PHOTO ALBUM—>>. https://photos.app.goo.gl/i8LkpKnbkySaNTpq9
July 11th, day 4 of our Ecuadorian adventure:
Once again we were served a divine breakfast. We really were spoilt every morning by the breakfasts. Our driver for the day was Milton and we were off heading to Quilotoa crater lake.
Driving with Milton was one continuous educational adventure. Milton is just incredibly knowledgeable about every aspect of Ecuador. All along the route we took he pointed out the many different crops and farms.
He stopped for every, and any photo opportunity for me, (so much for John’s impatience).
Next, in another area, all the green houses, these are for the flowers and roses that are grown for export. There were/are miles and miles of them. Flower exportation is very important, in 2021 Ecuador exported $937 million in cut flowers, making it the 3rd largest exporter of cut flowers in the world. That shows how many green houses there are in Ecuador.
1st we were shown the area in a nearby town where the clay and pottery works were centered. The pottery being on sale by the roadside. Again multiple choices for the pottery shopper.
We saw all manner of stalls along the side of the road selling anything from crabs to ice creams.
Further along farmers were harvesting wheat, oats, and other grains.
Fields of potatoes, cassava, corn and other crops. Did you know? Ecuador is estimated to have about 350 varieties of potatoes, but only 14 are commonly found in the markets.
Milton pointed out the alfalfa which he told us was for, “the feeding of the guinea pigs!” He stopped to show us the guinea pig hutches.
The shepherds with their flocks of sheep, tethered Lamas, and alpacas were other sights along the way,
followed by the chicken and egg farms, plus fields of dairy cows. The country is very rich in farmed foods.
Did you know Lupins are grown for their seeds? The seeds are dried and eaten. We saw fields and fields of beautiful blue Lupins.
The indigenous farm homes were pointed out. They were literally cut into the land where they blended in completely.
We stopped at an artist’s small studio and shop.
There we watched as he painted a lovely landscape. He and his wife were so very proud of their studio. And, yes, we bought one of his paintings.
Canon del Rio Toachion
We could see in the distance a winding canyon or gorge. It had incredible twists and turns with such steep sides. Milton asked if we wanted to see? Of course we did, he stopped and we visited the top of the canyon.
The Toachi Canyon can also be known as the Canyon of the Toachi river. It is a product of the pyroclastic flows from the eruption of the Quilotoa volcano. The last eruption happened around 1280 and was one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 1000 years. We never saw the bottom of the canyon it was that steep and deep.
Off again we drove arriving at:
Quilotoa crater lake
Quilotoa is a water-filled crater lake and the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. “The 3-kilometer-wide caldera was formed by the collapse of this dacite volcano following a catastrophic VEI-6 eruption about 800 years ago.”
The lake is spectacular having a turquoise greenish color as a result of dissolved minerals. We enjoyed the view and then proceeded to walk to the lakeshore.
This is quite, well a very steep hike and I only had sneakers on so found it challenging as the path down being quite worn was not for sneakers. However going carefully over the loose rocks I made it safe and sound down the 1,000ft. The views on our way down were wonderful!
It took an hour to reach the lakeshore, which apparently is about an average time.
The lake shore wasn’t half as scenic as the views from above. It was a bit worn looking, I supposed over used. We looked around and then thought about heading back up.
I had no doubt that I didn’t want to walk back up. There were horses to hire for $10 that would take the weary to the top.
Off John set to hike up. I sat and waited for a horse. After about 15 minutes a guy appeared with 2 horses. I was very happy to hear him say, “ Señora Yenny, caballo?” John had told him I was awaiting a horse. By then others had arrived for a horse to take them back to the top.
Off we went, the ride up was wonderful, but very, very steep with big drop offs just off the side of the path. I totally enjoyed it and managed to take a few pics across the ears of my ride.
Meeting John at the top, who was very pleased with his walk up, his achievement as he managed the climb in just over an hour. The average time is 2 hours, so he squashed the time by 1 hour. H does tend to push himself.
At the top we went for a light lunch at a cafe and then met up with Milton.
Off we zoomed stopping to buy a delicious local ice cream made for all natural fruits.
Next, we headed over the mountains to Banos. The mountain scenery in the late afternoon sun and cloud cover was spectacular! Again like being on the top of the world.
Our hotel Posada Del Arte, a very cute artsy hotel in the middle of Banos.
“The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens
