Still, just because we could see the lake didn’t mean we had reached our destination. We continued hiking, though and eventually came to the village of Quilotoa where our bus, Maria, Erika, and of course our bus driver were waiting for us.


Some of the guaguas of the village. They all have sores on their faces which is just one example of how bad healthcare is in some areas.

Quilotoa is a small town that is on the rim of the crater and caters to tourists. There is a decent sized craft market and there is a decent-sized industry of mules for tourists to ride back up the crater after hiking down. Still, a lot of the kids, while absolutely adorable, were sick and it was evident that there wasn’t enough health care. This is sadly true in most of the indigenous communities we visited.


All set to hike down the crater

Well, we ate a quick lunch of tuna fish and queso fresco sandwiches, complete with Tangos (our favorite cookie of Ecuador), and then began our hike down the crater to the lake with our two 8-year old guides.


Our two guides telling us the names of various plants

Once at the bottom, we hopped onto mules and rode up the crater. Considering they only had blankets instead of saddles, I think it’s amazing none of us fell off. The most nerve-racking part was passing through very narrow passages of the mountain because I was pretty sure my mule did not know that my legs gave him additional width and might squish my legs into the wall. Fortuneatly, this did not happen. Perhaps because I kept telling him, “Eres bonito” (“You are pretty”). Of course, this was after I had told him, “Eres bonita,” (“You are pretty” for a girl) before the guide leading my mule told me that my mule was a male. Well, I guess it’s a good thing mules apparently don’t hold grudges.


Our mules waiting for us at the bottom of the crater

It was a pretty steep hike, but nearly every mule (and I think there were some horses involved) had a guide from the community walking up with it, while we rode the mules. It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable ride, but it was a heck of a lot easier than walking, and I have such a big respect for the people who live there.

We finally arrived at the top, all uninjured, shopped a bit at the craft market, and hopped onto the bus. We then made our way back to Quito. On the way, we had a gorgeous view of Cotopaxi, and our bus driver was nice and stopped twice on the side of the road for us to take pictures!



Oooooo-Ahhhhhh...Cotopaxi in the sunset