Highlands

When H picked me up this morning, one of his sons (H Jr) was with him. With the cloud low in Quito, I didn't regret leaving, as we drove south through the city and onto the Panamerican Highway. First stop - after crossing the equator - was Cayambe, for coffee and the local salty/sweet biscuits "bizcochos". Just before arriving, we'd had an unexpected view of the 5790m volcano of the same name that rises up near the town (see extra). This was a delight for me, as I have wonderful memories from 1992 of such snow-capped conical mountains - just as a child would paint them. Volcanoes are part of life in the Andes and, on the drive, H told me of the day in 1998 when an eruption of Guagua Pichincha sent up a huge cloud that, when it fell, covered Quito in a thick layer of ash.

We drove on to Otavalo, a town with its large indigenous market that I remember well from before. It was interesting to see how the things on sale have changed since then. 

Cotacachi was our next stop, where another of H's sons lives. I knew him as a boy, but today he was in Quito. H found out by ringing the ex-wife that I knew from Dundee, allowing me to have a chat with her. That I was speaking in appallingly broken Spanish didn't matter, as we were both glad to speak to each other after so many years.

For lunch, we drove up to Laguna Cuicocha. It was much changed since A and I visited in 1992. Then I don't remember there being anything by this large, flooded caldera, but now there are boat trips on it, and quad bikes for hire. Fortunately the lake is large enough for this activity not to spoil the atmosphere. After eating, a break in the cloud meant that some of the view was sunlit, so I was able to take a better photo. In the cloud is the summit of the 4944m (dormant) Cotacachi Volcano. Beside the lake were some unusual Andean plants and a few pretty butterflies (see extras).

The long drive back to Quito was broken by a stop in Cayambe, where we had coffee, and H bought bizcochos and local soft cheese to take home. We said our goodbyes, but I’m confident that I’ll return, and I promised that any of the family has a home with us if they visit Scotland.