Ecuador - June 16, 2023

 Chimborazo

The third and final peak of Richard's mountaineering journey was Chimborazo. Due to Chimborazo's location on the equator, when you reach the summit, you are closer to the sun than any other point on Earth, including Everest. It is quite a feat for any climber!

We decided to join him for this last part of the trip so we could have a little family time and cheer him on the day before his climb. I was also excited to explore a new area of the country. We were fortunate to have a wonderful guide for this three-day trip! We began with a four-hour drive to Chimborazo Lodge. The Lodge was absolutely picturesque. It is set at the foot of Chimborazo and is incredibly remote -- there is no Wi-Fi or cell phone signal here. The grounds are stunning and dotted with alpacas and vicunas. 



Salinas

The following day the boys and I ventured out on our day tour with our guide, Coco, while Richard did some training exercises with his group and hiked to the refugio on Chimborazo. Coco was a fantastic guide since he is from Guaranda, Ecuador -- the capital of the province of Bolivar. So he knew the area well and was able to weave in stories of his growing up while taking us around the area. One thing that was interesting to learn about Coco was that he was a lawyer for the Ministry of Culture; however, three years ago he decided to completely change careers to spend more time with his family. 

Our first stop was a town called Salinas. They are famous here for their salt mines and for their cheese. On our way into town, we saw several alpacas carrying jugs of milk! 


After playing a round of freeze tag (congelado in Spanish -- our guide only spoke Spanish so he taught the boys some essential words!) in the plaza we meandered to the local salt mine. It was a beautiful walk and we even got to walk alongside the salt pools. The best part for me was seeing this through Rick and David's eyes. They asked great questions about why the water bubbles (it is coming from beneath the earth where there is a lot of volcanic activity) and how you get the salt from the water (evaporation). 


Since Salinas is also known for its cheese, there is a pizzeria on nearly every corner! Naturally, we stopped for pizza before heading to our next destination, Guaranda!

Guaranda

Our first stop was an outlook, which had a large statue of the Incan king, Atahualpa. Atahualpa was the king at the time of the Spanish conquistadors and the story goes that one of his brothers sold him out to the Spanish because he wanted to inherit the throne. This was another great spot for the kids to race around and just enjoy being in a new place. While the kids played Coco told me how this vista was a popular spot when he was in high school for parties and to hang out! 




Next, Coco took us to the central plaza of Guaranda. Here we learned a lot about not only the town's history, but of Coco's family's influence in Guaranda. His brother is an artist and has been commissioned to paint several murals in the city. If you look behind us in the picture below you can see one of his murals!

While in the plaza we also learned about the importance of Carnaval in Guaranda and how each year a local elder is chosen to be El taita (or father) of Carnaval. Coco's cousin is a sculptor and created this statue of El Taita Carnaval that stands in the plaza.
Our final spot was at his family's café, just around the corner from the plaza. The cafe, Los 7 Santos, is located in what used to be his grandmother's house. He showed us all around where the bedrooms and kitchen used to be when he was younger. I actually had the chance to meet and talk to a few of his family members while we were there. We also got to try on some of the Carnaval masks that they had on display!



Ambato

The next day we headed back to Quito. However, we broke up the drive with a stop in Ambato. By this time I finally had cell phone service and was able to receive a GPS text that Richard had reached the summit of Chimborazo earlier that morning! We are so proud of him and that all of his hard work and dedication to his training paid off!


While in Ambato we stopped at the stunning botanical gardens and museum of Juan Leon Mera. Mera is a national hero in Ecuador. He was a famous writer and artist and composed the national anthem of Ecuador. The entire gardens were actually part of his family home that he shared with his wife and 13 children! We got to tour his original house which is still there; however, we were unfortunately not allowed to take pictures. This was a great way to break up the drive back to Quito. The boys had lots of time to run, play, and practice their photography skills with my phone! 






It was a wonderful trip to Chimborazo! Now we are back in Quito and planning our next adventure!











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