Galapagos - Cotopaxi and Mindo (5 of 5)

        Leaving the Letty behind was both exhilarating and sad. We had so enjoyed our week of touring, snorkeling, and the wonderful people we met and with whom we became acquainted along the way. Our trusty naturalist guides Pepe and Gaby brought us ashore and directed us to a small interpretive center back in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal where we learned many more things about the Galapagos history. Then we had a few hours to wander in the little town, which was a few hours too long for what was there. Actually, due to a flight delay it was even longer before we took off on the return flight to Quito.

     Back in Quito, our trusty driver Arturo had waited for us despite the delay in arrival, and he returned us unscathed to he Hotel Patio Andaluz for another night. This was our last night with Tom, Deb, Lisa and Ross. We went out for a nice dinner to celebrate and reminisce. Lisa and Ross were bound for Peru and a visit to Machu Pichu, while Tom and Deb had a day to spend in Quito before returning to the US.

     Cyndi and Rick had arranged to stay at a hacienda south of Quito, not too far from the volcano Cotopaxi. Our driver took us there, and a good thing that was. The road was poor, bumpy, and unmarked. We would never have arrived had we driven ourselves. But once there, the Hacienda Santa Ana was a very nice hostelry. Here are a few photos of the outside:

Rick in the entryway

Cyndi catching the view

View from Hacienda Santa Ana

    Hacienda Santa Ana was formerly a Jesuit home, where the order had a residence to care for the surrounding area. It is now updated to modern standards, but it keeps a cloistered atmosphere - soft, church music, relics, and above all quiet. It is also more than 12,000 feet above sea level. This proved to be a real problem, especially for Rick as I could not seem to shake the effects of that altitude. Even repeated cups of mata de coca didn't work too well. The Hacienda Santa Ana was situated in a very rural area with fields, cattle, sheep and wonderful views in every direction. It was about an hour's drive south of Quito. Its restaurant was quite good, a necessary thing since there was literally nothing else anywhere near us there.

     Our first day was spent on a hike up a river valley to a hidden waterfall, with many others en route. We had a guide, Flavio, to show the way. Luckily for us this was at a significantly lower altitude so we were able to hike the 5 miles or so it took to get there and back. Of course, it was rainy, and even somewhat cold as well - what a difference from the Galapagos! Here are some pictures:

And a short video of the main attraction:

     We had arranged for the second day a horseback ride up to see Volcan Cotopaxi accompanied again by Flavio. Cotopaxi is the second highest volcano in the Andes, rising more than 19,000 feet above sea level, and among the tallest mountains in the world. It is at the center of a big national park, all well above the tree line. We could not see Cotopaxi until we had ridden for almost an hour, but then it came into view as we rounded a corner. Photos don't do it justice - a snow-capped peak so near the equator, so impressively high that we had to recall that we ourselves were already well above 12,000 feet! If you imagine a volcano, you think of a conical, symmetrical peak with white snow surrounding the top - and that's exactly what Cotopaxi looks like. We rode all around the relatively flat tundra, saw old lava flows, wild horses, and virtually no people. But we actually saw a real Andean Condor fly right over our heads! Here are a few photos:

Here is a short video panorama of the Cotopaxi Park:

    We spent another night at the hacienda, but the altitude was too much so we returned again to our refuge, the trusty Patio Andaluz for our last night. That last day we hired another driver to take us down to Mindo, a small town in the "cloud forest." This is the tropical forest about halfway down to the sea, a lower altitude with its own ecosystem. Here we visited a butterfly farm, a chocolate making operation, and orchid garden and hummingbird sanctuary. Here are a few photos:

Chocolate pods

Chocolate beans drying before processing.

Hummingbirds at feeder

Hummingbirds. They flit around so fast!

And here are videos of the butterfly farm and some hummingbirds!

    What a trip! Returning to Quito after that long day, we again had Arturo drive us out to the airport for the overnight flight back to Atlanta and home.