Ecuador Revisited 2-24-07 - Mountain Guides
Ecuador 2007It’s been a month since returning from another incredible trip with IMG. I had notplanned to go on another trip so soon afterreturning from Kilimanjaro but after hearingPhil Ershler describe the country, the people and the climbs – it was too tempting.So somewhat on an impulse – I signed upfor my second IMG trip with Phil. This tripwould include sightseeing in Quito andmany surrounding villages as well as attempting to climb Cotopaxi (19,338 ft) andeither Chimborazo (20,700 ft) or Cayambe(19,000ft) depending on the conditions.I was joining the group as a solo again asmy husband doesn’t like to climb and has alimited amount of vacation. Even though Iknow that he worries when I travel alone –particularly on climbing trips – he’s reallysupportive and I know that he’s proud of me.The whole gang (minus Romulo – he wasoff somewhere getting something organized)Photo – Robyn Garrisongetting to know each other before going tobed. This was another great, diverse, groupof people I felt right away that we wouldprobably all get along great. I don’t know ifit’s that IMG attracts a great client base – or ifthe type of trips they conduct tends to draw agroup of somewhat like-minded people.However, one of the great things about thesetrips for me is just meeting and getting toknow new people who I now consider newfriends.Every IMG trip starts and ends in theairport with a big pile of duffelsPhoto – Robyn GarrisonMost of the group met in the Miami airport atthe departing gate for Quito. Once in Quito –we were met by Phil, Romulo Cardenas andRomulo’s wife Patricia. We had to wait a bitfor Leo McLean to come in from Argentina butwere soon at the Hotel Embassy in Quitowhere we met the last two members of thegroup, Roger & Janet Binkerd who had arrived a day earlier. We spent about an hourGood IMG guides are always on top ofeverything - Phil Ershler & RomuloCardenasPhoto – Robyn Garrison
Our team for EcuadorGuides – Phil Ershler & Romulo CardenasLeo McLean – Buenos Aires ArgentinaChris Axel & Jodi Sommerfeld – Minnetonka,MN (got engaged on an IMG trip to Kilimanjaro)Jim Parker – Minneapolis MNJeff Paulson – Minneapolis MNAlfred Nyby – Culver, INRobert Shannon – Mesa AZPaul Pender (aka Johnny Reno) – Bryan, TXRoger & Janet Binkerd - Vermont. While nota climber, Janet was with us for most of thetripRobyn Garrison – WashingtonJodi Summerfeld and Chris AxelPhoto – Robyn GarrisonAlfred NybyPhoto Robyn GarrisonLeo McLeanPhoto – Robyn GarrisonJeff Paulson and Jim ParkerPhoto – Robyn GarrisonRobyn Garrison
Roger and Janet BinkerdPhoto – Robyn GarrisonPaul Pender (aka - Johnnie Reno)Photo – Robyn GarrisonAs luck would have it – Igor and Marina, goodfriends of Phil’s,were visiting Ecuador at thesame time. Igor guides with Phil on the IMGtrips to Russia. They stayed with our groupfor a couple of days and it was a lot of fun toget to know them. (of course now I want to goto Russia!)Robert ShannonPhoto – Robyn GarrisonIgor and MarinaPhoto – Robyn Garrison
Our first morning was spent walking aroundthe old town of Quito – visiting several cathedrals, the plaza outside of the main government buildings and up the winding roads tothis large monument of the Virgin. Themonument was to protect the city from thesurrounding volcanos.All along the way – Romulo would provide thehistorical context to just about everything wesaw. Whether it was the politics around thebuilding of a church or a story about an idolized Indian revolutionary who changed hisname to a Spanish name – he was a wealthof information and humor. We stopped acouple of times to sample the wonderful fruitdrinks, empanadas and other Ecuador appetizers. We covered alot of ground for just onemorning.Photo – Robyn GarrisonOne of the many churchesin QuitoPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWalking tour of QuitoPhoto – Robyn Garrison
It was about a two hour drive to Otavalo. (itseemed that just about every time we had togo someplace new – it was a two hour busride) The road went over this pass andaround the high point we stopped at a smallrestaurant that was known for Locra soup.Apparently, when they were building the road– an old woman would bring this potato andcheese soup to the men working on the road.It’s a very tasty and FILLING soup with bigchunks of cheese. (at least that was Romulo’sstory) After our lunch – we were good forseveral more hours before we had to eatagain.Amazing – I can’t make him smile!Photo – Robyn GarrisonShortly after noon – we headed out on thebus to Otavalo. Romulo’s daughter AmeliaAlexandra joined us on our trip to Otavalo.Amelia is nine years old and was such a greataddition to our group. I don’t know