Día Uno, 21 Junio Quito to Otavalo

Note: This first week of the trip is vacation for the first 5 days and then READ purchasing the last three. When this time is over, we'll head back to Quito and pick up the READ group flying in. I am traveling with my dear friend Lori, whom I have known since college.

A full but truly amazing day. We left Quito this morning and headed to the town of Quinche, namely to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of El Quinche. The statue of the virgin was carved in the late 16th century and there are many legends surrounding the miracles she has said to perform. People from all over the region make a pilgrimage to this church every November. This church is her home, though it was built in the early 1900's and is listed as the National Sanctuary of Ecuador. As far as churches of this stature go, it is small but beautiful with a heavily gilted alter. The rest of the church is painted simply in contrast to the alter.

We left Quinche and continued to the Quitsato Solar Clock. Now I would love to take credit for planning to be at this spot exactly on the equator on the exact day of summer solstice at noon, but it all was just a coincidence.

We had an amazing guide to tell us about the scientific process of triangulation that used to find the equator in the 1700's. There were some hands on activities to show how the path of the sun moves during the different parts of the year. At the equator the sun is directly overheat at the spring and fall equinoxes. For two former teachers, it was a truly geek out spot, the first of two for the day.

They also have an agave and cacti garden even though Ecuador only has one type of species that grows there and those seeds probably came from Mexico long ago. The colors and textures were amazing along with the huge variety of plants. They have carefully cultivated all of the plants in their greenhouse. Of course the conversation made its way to tequila. In Quito there is Casa Agave which is a tasting room with tequilas made from different agaves. Hope to blog about that one day, sooner than later!

Our next stop was one that has been planned and dreamed about for over two years. In fact, it's the first stop that was planned for the day and the first two stops were things we found when planning out the drive for the day. Was this a cultural stop? A scientific stop? Shopping? An amazing landscape? No, it was purely culinary. This town is famous not only because of the volcano of the same name nearby, Cayambe, but because of these biscuits called bizcochos. These flakey, crunchy, buttery little tasty pieces of heaven are best fresh from the oven and totally not vegan. We sat gleeful with Ecuadorian coffee and fresh squeezed oj and just enjoyed. A dream come true. I have made these several times, but they do not compare to the ones from Cayambe.

A bonus was that there was some kind of fiesta with high school bands. They were dressed in original costumes and carried flutes, guitars and drums. We missed the main event but still got to listen to them play as they were walking down the streets or waiting for their school buses. An added treat.

The final stop required us to drive to a higher elevation to Cochasqui Archaelogical Park, on of the most important pre-Incan sites in northern Ecuador. It is composed of 14 truncated pyramids with ramps that are on a position to see for miles and miles with a 240 degree view. Because of its location, it was thought to have several purposes, a military site due to the vantage point. An astronomical site as areas have been excavated to show lunar and solar observatories. There is evidence of possible sacrifices and other ceremonial events. People also lived at the site. Besides the pyramids, there are also burial mounds. A small museum contained obsidian and stone tools along with a lot of pottery.

This site has never been fully excavated because the original building materials are too fragile to be exposed to the environment. A few areas that have been excavated are covered for protection.

While our guide only spoke Spanish and I am learning Spanish, she was very patient, spoke slowly and we were able to mostly understand, ask questions and laugh together. Our second geek out spot of the day and worth returning to as my Spanish improves.

We ended our day with a short drive up to Otavalo and settled into our sweet hotel. Time to rest and gear up for day 2!