Work Trip to Ecuador
I had just finished giving a three day Workshop in an International School in Quito, Ecuador for the International Baccalaureate Organizacion.
It was now time to leave the plush, fancy hotel, collect a hire car and start driving south through the green Andean countryside.
I was on my way to the livestock market in the village of Saquisili, a pleasant drive through the mountains from Quito with good views of the impressive volcanoes.
On my way I would be passing by the volcano, Cotopaxi again….., which……….brings back ……so many memories!!!!!
(Oops……. getting lost in the past….that’s been happening a lot recently!…..But well……. this was my first visit to Cotopaxi in 1978.)
Cotopaxi 1
My first visit was when I recently arrived in South Ameriva in 1998. I met a gentleman on the plane to Quito who offered to take me to visit the volcano. Indeed, the next day we set off for the volcano. He drove as far as he could up the slopes of the volcano in his “four by four”. We then got out and started climbing. It was absolutely beautiful. We were above the snow line. The snow was crisp but soft and my feet disappeared deeply into the snow with each step. This seemed to me to be a perfect introduction to South America. I started off with great enthusiasm, even though my host warned me to take it easy. We were at about 4500 metres above sea level. The air was thin and I was feeling quite breathless. It was hard work! Then it hit me. I felt awful. I simply could not go on and just wanted to lie down in the snow, which is what I did. To complete my feeling of humiliation, my host had to help me down the mountain. What a nice man! He never complained, took me to his home where I rested and his wife made me something to eat. My first experience of Latin American hospitality and “Soroche” (Mountain sickness)!
And well, while I am vanishing into past thoughts……here is the second trip to Cotopaxi some years later.
Cotopaxi 2
The second time I visited Cotopaxi was when I went to Ecuador to play Rugby representing (unofficially) Peru. Unlike today, there were then only two rugby teams in Peru, the “Latinos” mostly from Argentina and Uruguay….. and our team, the “Bullfrogs”, made up of expats from the UK. As such, it was not exactly difficult to find oneself selected (press-ganged) for the dubious honour of representing our adopted country,  From Quito airport we were transported directly to the Stadium where there was a crowd of several hundred spectators waiting for us. (Several hundred more than we ever had in Lima.) The television cameras were there and we even had a pre-match interview. Fortunately, the home team was even worse than we were. With the cameras rolling, I managed to make a long mighty, heroic ( but very unusual) dash towards our try line before getting clobbered just short of the line. (One of my very few memorable Rugby moments.) We ended the game with a famous victory. The next day I was to take some team members to Cotopaxi. I was detemimined that this time I would make it to the small lodge, a small staging post for those starting the real climb for the summit. Four of us made it to the cabin. However we did leave one of the group, spread out on the bonnet of our Izuzu Trooper hire-car, sleeping off his night of excesses.
So, at, last…..back to the story!
Cotopaxi 3 – and the Livestock Market, Saquisili
I was now driving on the road to Saquisili, with its famous livestock Market.
And as Cotopaxi was “on the way”…….. of course, I had to stop once more, for old time’s sake…….. just for a while.
However, soon I was back on the road and arrived at the town centre of Saquisili, where I found a snug, friendly, (and cheap) hotel. It was certainly not as sumptuous as the hotel in Quito, but I liked it better, small, simple, clean and above all beautifully friendly. The exuberant clashing colours in the rooms added to the unique character of the hotel.
I was ready for an early night, in order to make a visit to the market at first light the following morning.
And here we go……. Saquisili Livestock Market! By the time I got there at 5.40 a.m. it was already well under way.
The main animals for sale were sheep, cattle, pigs and llamas. The livestock part of the market, although enormous was only a small part of the whole market where all kinds of produce were on sale.
But what was most important for me was the warmth, good will and frĂendliness of the people. They strongly and proudly maintain their customs and culture.
The International School in Quito seemed a long, long way away now and I felt extremely fortunate that my work assignments were allowing me the opportunity for such learning experiences throughout the continent.
Other Links – Different Regions of Peru
THE SIERRA- Izcuchaca
THE JUNGLE- The River Port of Pucallpa
THE COAST – Fishing town of Pucusana
Wanderings! 
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