Ecuador - Republic of the Equator

We left Missouri only a few hours before a winter storm moved in.  Then we had a long wait in Atlanta due to delays before our 5 hour flight to Quito, Ecuador.  We landed at 12:30AM, got thru customs, found our luggage and our guide and arrived at our hotel at 2AM!   We were awed by our luxury accommodations but going to bed at 3AM is just too late. 

This morning our guide picked us up at the hotel and continued his narative of the culture and peoples of Ecuador.  Quito is the largest city in Ecuador at 2.2 million people.  Roses, broccoli, oil and Panama hats are a few of the income producers for the country.  The city is 34 miles long and 4 miles wide, nestled between two ranges of the Andes Mtns.  Our hotel is in the middle of Old Town, the colonian section full of ancient churches, museums and shopping.

As we traveled south out of the city we were introduced to the many volanoes in the area.  In fact, we traveled along the Avenue of the Volcanoes on our way to one of the highest and most famous volcano, Cotopaxi.  It is over 19,000 ft tall and last spewed ash and lava in 1999.  Cotopaxi National Park covers over 80 square miles around the mountain and is home to wild horses, deer, llama and the very rare, and rarely seen condor.  Henry, our guide, couldn't wait for us to climb up the side of the volcano, but at over 15,000 ft we didn't even make it to the refusio (shelter) at 16,000 ft elevation. On top of no oxygen it was cold and very windy and the path was very loose gravel.  We were happy we made it as high as we did.

Lunch was served at a hacienda at 3 pm then we were in rushhour traffic most of the way back.  The hotel served a complimentary high tea then John and I left the others to explore the area around our hotel.  It was a lovely evening but after this long day we can't wait to turn in.