The drive to Quilatoa caldera was interesting for a lot of reasons. First, we got to see multiple zones of vegetation (alpine, scrub and lowland forest) as we constantly climbed and descended. This made me quite excited but probably didn't thrill Lincoln and Raine as much since I was constantly burbling about some tropical bush or another. Second, we moved into rural country with a largely indigenous population, and got to see how the non-city dwellers lived. Third, the landscape was stunningly beautiful: towering peaks and lush valleys, terrace farms and little towns with colorful low houses and colonial-era churches.
It took several hours to reach our destination, because the Andes are not the kind of mountains you just go straight through. You have to wind around around and switchback up and down each and every one (Raine told me the leading cause of death in Ecuador is traffic accidents. Since there are roadside shrines to the dead every mile or so, it's easy to believe, and I was *very* glad we had a professional at the wheel.)
The town of Quilatoa sits just outside the caldera; it's small, modern and half vacant, since it was developed under the assumption (incorrect, due to remoteness and 12k+' altitude) that tourists would flock to the site. It also completely blocks views from the road, so I had no idea what we were going to be seeing until we were literally ten feet away. And then-- as if by magic-- the earth just dropped away into a massive hole in the earth, two miles wide. At its bottom, nine hundred feet down, was a crater lake, shining brilliant blue and green in the midday sun. Raine and I just stood there with our mouths open for a few minutes. See pics below; although they don't really capture either the monumental scale or the sheer awesomeness of the place.
After we stopped repeating "Oh My God!" we did a short hike around the rim of the crater, which was full of cool alpine plant life, insects and (more) ridiculously scenic vistas. We only walked a couple of miles because the altitude really was winding, which was a pity; there was so much we probably missed. Raine did manage to get a shot of a local woman walking her pig, however (see below.)
That afternoon was another epic drive, because we first had to get back to the main road and then drive down to our next hotel, in the city of Banos. This time our hotel was spectacular (downtown but surrounded by a garden, full of blooming flowers and hummingbirds) but I a little sad, because I was sure we had seen the best the trip had to offer. Fortunately I was dead wrong-- the next day was the waterfall tour.
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