too manynine year olds that would hang around abunch of adults and really seem to enjoy herself. In addition, she is battling childhood leukemia so her attitude is that much more special. She will be in my prayers for a long timeto come.Romulo and Amelia at the OtavaloAnimal MarketPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe got to Otavalo in the late afternoon andchecked into the Otavalo hotel. This was areally quaint hotel. I think that a couple of theguys needed a lot more room – they only had6 beds to choose from. There was no time torest as we had lots to see. We loaded backonto the bus and headed out to more of Philand Romulo’s friends. It was a short drive toa neighboring town called Peguche and thehome and workshop of a well known weavernamed Jose Catecachi. This is probably noton any other tour group’s itinerary. Jose’swork was incredible - everything from tapestries, knitted sweaters, blankets and bags.When we arrived, Jose was out in the backdying some yarn for some creation.Jose – hard at workPhoto – Robyn Garrison
He was working over a large vat with bluedye. An aunt (or some relation) also did ademonstration of how they spin the wool intoyarn. She was an incredibly happy womanwho thoroughly enjoyed showing us “how it’sdone”.Time for refreshments!Photo – Robyn GarrisonStay out of her way –Photo – Robyn GarrisonWe did have to be somewhat careful – forwhatever reason – there was thin wire strungall over the place – right about shoulder level.I assumed it was for drying the yarn or something. The other amazing thing was the number of guinea pigs that they had in the housewhere grandma and grandpa live. Guinea pigor cuoy is delicacy in Ecuador. It’s hard toimagine eating a pet.But by now we were getting pretty hungry (after all – it had been a couple of hours sincewe had eaten) so we headed back to Otavaloand had dinner at a local Italian restaurant.We had an early morning at the marketplanned – so off to bed.I think a few in our group weren’t sure aboutheading out to the animal market so early –but it’s a must for anyone who wants to experience Ecuador’s culture.When we left Jose’s house – it was time formore refreshments. We must have lookedthirsty. We stopped at a nearby Haciendacalled Pinsaqui. We toured the property andwatched the sunset. We also sampled somesort of hot drink and enjoyed the atmosphereof the downstairs bar.Otavalo Animal marketPhoto – Robyn GarrisonThe market is the weekly meeting place forpeople to get together. They bring their livestock to market and buy, sell and trade witheach other. People would come with a sheepand possibly go home with a pig. It’s also aplace to meet and spend time with each
other. The women seemed to dress up to goto market. It was divided into sections. Westarted in the animal section where you couldsee all kinds of live animals. Most were onrope type leashes. There’s nothing moreamazing that watching an old women with afull skirt and wrapped in a colorful shawl trying to wrestle 4 or 5 sheep along a path or anold couple trying to coax a pig up a road. Butthe most amazing thing was how friendly thepeople were.Looks like lunch!Photo – Robyn GarrisonAll dressed up for market!Photo – Robyn GarrisonWe moved back up the road thru the rest ofthe “grocery store” stands of pig heads, fruits,vegetables and canned goods to the edge ofthe tourist section. But we had not yet hadbreakfast – so of course we needed to stopand eat. We ate a small café with outdoorseating looking down on the market. Phil attempted (again) to “keep it simple” by just ordering scrambled eggs and juice. Of course– we had to be complicated by mixing in afew omelets and bacon into the mix. Aftereating – we spent a couple of hours shopping(some of us came back with more than others) and then it was back to the hotel to packup and head back to Quito.Keep on moving.Photo - Robyn GarrisonOK Gang - lets just keep it simplePhoto – Robyn Garrison
We needed to get back to Quito at a reasonable hour so that a couple of people could doa bit of crampon adjusting before the storesclosed. It seems that there was somethingabout not trying the crampons on the bootsbefore leaving home. So once we were backin Quito – we all went different ways and either rested, shopped, or just enjoyed the citysome more. Phil and Romulo had shoppingto do so that we could be well fed while wewere climbing. We also had to get our gearorganized for the next part of the trip. Wewould leave whatever we didn’t need at theEmbassy Hotel in Quito and only take whatwe would need for the climbs and the days inbetween. We said goodbye to Igor and Marina with a nightcap of Tequila shots as theywould be continuing on to other