Our second full day in Otavalo was eventful to say the least.. We started off with breakfast at 8 am and had some scrambled eggs, fresh juice, and bread with jam. We left the hostel for the day and headed out to Parque Nacional Cotacachi Cayapas were we went on a 30 minute boat ride on the volcanic crater lake. We learned that the lake was created by a volcanic eruption a couple of thousand years prior and eventually filled with rainwater and snow from the mountains. Despite the abundance of grasses and clarity of the water, the sulfur makes the water to acidic for fish to live in it. On the boat ride Malini and I decided to recreate Rose and Jack from the Titanic – what else is there to do on a boat ride after all?
After the boat ride, we embarked on a hike up to one of the viewing points on the mountain We had an unexpected guest, a little white dog that followed us the entire way up and back, who even tried to board the bus with us. Apparently, he had appeared at the national park that day and had been following visitors around. The hike itself was absolutely gorgeous, on one side there was the lake and mountains and on the other side, farmland and lush green grass. Up on the top, we felt the sun our skin and a cool breeze. The path had all kind of different shrubs and wildflowers as well as monuments like the sundial. After descending from the hike, we ate lunch at the park and then headed to our next destination: the waterfall.
40 minutes later and we arrived at Cascada de Peguche, an 18 meter waterfall surrounded by lush forest. Upon arrival, there were tons of dogs and little shops, it kind of reminded me of a movie set, and a short walk later we were at a large playground where the guys acted like kids again, racing to get to the seesaws. After some time exploring the playground we walked over to the waterfall and got completely misted, it did however make for some great photos. There were two bridges, one that went across the stream from the waterfall and one that went up close to it for pictures, the second being my favorite. We stayed for a bit and enjoyed the view before heading to our next and final stop, the bird sanctuary.
Side note* – I absolutely love seeing all the dogs as we explore Ecuador, this is a collage of a bunch that we saw in Otavalo. The small white dog in the bottom left corner is the one that joined us on our hike. The one directly above it waving, lives at the hostel we were staying at. The rest of the dogs shown were all at the waterfall and little shops surrounding it. My personal favorite being the one on the middle right – it looked like he was smiling, and he had two different colored eyes.
The bird sanctuary wasn’t supposed to be a long drive but we got somewhat lost along the way – I like to think that was part of the adventure itself. We got there an hour before closing and got to see all different kinds of hawks and falcons and Ecuadors national bird, the Andean Condor – they are absolutely MASSIVE. Overall, it was a really neat experience to see all the different kinds of birds, especially because a lot of the birds there are endangered and wouldn’t regularly be seen in the wild. The one downside was witnessing feeding time, most of the large birds were fed dead baby chicks; it sparked a conversation among the group around the ethicalness of the feeding process and sourcing procedures.
Leaving the sanctuary, we took the bus back to the hotel and had some down time before going into the main part of the city for dinner. During that time, I took a well needed nap as did some of the other girls in my room. We then all went to dinner at this hostel/restaurant and the food was delicious
The next day we departed from Otavalo and started our trek to the Amazon rainforest, but we also made a bunch of stops along the way.
First, we stopped at the literal equator and went to the equator museum that was there. It was a lot more interesting hat I thought it would be and learned that most modern maps don’t necessarily depict the earth the right way, or rather they are not depicted in relation to the equator, which would be most accurate. We all got to take pictures and explore the garden that they had there. We were super lucky it was really clear out and we could see the volcano in the distance, even the snow on the top.
After leaving the equator, we continued our way south back towards Quito where we dropped Gabby, our translator, off. Then, we stopped at the highest point of the trip, about 1300 ft above sea levels dn took a short walk. It was a bit chillier and the view was absolutely breathtaking, I would have loved to had a picnic there. We took some pictures as a group and then we continued to my favorite part of the day, the hot springs! Also known as Termas Papallacta, which I highly recommend visiting if you ever visit Ecuador – which you should if it isn’t already obvious. We spent a good amount of time at the hot springs, trying different pools, varying temperatures. The water comes from the mountain and springs and is heated by underground volcanic activity. It was super cool to try and so relaxing, I could feel all the tension release from the days earlier activities.
We showered, ate lunch and then headed to our next stop before officially entering the rainforest: the cloud forest. The drive there was a good portion of the trip and I slept, only to wake up to us stopped on the side of the road, which also happened to be the entrance to the forest. It was pouring and there was no avoiding us all getting drenched, but the sights were incredible and the rain made it feel even more immersive. As we walked, Skip pointed out different plants and insects and explained different features about them and what they do – he is like a walking encyclopedia.
After getting back on the bus and attempting to dry off, were had about 2 more hours before we got to the Lodge in the Rainforest and concluded our travel day.