Quito and environs



Cotopaxi volcano

Back to Quito for a couple of days after 2 wonderful weeks in the Galapagos, we drove a couple of hours outside of Quito into the high mountains, to Cotopaxi National Park.  Such a beautiful place.  Cotopaxi is a volcano about 19,000 feet high and covered at the top by a glacier.  The park itself is very high, starting at about 13,500 feet at the entrance.

hiking to shelter at 15,953 feet

 

You can climb partway up Cotopaxi to a shelter at 15,953 feet from a parking area at 14,800 feet, so that’s where we headed.  The trail is pretty easy since it is all switchbacks, but it’s still pretty high, especially when you’ve just spent 2 weeks at sea level.  I was surprised at how easy the trail was as I climbed to the shelter in 50 minutes, counting photo stops.  The views out across the park are gorgeous, with more volcanos in every direction.  And Cotopaxi itself is so beautiful.  You can climb to the top, of course, but need real climbing equipment to go up the glacier.  Supposedly it’s about another 6 or 7 hours above the shelter.



Kechwa ladies at Otavalo market

Next day we visited the famous market at Otavalo where Kechwa women sell all kinds of items, claiming they are handmade, but they’re all selling the exact same products, so clearly not handmade except for some of the embroidery.  We also visited a beautiful lake in a large volcanic crater. 

Cuicacha Lake in Cuicacha volcano crater

extinct volcanos outside Quito
 

The area around Quito is very high, mostly above 9000 feet, and very beautiful.  It’s a bit of a drive from Quito, about 2 hours, but well worth it.  At the end of the day, we had dinner near the airport in a charming restaurant in an equally charming town before going to the airport to catch our flight home.

woman selling her embroidery