parts of Ecuador.Romulo have an ultra-light that seemed toplay a big part in many of their adventures.Romulo was a great story-teller and if evenhalf of his stories are true – it’s amazing thetwo of them are still alive.Just look at that viewPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe were checked out of the hotel early thenext morning with duffels loaded on the busand on our way to a trek to a small inactivevolcano called Pasochoa. But before wecould start – we had to eat again. Westopped at this wonderful restaurant on theway called La Matilda’s. This place is a hidden treasure. It’s a wonderful place that sitson a hillside overlooking a beautiful valley.Breakfast at La Matilda’sPhoto – Robyn GarrisonIt’s owned by the wife of one of Phil’s greatfriends and well known photographer – JorgeAnhalzer. We enjoyed a great breakfast, metJorge and his son, Jorge Jr. (or Nacho forshort) and checked out Jorge’s Ecuadorbooks that he’s published. Many of his booksinclude amazing photographs of the volcanoes that we would be climbing. Jorge andTime for milkingPhoto – Robyn Garrison
Camillio is a great kid – he carried this bigpack and was always trouping ahead of us –stopping to chase birds out of the bushes orto check out whatever little thing he sawalong the way that caught his interest.Phil and JorgePhoto – Bob ShannonAfter a great breakfast, we were back on theroad to the trailhead of Pasochoa. Romulo’sson, Camillio, joined us for the hike.Great day for a hikePhoto – Robyn GarrisonRoger’s wife Janet did a shorter hike with ourbus driver Morton while we hiked to the summit of Pasochoa. The hike is up throughgrassy fields and horse and cattle pastures.What a view!Photo –Robyn GarrisonFuture IMG guide – Camillio CardenasPhoto Robyn GarrisonThere were several barbed wire fence crossings as we made our way up the ridge to thesummit. Apparently, the property we werewalking on was recently purchased by a newland owner. While we were making our wayup – a couple of guys’ road up on horses andtold us we had to pay a fee to cross the property. Romulo did everything he could to talk
them out of it – even trying to call the newowner – but to no avail. Phil finally paid thefee and we were back on our way.And Heading Down!Photo – Robyn GarrisonGuess we better pay the feePhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe reached the summit in good time – thelast part was an easy scramble up some volcanic rock. After a short break, snack and afew photos – we were on our way down.Camillio lead us pretty much the whole waydown. He had so much energy that he washard to keep up with.After we returned to the bus – it was on to ahacienda at the base of Cotopaxi. The hacienda, called VolcanoLand, is basically still aworking farm with little cubicle rooms forsleeping and the rest of the house for theguests to enjoy. It’s really a beautiful settingcomplete with horses and llama’s in the fields.They had a lot of very nice antiques and folkart in the house which made for a cozy atmosphere.Enjoying the summitPhoto – Robyn GarrisonVolcanoLand – not an amusementpark!Photo – Robyn Garrison
It’s amazing that I didn’t gain 10 pounds onthis trip. We had a very nice candlelit dinnerto fuel up for the next day.Nice!Photo – Robyn GarrisonAfter we got settled, Phil wanted to do a runthrough of the gear that we would need,check the fit of crampons and harnesses anddo a refresher on knots and go thru the gearwe would need on Cotopaxi.Just make sure the points are going downPhoto – Robyn GarrisonOf course, it was all “intuitively obvious”.Once we were done, it was time to eat again.Janet – off on her own adventuresPhoto – Janet BinkardWe woke to a somewhat overcast day with noview of Cotopaxi but that’s OK – we wouldhave a comfortable day on the lower slopesof Cotopaxi’s glacier doing some refreshertraining. After breakfast of scrambled eggsand bacon, we were on our way. (I think itwas in the middle of breakfast that I startedfeeling sick.) Janet was going to spend theday horseback riding in the hills surroundingVolcanoLand. The bus ride was over this narrow bumpy road. (the places that we took thelarge bus were astounding) We finally madeit to the parking lot below the refuge. Westarted up a scree path to get to the glacier. Iwas really not feeling well about halfway up.It was probably a combination of the rapid altitude gain plus some kind of bug but I couldbarely make it up. So when everyone elsewent up on the glacier to train – I hung out inthe refuge to try to recover. The rest of thegroup was gone for several hours and itsounded like they had a great time practicingeverything from walking in crampons, to ropetravel and using a running belay.
