Still higher!

Tonight I’m sleeping at the highest elevation on my tour of Ecuador. And to get here, we went through a pass at over 13,120 feet (4,000 m). We travelled from near Otavalo, north east of Quito to Papallacta to the south east of Quito on our way ultimately to the Amazon Basin. Papallacta is at 10,827 feet (3300 m) above sea level and is reportedly one of the highest towns accessible by car in the world.

But let me go back to this morning. We didn’t have to leave our lovely hacienda until 12:30 pm because we couldn’t check in at the Hot Springs Lodge at Papallacta until 3:30. So we had several options for things to do this morning. Some people opted to just sleep in, and wander the property, and there was the opportunity to go horse back riding if you weren’t allergic to horses. But our CEO offered a morning of activities, and that’s what I signed up for – the FOMO Tour. That’s the Fear of Missing Out Tour.

We unfortunately had to start out at 8 am but the early morning was well worth it and we got a jump on the other tourists in the area. We started with just a short drive back through Otavalo to the Cascada de Peguche. It was overcast with a bit of a mist, but it just seemed to enhance the experience, not take away from it. An easy 20 minute walk through a eucalyptus forest had us arriving at a viewing platform at the base of the Peguche Waterfalls. Waterfalls have special significance to the indigenous peoples as they believe they bring renewal and cleansing. In the spring of each year there is a ritual bathing by the men only where they stand on the bridge you’ll see in the pictures, facing the waterfall they wash themselves in the waterfall to cleanse themselves for the coming year. We didn’t get in the waterfall.

Some of the water gets diverted for irrigation purposes.

This is a 100 year old eucalyptus tree beside the pathway on the way to the falls.

This is a pic of fellow traveller Jeff from Australia, who is hilarious despite his serious job. He is a pilot in the Outback for the Royal Flying Doctors organization.

On our way back from the falls to the parking lot we were met by travellers with one of the huge coach tour companies so we were glad that we’d been able to have our time at the waterfall with just our little group.

Although the weather wasn’t ideal for going to see the nearby crater lake, we decided to go anyway and see what we could see, and at least we’d get a great walk out of it.

This eco-reserve is called Cotacachi Cayapas and it surrounds a lake that formed in the crater of a now extinct Cotacachi Volcano. We went to a lower viewing place thinking we might see more through the clouds and mist from there. But no such luck. So off we went to a trail higher up where, although we couldn’t see the lake at all, we did have a lovely walk. It was serene, and enlightening. Our CEO Maria Sol, is an expert at botany and she must have told us the use for 30 different plants along the way. At one point someone asked what a particular flower would be good for, and Maria Sol answered that its job was just to be beautiful.

When we finished our walk we descended to the other lookout to see if the fog had lifted at all and it had a little and I was able to get this pano shot. Not really impressive in the picture but it was beautiful.

Our next activity was a stop at a local Sunday market in the town square of a nearby town. The 6 of us walked through the market, with Maria Sol explaining the various foods that we didn’t recognize. I’m sure no one noticed we weren’t from around there.

Potatoes are a staple in Ecuador, and there are over 300 species grown. This vendor had just a few varieties.

Yes, this is a whole roasted pig in the “food court” where market goers could chose from a variety of weird and wonderful looking things.

Then it was back to the hacienda to pick up the rest of our group for the long windy trip to Papallacta. We stopped for some fabulous sandwiches that Maria Sol had pre-ordered in Otavalo and ate on the way. BTW, the bread is wonderful here. I may not come home.

The views along the way were absolutely stunning, especially when the clouds parted for a bit and we were able to see more of the mountains in the distance. You could see the vegetation change as we went further and further up towards our destination.

This lodge is wonderful in every way. Our group occupied rooms which circled 3 different hot spring pools and one cold spring pool. So all we had to do was go out the door of our unit and walk into the steaming hot water. Not to worry, it wasn’t boiling water, but the air temperature was just much lower than the water temp. The rooms are incredibly well appointed with thermally heated tile floors and a dispenser for safe drinking water in every room.

I soaked and chatted with my fellow travellers for at least an hour and it was heavenly. I could barely drag my sorry butt out of the water to go and get cleaned up for dinner. Several of us didn’t join the group for dinner tonight but rather chose to stay at the hotel to just have something light. I’m finding my digestive system has slowed down to a snails pace and I’m always feeling full. Hard to believe! They say to avoid protein which for some reason is hard for the body to metabolize at altitude and to eat more carbs. So hey, pass the rolls!