the other students were heading to Otavalo for the weekend. I wanted to go, but I already have exciting plans with my family for the weekend!

After a morning of walking in circles around my neighborhood, trying to find a place to Skype with my dad at 8 am in the morning on a Saturday, I eventually gave up and walked about 20 minutes to the Ecovía bus terminal. From there I caught a bus to near Parque Metropolitano, and I had a very nice walk through a small section of the park. I hope to go back and explore other parts later, as it is massive! It also seems to be where the majority of the mountain bikers in Quito hang out, so there must be some awesome trails for them too. I hiked back down the hill and caught the Ecovía again to the Mariscal to re-buy an Ecuador guidebook as mine had been stolen. I rode the jolting bus all the way back to the terminal and walked back home quite tired! Part of the family returned shortly and we ate lunch and then we quickly departed to another soccer game. This time, both Centhea and Tamara played, and they will need more players in the future, so they said that I might be able to play as well!

Later in the evening on Saturday, we left for Ambato, a city about 2 hours south of Quito where a lot of my host family’s extended family lives. We stopped in a cute town along the way called Salcedo, which happens to be famous for it’s multi-layered ice cream bars! At about 8 pm we got to the house of Monica, my host mom’s sister in Ambato. After about half and hour the place was packed with grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and we were all there to celebrate four different birthdays, including that of my host mom and her dad.

The party was incredible and such a good way to practice my Spanish and experience the culture and traditions! We were up until 4 am the next day eating lasagna and birthday cake, talking, singing and mostly dancing to salsa music! I spent the night at Monica’s house and the next morning at 10:30 am Cumi came to get me to drive immediately to the car race going on just a few blocks away. We found a spot with great views of the cars racing through the streets of the town. Sunday was the third and final day of the competition, and Gonzalo and Cumi’s son Juan Carlos raced and placed second in his category! It was quite exciting and the first and probably only car race I’ll ever get to go to!

My House and Views from the School!

Volcan Cotopaxi with Parque Metropolitano and the

neighborhood around CIMAS in the foreground

¡Mi Casa! 

Volcan Pichinicha and part of Quito from the roof of the school