travels.of.tara

April 21, 2023

I’m back in Quito and getting ready to start the long journey home, with a giant beer and loud music booming on the hostel roof. The last 48 hours have been a juicy cultural experience, though I know it has been somewhat dampened by the enormity of the Galapagos and how my head is swirling. I suppose I’m ready to end my trip now, though being home sounds stressful and I’m not especially looking forward to it. There are so many thoughts to sift through and photos to organize. I got them all onto my computer just now and I’m at about 940 photos and videos, honestly not bad for two weeks.

The flight back to Quito was fine, we were in the section with lots of leg room, and Intrepid picked us up at the airport. With some traffic and the time difference we made it back around 5:30pm, just enough time for us to change and get our starving selves to a very nice final dinner at an Italian restaurant. I said goodbye back at the hotel, and that was the end of the group for me.

On Thursday, I left the hotel very early and clunkily, spilling coffee all over myself when the rare to-go cup I requested failed. I powered through and Ubered back to Community Hostel, where I checked my bag and walked over to the pick up spot for my day trip. My destination was Quilotoa Lake, another of Ecuador’s many volcanic craters, but this one filled in with a beautiful lake. The drive was about 3 hours, but on the way there our van of 13 young travelers stopped a few times to make it seem shorter. First, at a traditional market in Sasquilli, which was outdoors but mostly covered in a lot. I found it delightful, wandering the makeshift aisles with fruits, veggies, flowers, grains, and more lining the vendors’ blankets. I was definitely in mainland Ecuador now, standing out as a white tourist in a sea of traditional Andean Ecuadorians. I bought some fresh fruit and bread for very little money.

Next, as the van wound up the mountains into the Andes with beautiful views, we stopped to visit a traditional Andean home and farm. It was a bit odd because I wasn’t expecting it, but very impactful. A woman met us and we all crammed into her grass-roofed hut, which was built into a rocky ledge in the mountain. We tried a weird fermented drink she made, and there were some family photos on the walls. This seemed to be everything except the bedroom. There was an electric wire with one bulb and a fridge – our guide said the government started providing electricity for free and requiring it just two years ago. There was also gas for the stove. But it was very dark. Then the guide said ok, give her your gifts, and a bunch of people handed her big bags of fruit and bread from the market. I didn’t understand that this was the plan and felt bad, having left my purchases for myself on the van, but I think some others were in the same boat. He said later that he doesn’t like to give money because they tend to spend it on a strong and dangerous alcohol. We then got welcomed into the next hut over, the bedroom with one double-sized bed, a desk, and some storage space that was crammed with stuff and fit their family of 5. I noticed a laptop but everything else felt very foreign. We also saw their guinea pigs they were raising for food (aka cuy). I guess these tour groups visit different houses when they visit so it’s not a constant bombardment. They pool the fruit gifts and share it amongst their community.

A bit later and we finally made it to Quilotoa, all the way up at about 12,500 feet elevation. We walked a bit down to our first viewpoint and it was stunning! We had the option of hiking down and back up, possibly renting kayaks in the lake and maybe riding a donkey or horse back up. We only had about 2 hours 15 minutes, and they said the walk down was 25 minutes and the walk up was hard, so I knew early that given the altitude that I would instead opt for the rim trail. I did walk down about 10 minutes to try it a little and take some nice photos, and the walk up was steep and very difficult with the altitude, so I know I made the right decision. I found my way to the rim trail, walked a few minutes past some older folks enjoying the views, and then found myself in total solitude for the next hour and a half out and back. It was excellent, with the lake on my left and the mountains on my right. Still a challenge with some little ups and downs, but much easier than the other option. I found a great turnaround spot at a little viewpoint where people had dressed up poles as people, and made it back early, where I chatted with a British couple who were traveling for a year. We drove a few minutes to a lunch spot, which was ok, and I talked with some Israeli girls about the Galapagos – one of them I had started hiking with down into the crater and she told me she was 56, I was so impressed she went halfway down and up the trail and was super fit. The drive back was long, with just a quick stop at a gas station, and we got back to the hostel a little after sunset. Now knowing it’s not a good neighborhood at night, I was very content to eat my leftover Italian food and repack my bags in my private room for the long day ahead.

On my last day in Ecuador, I decided to splurge a little. I stored my bag and met my private driver, Daniel, outside. When traveling in some of countries it’s common to hire a local driver for the day, but this one I found on a tour website and felt comforted by seeing the reviews and that he spoke English. I hopped in his nice SUV, the nicest car I’d been in in Ecuador, and we drove an hour and a half through the mountains and toward the Amazon jungle. He shared so much info, happy to talk about his country and his life and business.

Our destination was A-OK: Papallacta hot springs. Volcanic water flows into man-made pools with jets and lots of great health benefits. I opted for the more exclusive spa location vs the public one, $23 vs $10 for entry. We arrived right at the opening at 9am, and the place was pretty empty but very nice. I was able to book a massage for later that morning. It was all just amazing, the water and jets felt so good especially in the beautiful setting in the mountains. I felt quickly relaxed and chilled out. The massage was really good. I texted Daniel, who was waiting in the car doing paperwork, and we arranged a lunch time at a local restaurant. I paid my $77 total for my 4 hours of luxury (!!) and met Daniel for our drive to the restaurant, where I had some delicious chicken. I fell asleep on the drive back.

Daniel told me about a nice artisanal market sort of near my hostel, so I had him drop me off there for some last minute shopping, around 3pm. I bought some chocolate – the brand he recommended – and a few other things, weaving through the narrow aisles and having lots of vendors marketing things to me. I was warned about the route to walk back for safety, even though it really didn’t feel unsafe to me. It was still early so I hopped into the Cultural Center, a huge building and another recommendation from Daniel, and went to the free National Museum of Ecuador. It was small but cute with some old artifacts and a bit of modern art, and it was starting to rain so it was a nice break. When I left it was pouring, so after some debate I decided to Uber back to the hostel instead of taking the half hour walk in my no-longer-waterproof rain jacket. There was immense traffic but I finally made it, getting back with plenty of time to once again repack and catch up on some projects.

The hostel’s shuttle driver met me for a rainy drive in traffic for an hour back to the airport. I slept moderately well on the first overnight flight. I enjoyed my global entry, and with the prospect of an 8-hour layover in Atlanta, I just checked to see if they could get me on an earlier flight, and they put me on standby for one 6 hours earlier! Though it was a little last-second, standing at the gate watching everyone else board, I was thrilled to get a seat! It was joyful. And with that, my trip comes to an end, with my writing coming to a very anti-climatic close. Til the next one!