During the course of the 10 week program we had several weekends free to do as we wished, but many were already booked with group trips. Included in the cost of the program (which was Ohio State tuition plus a fee similar to the cost of room and board back on campus – not bad!) were several excursions, and we also had the option of paying extra for a few more trips.
The weekend after arrival we had our first group excursion, a day trip to Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi is a volcano in the Andes Mountains located about 20 miles south of Quito. Rising above 19,000 feet, it is the second highest summit in Ecuador. Although Cotopaxi is quite close to Quito (it can be seen from the city) the drive took us several hours, first on a major road and then on a series of dirt paths up the hillside.
We stopped partway up the mountain at around 14,000 ft / 4,300 meters, and then proceeded to ride back down on bikes. Yep, we rode down the mountain on bicycles – not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a university-sponsored group excursion. The road back down was very steep in some places, and if you didn’t put on the brakes it wouldn’t be long until you wiped out.
As long as you were careful, however, it wasn’t too dangerous. The ride was divided up into three parts – first down the mountain, then a flat stretch followed by lunch, and a final leg back to the entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. The last stretch had some hills that were pretty tough to get up by bike. Only a few of us tried the last leg (we had the option of riding the bus); I went at it but had to walk my bike up a few of the hills. After we reached the park entrance we drove back to Quito and had the evening free.
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| At a class trip to the Equator |
Another weekend trip was to Otavalo, a town of about 50,000 mostly indigenous Ecuadorians. We spent two nights (Friday and Saturday) in a small hotel run by a German ex-pat within easy walking distance of the town center. One night our group had a planned dinner with a live band, and during the following day we went biking on a nearby trail, toured the local marketplace, and visited a well-known hot springs pool. It was very interesting to simply walk around the town and observe – the aging Spanish colonial architecture, the crowded marketplace with hand-made crafts, the locals (many wearing traditional dress), and the kids playing in the town parks.
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| A vendor selling traditional clothing |
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| The Otovalo market |
One lesson that many of us took from the marketplace was that prices were not that same there as they are in the US. Whereas we are used to fixed prices, most Ecuadorian street vendors are willing to bargain. I had done some haggling of my own on Semester at Sea, but many of the other students were new to the practice. Needless to say, some in our group paid too much for their souvenirs, but it was a lesson they didn’t soon forget. It was good practice for the markets back in Quito, where many of us honed our bargaining skills (as obvious tourists we were at a disadvantage, since the vendors look for ways to overcharge unsuspecting gringos).
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| Us Westerners typically don't get a chance to bargain back home. |
The third weekend trip our group took together was to a lodge in a section of the Ecuadorian highlands known as the cloud forest (which actually is a term for a tropical forest with frequent low level cloud cover). The lodge was smack in the middle of the forest, isolated from any towns or other tourist attractions. We went hiking both days and had some free time to relax and explore, which was a nice change from the fairly regimented trips that I had come accustomed to with group excursions.
Here is a link to the lodge (I’m pretty sure this is the right one!):
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