Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador

I signed up for a daylong tour with Gulliver travel company to hike up to the glacier line of Cotopaxi Volcano. Cotopaxi is an active volcano, the second highest in Ecuador, standing at 19,347ft. An eruption from Cotopaxi killed over 1,000 people in 1887. It is due for another eruption, and now over a million people live in nearby Quito. When it happens, it will be horrific.
Hopefully today would not be that day. We rode a bus for several sleepy hours and then started our hike at about 14,700ft, which was already the highest elevation I'd ever achieved. My $2 hat from Otavalo came in handy.

Our first look at the glacier.

At 15, 700ft. we took a break in this refuge. Soon it began to hail and snow.

Finally we reached the highest point we could hike to; 16,400ft! To go further on the glacier would require ice climbing equipment, and also a day of acclimatization to be able to handle 19,000ft. I'd like to have done that, but, so little time.

We descended back to the refuge, where a fantastic spread of food awaited a dozen hungry hikers.
After hiking the rest of the way down to the parking lot, we jumped on mountain bikes and barrelled down the dirt road out of the park.
I recommend Gulliver Travel for this tour. At $35 I thought it was a good value, they provided a good English speaking guide, good food, no problems. The easiest way to book a tour is just to turn up at their office in La Mariscal, see what they have available and sign on.

The vegetation at 12,000ft looked remarkable similar to what you'd see in Colorado at a similar elevation.

Otavalo, Ecuador

Today I did a day tour to the market towns of Otavalo and Cuicocha. Along the way we crossed the Equator, and stopped to snap some pics. There is a much larger and more famous Equator monument called Mital del Mundo, but it turns out that it's not actually on the equator. They missed it by 200 meters. So this one's good enough for me.
I was so busy haggling and buying stuff in Otavalo, I hardly took any pictures. But here is an example of a colorful Otavalo market stall. We had 90 minutes in Otavalo, and I could have used 3 hours at least. This is the place to come to outfit your whole family for winter weather. Many beautiful sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens, jackets.

Next we stopped at the nice Peguche waterfall. Ecuador is really a beautiful country. In just a couple hours of driving, we passed giant snowcapped mountains, and deep, sharply dropping valleys. We saw farmers working the land all the way up to 14,000ft. Rivers rushing through the valley floors. Indigenous ladies in traditional dress carrying babies in a sling.

Her shirt says, "I am a beauuuuuuuuuuutiful child"
This plant produces a drug known as Scopolamine. Scopolamine is a dangerous drug that turns humans into near zombies. Criminals blow the powder form of the drub into peoples faces and then can easily convince the person to give them their ATM pin, their car keys, or their apartment keys. According to Wikipedia, "In recent years the criminal use of scopolamine has become epidemic in Colombia. Approximately one in five emergency room admissions for poisoning in Bogota have been attributed to scopolamine." If you want to be terrified before your next visit to Colombia, click on the link.

Quito, Ecuador

Ecuador is Country number 55. I was happy to arrive here, as it was sunny and warm. Quito is the second highest national capital in the world at 9,350 ft elevation. Before my trip I worried that the elevation might affect me, but I felt nothing at all in the cities.

Unlike Bogota, Quito has a well maintained and extensive old town. I walked for hours through it.

Quito also has a strong tourism infrastructure. I was able to book a day tour to Otavalo and a day tour to hike up part of Cotopaxi volcano for $35 each.

Quito has a great central location for tourists, La Mariscal, aka "Gringolandia". There you will find the tour agencies, hotels and hostels for any budget, and great restaurants and bars.

These two guys tried to pickpocket me right outside my hotel in mid afternoon. The shorter one then called "Senor! Senor!" and pointed to something on my back with an outstretched hand offering a napkin. I was about to stop and investigate this yellow crap on my back, when I saw someone else moving towards me from the other direction, and I remembered hearing about this particular scam where someone squirts something on you and gets your attention by cleaning it off, while a third party picks your pocket or steals your bag. Instead I changed directions and just walked away from both of them. Once in my hotel I discovered it was mustard covering my jacket, backpack, and jeans. After cleaning everything and changing clothes, I left the hotel to find the bastards still loitering nearby.

Quito has a visible minority of indigenous people who wear traditional dress which includes a bowler hat for women. Sadly, the main occupation for these folks seems to be selling lottery tickets, gum, and cigarettes.

I had a footwear disaster in Quito. My biker boots have been wearing down over the years, and on this day the heel of one tore right off, leaving me with bare wood on slippery cobblestones. I limped past a few shoe stores and was directed to this fellow's shop. He replaced the rubber heels on both boots while I waited for just $5. His wife even sewed a rip in my sweater for a buck.
The motorcyclist on the ground just got run down by the white truck right in front of me. A crowd gathered to pass judgement on the incident. The verdict seemed to be in favor of the biker, and the truck driver was made to pull off to the side to wait for the cops.

A beautiful blue sky above my hotel. Such a relief to see the sun after 5 rainy days in Bogota.