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Day Twelve and Thirteen: Rest and Return
Termas Pappalacta was exactly what we needed after many days filled with adventure. We slept late, lazed around the spa pools and just relaxed. The journey home would be a long one.
On this day of travel, Yamandu and Emile picked us up after breakfast at 9:00 am and we embarked upon our last journey, up to Mt. Cotopaxi, an active volcano, over 19,000 feet high. A long drive to the National Park, sometimes over bumpy very bumpy roads led us to a valley way above the tree line where we embarked on a lovely three mile hike around Laguna de Limpiopung, a lake at the foot of Cotopaxi, at almost 13,000 ft. An easy stroll turned just a little more difficult because of the decreased oxygen at these heights. It looked like it was gonna rain, but once again, the Fannans got lucky, and it didn’t start coming down until later. Regrettably, Cotopaxi itself was shrouded in clouds, so we were not able to see this majestic snow covered peak. In any event, after our hike, Yamandu took us for a nice little lunch at this restaurant in the middle of nowhere, also at 13,000 feet. Unreal.
We left at about 2:30 pm and started what was to be truly a long trek home.
Getting to the Quito airport at about 4:30, we had 7 hours to wait for our red-eye flight to Atlanta. Quito does have a beautiful airport with all the modern bells a whistles (Baskin-Robbins!), but 7 hours is a long time to sit around. Once we got on the plane, everything went quite well. A short layover in Atlanta, followed by 5 hours into San Francisco. Then the 4 hour trip back to Tahoe.
It’s great to travel, and it’s great to go back home.
Thoughts:
Our journey to Ecuador and The Galápagos Islands was different than most of the vacations we have gone on. It was difficult at times, with full days of sometimes tiring activities. We saw awesome beauty, to be sure, but I don’t remember learning so much in such a short period of time. The Islands showed what can be done about ecology, if people truly have the motivation and resources. Ecuador, unlike some country that comes to mind, has figured out some things. Medical care for all, Social Security, low cost housing, free continuing education with a commitment to three years of government service, and common sense gun control are just some of the things we struggle with. We encountered no homeless sleeping on the streets, and no one begging. Is Ecuador a rich country? No. Is it a poor country? Again, no. Lots of people in the middle, few at the ends. Food for thought
I hope I have not bored you too much with my random thoughts about this journey. Thanks again to my kids for this wonderful adventure. Thanks for all of the wonderful comments!
See you all soon.
No more to come….
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Zoom in on these old ledgers from the mill at El Molina. The calligraphy is amazing. Makes one want to step up one’s handwriting game.
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The multi-colored ones have been dyed for the fashionable niche of rose purchasers.
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The family chapel at El Molina. I was gonna stop at the confessional, but that might have taken more time than we had.
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Day Eleven: It’s All About The Roses and A Little Luxury
It seems that Ecuador is one of the leading rose exporting countries (currently #2). Who knew? All over the place, there are huge warehouses growing roses for the international and local market. Each of these warehouses, many run by families as well as by large corporate interests produces 25,000 roses per day with the production ramped up to 100,000 for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. With over 500 different varieties, roses rank in the top five businesses in Ecuador, along with oil, bananas, shrimp, and tourism. Truly a monstrous operation delivering these flowers all over the world what with the shelf life of a rose being about 15 days. Much of the traffic at airports at night and into the early morning is devoted to this process. The local market is strong as well. All along the road, vendors offer bunches of roses going for three bunches (25 roses per bunch) for $5.00.
Before visiting one of these local producers, we stopped at another equator marker. This time, we used the longitudinal and latitudinal app on our iPhone to validate that we were actually at 0 degrees, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds North!
Our next destination was lunch at El Molina Hacienda, in Cayambe. What a mind job! This family owned rose producer, restaurant, and inn has been in the same family for eight generations, since the late 1800’s. Our first stop here was the chapel, an old one built on a foundation of volcanic stone. Our host, Theresa, then took us to the rose showroom, a former stable, where our minds were blown by hundreds of gorgeous roses of all colors and sizes. Unreal!
From there, we stepped into the past, to a restaurant built where a wheat grinding mill once stood. The entrance was a great room (meaning large) that used to house then mill works. Now amongst old tools used for the grinding, were sitting areas, fireplaces, antiques, as well as photos of the many generations of the family that had built El Molina. Diane and I could have stayed in that room forever.
Lunch followed in the also beautiful dining room, with, among other local favorites, the tenderest chicken I have ever had. (I must step up my chicken game when I get home).
If that hadn’t been enough, we jumped back into the van for our journey to Termas Pappalacta, a luxurious resort spa high in the mountains for two nights of rest and relaxation before starting our return to reality.
This spa’s waters are heated by the volcano nearby. Our room was, in a word, spectacular. Thermal pools right outside our door, a wonderful restaurant, and the Royal treatment awaited us.
More to come……
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