There is a scene from the movie Dante's Peak starring a pre James Bond, Pierce Brosnan that scared me as a young kid: a husky man sacrificing his life to save another by jumping into a stream of molten lava feet first. Sounds stupid, just run with it. Anyways, feet first, he begins to disintegrate as soon as he hits the slow stream; legs, thighs waist, everything dissolves into the fiery red inch by hot inch until about his mid chest when (in true magnificent Hollywood style) he finally dies and falls over completely into the magma with a "plop" more than a splash. That's what I think of when I think of volcanoes. Especially active ones.
When waking up in a new city, its always a good idea to get an early start and go do all the things you would not normally do. And while the market is surely something I would do early in the morning, I would have to take a bus from our home to see it. Today I take a simple 5 min walk. Whats more, each market has its own twist, so I was happy to go explore this unique micro-environment with little Tony, Gabs, and our father.
You're probably sick of hearing me say it, but I'm not tried of re-living it: its so good to have easy and cheap access to fruit again! Pears, peaches, apples, and dragon fruit - I show no prejudice and take no prisoners!
Apologies to all my Muslim friends, there is a lot of pork to be eaten daily here, and I partake in the samples often. Not that its hard to do, or easy to avoid; if the pork is not right in front of you like this, then its mixed into the beans you're eating, or in the bread roll you bought, or its in the soup broth you ordered. One last note, the pig is cooked whole here. Its a little off-putting if your used to the butcher doing all the work behind closed doors, but somehow the meat just tastes better this way.
If you've had enough of walking through the textile market place and eating pork right out the hide, take a walk on the wild side and go visit Cuicocha lake at the center of Cotacachi mountain. You'll have to take a cab like us here to get there, but its totally worth it. Its good to be in the back of an open truck again, Japan would never allow this. There are just a few special moments on the road that feel genuine to the traveler's spirit, and hopping in the back of a pickup going to who knows where for how long is for me definitely one of them.
Like most any place where there is a chance to spot tourists, there is an vendor of all things jewelry, dream catchers, music instruments, toys, shot glasses, and so much more. Bargaining expected.
Aha! Here we are at the lake captured inside this active volcano. The ridge surrounding the lake, and us inside it, is all green with trees and native plants - which is a good sign to us. Like an olive branch, the greenery here is a sign of peace, the volcano although active has not erupted in at least enough time for these plants to grow. It should be safe. At least safe enough for this duck to swim in the water below.
Wouldn't you know it, there is a boat service that will take us around the inner islands of the volcanic lake. Well, duh - lets go! Here dad is posed with the classic and immediately recognizable family pose: one elbow leaned on for support with head coupled in hand with a 1,000 meter stare. My grandmother, father, sisters, and I all do it, you've probably seen me do it and not even noticed. Little Antonio hasn't picked up on it yet, but I bet my bottom dollar that he will perfect it by his seventh birthday if not sooner.
Mama Celia, the Gabster, and I all pose for a little photo time.
So here we go, Cuicocha is categorized active for a reason. Along the water, you can lean out and watch the bubbles of gas that formed thousands of kilometers below the surface rise up through the Earth's mantle crust and up through the water to pop into our breathable atmosphere. That's different than to say the water is boiling, the water is actually only a mere 15 degrees Celsius despite scientists not knowing exactly how deep the lake gets.
Here we see birds living among the reeds by the marsh leading up to the island. They looked like great cranes but it was hard to tell for sure. There are no fish in the lake, so their diet must consist of something else entirely. Amazing how this vulcano is now hospitable to life where it was once brought an end to it.
No matter what I come across in my travels, Nature always outdoes everthing else. Patterns, colors, shapes, detail, it all is incomparable to almost everything else.
Ducks and cranes, fruits and berries, water; it's all here to survive from. What's more is huge sun dial to help keep your appointments.
At the end of the boat ride, dad, Mathi, Celia, Gabi, Zoila, and Antonio lakes up the hill to the mesuem. Emily and I ran. I know I'm not out of shape, but that was a hell of a run. I would estimate us at at least 3000km altitude.
Reunited at the museum, Gabi and I decided to do a break off and take a hike along the ridge. It was fun and we saw lots of new plants, mom would enjoy her self here we agreed. The walk was rigorous because of the thin air, yet we managed and it felt good afterwards.
A mossy tree along the volcano's diameter crest. Spooky looking.
We got to have our lunch once hiking was checked off the list. We asked our pickup cab driver were to eat and he dropped us off at the nicest restaurant in town. Big surprise. As soon as dad saw the menu, we were walking away, looking for a better spot to eat.
We landed at the food market and Zoila landed this beast of a fried rice lunch. It had every seafood a tsunami would was up on shore, and the dish was aptly named.
Huskeys are my favorite breed of canine because they are so wolf like. Did you know that all dogs descend from wolves? That's right.
Food in our bellies, we walked to the bus stop to digest. I was still full by the time we approached the bus stop, yet a little pan dulce sounded like just what the doctor orderd. Filled to the brim, I passed out on the bus and woke up in my Otavalo hotel room. It was a full day of sun and outdoor activities, and I didn't even mention how Zoila disapeared at the market for an hour.
Best,
-A
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