Of course – it’s all intuitively obviousPhoto - Bob ShannonWhen they returned, we stored a lot of thegear in a locker at the refuge so we wouldn’thave to carry it back up the next day andheaded back down to the bus and VolcanoLand.My goal was to try to keep some food and fluids down so that I could recover my strengthfor the climb the next night. And I thought Iwas doing pretty well.CotopaxiPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe woke to a beautiful morning. Janet wouldbe off on horseback again – this time to a local waterfall. This is a perfect trip to bring anon-climbing spouse or friend on since thereare so many things to do while we’re offclimbing. Cotopaxi was visible just over thehillside and we had a clear view the wholedrive up to the parking lot. After a fairly quickhike up to the refuge – we got our things organized in the bunks and ready for the climblater that night. Phil and Romulo had lunchready by they time we had everything set up.Food always tastes great in the mountains –no matter what it is. We had soup, cheese,salami and crackers. We also had an earlydinner of pasta around 5 or so and then triedto get some sleep, which was next to impossible. Between all the bathroom runs (fromdrinking so much water) and anticipating getting up at 11PM, I doubt many people gotmuch sleep.Phil woke us up at 11 and we ate some hotcereal and had a hot drink and got ready toleave. We were on the trail by around midnight. At this point – I was feeling prettystrong, no headache, no upset stomach andfeeling good. We were on rock for about anhour and then stopped to put on our crampons and started up the glacier. We stoppedabout an hour later to rope up and at thispoint I still felt pretty good – but when wecame out of the break – I took about 10 stepsand all of a sudden got sick. Phil gave me afew minutes to recover – but after a few moresteps I got sick again – so that was it for me.He had one of the extra guides they had hiredtake me down. Jodi was also not feeling100% so she came down with me. Onceback in the hut – it was a miserable night –between being sick and feeling disappointedthat I had to turn around so early. But that’sthe mountains and altitude. It just wasn’t myday.
Jodi and I started watching for them to comedown the glacier at about 11 or so – but theyapparently had some issues coming down aswe didn’t see them until close to 1 PM. Oneof the concerns about pushing it to the limit toget up a mountain is that you still needenough reserve to get back down. Jodi and Iwere happy to see everyone when they returned. Once everyone was back down, allthe gear was packed up and we headeddown to the bus.Climb up CotopaxiPhoto – Chris AxelThe rest of the group continued on up and Ithink they made the summit around 8 or 9. Itsounded like it was a very challenging steepclimb. They said that the exposure wasn’t toobad although they did use a running belay onthe return. After hearing the stories and seeing their pictures, I definitely want to go backto Ecuador and try this one again.After a successful summit (formost anyway)Photo – Bob ShannonJanet and our driver, Edgar, were waiting forus in the parking lot. We would head out adifferent way to our next destination and amuch earned rest for most of our group.We would stay at a beautiful hacienda calledLa Cienega. It’s a wonderful old estate thathas been converted into a great place to stay.All the hacienda’s that we visited were reallyamazing – each offering a unique atmosphere.Summit of CotopaxiPhoto – Bob Shannon
Early Morning at La CienegaPhoto - Robyn GarrisonMaybe at some point in the future when I’vehad my fill of climbing vacations – I’ll do a hacienda tour in Ecuador. The grounds werebeautiful with all kinds of color. We had a little bit of rain when we arrived so it seemed tobe even greener. We all cleaned up and metin the bar for a quick drink.Winding DownPhoto – Robyn GarrisonPhil was received with open arms by prettymuch everyone on the staff at La Cienega(just like everywhere else we went). That’sone of the great things about two trips thatI’ve done with IMG so far. They have developed great relationships with the people atthe places that we stay at or visit. So wereally seemed to get alot of special attention.We didn’t feel like just another bunch ofgringo tourists.Amazing Gardens of La CienegaPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe had another great dinner at La Cienegaand were entertained by another Indian panflute ensemble. It was the end to a very, verylong day for most of the group and I know thatthey all welcomed the comfortable beds.Early morning on a country roadoutside of La CienegaPhoto – Robyn Garrison
The next day brought another trip to a marketin a nearby village called Saquisili. I thinkthat I enjoyed this market even more than theone in Otavalo.Saquisili Indian MarketPhoto – Robyn GarrisonSaquisili Indian MarketPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe again started in the animal section. Thiswas a terrific place to get great photos of thelocal color and culture. By now we were feeling much more relaxed with the local Indians.Of course – they were pretty enterprising aswell. For a dollar, they were more than happyto have their pictures taken. The really nicething about digital cameras is that you canshow them the photos after you’ve takenthem. There was one woman; I can’t remember her name, and her beautiful daughter,Stephanie, who we saw frequently throughoutthe market. She was in the animal marketselling her paintings and then rode on our busover to the main market. Of course, I had tobuy a couple of paintings from her.Do you think they’ll sell them all?Photo – Robyn GarrisonWe wandered thru the fruits and vegetableswith Romulo buying different fruits for us tosample. There really weren’t too many othertourists in this section of the market – thiswas where the local go to shop. While we allstuck out like sore thumbs, I really felt like wewere really experiencing Ecuador in a waythat most tourists don’t.
We finally made our way to the area wherethey sold the handmade Indian crafts. Ofcourse, many of us made several more purchases in the hour and a half that we spentthere. It’s a good thing that I had lots of extraspace in my duffels when I left Seattle, because I would need all of it to get everything Ipurchased home.How could I eat one of these cutecouy’s?Photo – Robyn GarrisonPaul doesn’t stand out at all!Photo – Robyn GarrisonTry some of thisPhoto – Robyn GarrisonOK – we’ve had enough shopping!!!!Photo – Robyn GarrisonOr this?Photo – Robyn Garrison
That evening we headed out to another Hacienda for dinner. San Augustin is nearby Hacienda owned by another of Phil and Romulo’s good friends. It was a beautiful placewith a great deal of Inca archeology on site.Romulo walked us through the various structures and explained much of the history of thebuildings, pointing out the Inca structures incontrast to the more recent structures.This would be a great place to spend a fewdays - especially if you’re looking for a romantic get away. Each room is unique with fireplace that open into the main room and thebathroom. It would definitely be a great placeto be pampered after a climb of Cotopaxi.We had dinner in the wonderful dining room –very nice!Romulo pointing out the Inca architectural elementsPhoto - Alfred NybyUnfortunately, we had pretty heavy rain thatevening, so there were no views of Cotopaxiin the sunset.Do you believe these stories?Photo – Alfred NybyTo new friends – what a placePhoto - Bob ShannonThen it was time for more of Romulo’s storytelling. We went back to the living room whileRomulo held court. Between his jungle andultralite adventures – he’s led a pretty amazing life and he loves to share his tales. It wasa great evening.
We stayed a second night at La Cienega andthen we were heading north to Cayambe.The reports from Chimborazo were not goodso the decision was to climb Cayambe instead. We left La Cienega relatively earlyand started our travel north. Unfortunately,we would lose one member of our group laterthat day. Jim would need to head back toMinnesota for a family medical emergency.He was able to stay with us for a good part ofthe day before we would drop him off in Quitoas we passed through it.Our first stop of the day was at Jorge Anhalzer’s home. What an amazing place. Jorgeand his wife had purchased the old farmhouse and remodeled it into a terrific place.It’s a very artistic and yet comfortable place.Of course, we had the opportunity to purchase several of his books and posters.The photographs in the books really provide asense of the country and people of Ecuador.I’m not sure what Phil’s percentage is – buthe knows how to pull in the customers.High finances – Leo – you’re hired!Photo – Robyn GarrisonThis was another of those stops where wereally felt welcome. It’s incredible the peoplewe met that very few visitors to the countryget the opportunity to meet.I could work in this spacePhoto – Robyn GarrisonPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWhat do we do with our hands?Photo – Robyn Garrison
After we left Jorge’s home, our next stop wasfor a “snack” at Romulo’s home. Patricia andAmelia were there to welcome us with a veryinteresting meal of Couy, potatoes and juice.I couldn’t even imagine eating a pet a fewdays before at the weaver’s home – but nowwe would get to try it. The most disturbingpart was the little teeth and head and pawssitting there on the platter. But it wasn’t thatbad – of course it tasted like roasted chicken– just with lots of little bones.I wonder why Phil wouldn’t eat any ofthe couy?Photo – Robyn GarrisonJust can’t take us anywhere!Photo – Robyn GarrisonSo that’s what roasted guinea piglooks likePhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe dropped Jim off in Quito so that he couldcatch a flight home the next day and we wereon our way to Cayambe. Our next stop wasto drop Janet at nice hacienda namedGuachala about an hour away from where thebus would leave us for the climb.We had a late lunch, changed into our climbing gear and left our extra duffels with Janet.She would spend the next couple of days onher own. She would do another visit to Otavalo market and then more horseback riding.
CayambePhoto – Robyn GarrisonThe next day was a relatively easy day. Wewould do some more practicing on the nearbyglacier and get to bed early. Phil and Romuloput on a short ice climbing clinic – demonstrating different ways to go up and down theice.Hacienda Guachala - Janet’s homefor a couple of daysPhoto – Robyn GarrisonWe headed out on the road to Cayambe andwere again amazed at the road we wouldtake. Probably the most dangerous part ofthe trip was the bus ride on these single laneroads with the steep drop-offs as they windup the valley into the mountains. But we gotto the end of the road without incident. Romulo had arranged for a 4-wheel drive truck totake all our gear up to the hut so we had apretty easy hour hike up to the hut – arrivingjust at dark. By the time we got our bunkssituated, Phil and Romulo had a light dinnerready for us. We were all pretty worn out sowe were in bed around 8 or so. I slept verywell that night – no headache from altitudeand had been able to eat and drink well overthe last couple of days. So I was starting tofeel pretty optimistic about my chances ofmaking it up this mountain.It’s easy – once you get the hang of itPhoto - Bob ShannonIt was great fun and great practice. I wasagain reminded that I really need to work onmy upper body strength. I had a heck of atime getting my ice ax to plant in the hard ice.But it was great fun.
Just walk this wayPhoto - Bob ShannonOur dinner that night was burritos. They werepretty good and certainly not something Iwould have thought of as mountain food. Ifigured we would be eating the freeze driedmeals – but Phil and Romulo were prettycreative when it came to cooking for us.Best burritos in town!Photo - Robyn GarrisonJorge’s son, Nacho, and couple of his friendsalso showed up at the hut to attemptCayambe the next morning. They were prettyentertaining as they “attempted” to cook theirdinner. They’re a great bunch of teenagers.We were all in our sleeping bags before 6 trying to sleep. 11PM came all too quickly.But soon we were all up and ready to go.The start of this climb is about a 2 hourscramble over some rock so we started outwith our helmets. After about 45 minutes,Jodi and Jeff weren’t feeling great andwanted to turn around. Chris decided to godown with them and keep them company. SoJorge, one of the guides that accompanied uson both climbs, took them back down to thehut and we continued on up. I was still feeling OK – but not too strong. We roped up onthe glacier and I started feeling fatigued aftera short while - needing to pause for a fewseconds after about every 20 steps. By thetime we got to our next break I was starting towonder if I would make it to the summit. Philmade sure I ate something which was goodsince I really didn’t want to and then offeredthat if I needed to – Jorge, who had caughtback up with us, could take me back down. Iwanted to keep pushing and try another pitchbefore I gave in – So once we started again –I struggled for a bit then sort of turned on thedetermination and concentrated on gettinginto a rhythm. The food kicked in and I wasable to keep a pace going for the next coupleof pitches. By the time it got light, we werehigher on the mountain and even though Ididn’t feel all that strong, I was pretty determined to make it to the summit. The lastcouple of pitches were the steep part and if itwasn’t for Phil’s tug on the rope to coax meup it probably would have taken me a lotlonger than it did. Jorge had gone ahead ofus and set up a fixed line up the first steepsection which really helped us get up. I alsogot a break when we had to wait for anotherteam to come down thru the final notch sothat also helped. I really need to thank Phil,Alfred and Paul for being so patient with methe whole way up.
Getting ready to go downPhoto - Robyn GarrisonLast pitch up - Finally!Photo - Robyn GarrisonAt this point, both Phil and Romulo were worried about getting me down. I wasn’t too worried as I’m pretty comfortable going down onsnow plus the short break and food at the topgave me a bit more energy. After gettingdown the two steep sections, we stopped andtook of several layers as it was getting prettywarm.It was really rewarding to make it to the summit. I was able to take some pictures andmanaged to choke down a power bar. Nachoand his friends had waited for us to get to thesummit – they had to be pretty cold as I thinkthey waited there for a while.Nacho and friends – after helpingall of us downPhoto - Robyn Garrison
Then we were off again. The snow down wasgreat to walk in and I really didn’t have anytrouble getting down. We made it back downto the start of the snow without a break andbefore we knew it we were at the start of therock.my pack the last part of the descent. Once atthe hut, we packed everything up and loadedit into Nacho’s truck for the drive down to thebus pickup area. We did have a short wait forthe bus – just enough time for a nice snoozein the sun.Time for a napPhoto - Bob ShannonPhoto - Robyn GarrisonWe picked up Janet at Guachala, had a quickmeal and were on our way to Papallacta. Wehad a couple hour drive over the Andes to ahot springs resort below Antisana, anothermountain in Ecuador. The natural hot springspools were a great end to the day. I slept sowell that night – I didn’t hear anyone snore!Almost down – Thanks Chris fortaking my pack for the last partPhoto – Chris AxelChris was there to greet us as we continuedback to the hut. He helped me by carryingPool partyPhoto – Jodi Sommerfeld
After breakfast the next morning, we headedback to Quito for our last night at the Embassy Hotel. We had some time for a littlemore shopping as well as packing. Phil andRomulo took us to a great shop owned byJorge Anhalzer’s family called Folklore. Welearned more about the history of Jorge’sfamily. His dad and great Aunt immigrated toEcuado
it’s that IMG attracts a great client base – or if the type of trips they conduct tends to draw a group of somewhat like-minded people. . Chris Axel & Jodi Sommerfeld – Minnetonka, MN (got engaged on an IMG trip to Kiliman- . there was thin wire strung all over the place – right about shoulder level.
Biodiversity Revisited research and action agenda 4 REVISITING BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH AND ACTION Carina Wyborn, Jasper Montana, Nicole Kalas, Santiago Izquierdo Tort, Victoria Pilbeam This chapter examines the rationale and approach of the Biodiversity Revisited agenda. We first consider what biodiversity is and why it might need to be revisited.
la migración venezolana en Ecuador, Quito - Ecuador. Cualquier otra pregunta sobre los derechos y licencias debe ser dirigida al Banco Mundial en Ecuador al número 593 (02) 2943676 Junio, 2020 Diseño e ilustración: Manthra Comunicación
Sistema de salud: Salud / Enfermedad en Ecuador La República de Ecuador es un país en vías de desarrollo que presenta elevadas desigualdades socio económicas, este nivel de desigualdad entre los residentes del país es uno de los causantes de una tasa elevada de pobreza. La incidencia de la pobreza en Ecuador, a nivel nacional, es del 24%.
COFFEE BREWING WETTING, HYDROLYSIS & EXTRACTION REVISITED 2. COFFEE BREWING WETTING, HYDROLYSIS & EXTRACTION REVISITED HYDROLYSIS Hydrolysis is the name for a general chemical reaction that occurs when water reacts with another compound to alter it or break it down. Duri
Circuit Theory Revisited 24.1 Circuit Theory Revisited Circuit theory is one of the most successful and often used theories in electrical engineering. Its success is mainly due to its simplicity: it can capture the physics of highly comp
Brave New World Revisited 4 eForeword Being something of a prophet can be a grim responsibility. In Brave New World Revisited, a set of essays published in 1958, Aldous Huxley re-examines the issues and concerns that inspired him to write the novel Brave New World some 27 years earlie
económico y mejora la productividad. En la última década el Ecuador ha tenido un incremento de 0,33 veces de IED, en el 2008, según cifras del Banco Central del Ecuador (2019) detallan que Ecuador tuvo un ingreso de IED de 1057’155.020 siendo transporte,
Así, este Resumen de Historia del Ecuador seguirá siendo un libro de consulta para los lectores en general, al mismo tiempo que podrá ser utilizado con mayor eficiencia en el sistema educativo. De manera especial se recomienda para los cursos correspondientes a Historia del Ecuador en la modalidad del Bachillerato Técnico.
