Cuicocha, Castillo and Caminata

A few weekends ago I hiked with Jaime, Ida, and my Colombian friend Ricardo around Laguna Cuicocha, a gorgeous crater lake about 45 minutes from Otavalo.

It took us 4 hours to make the full circuit. The weather was as nice as I’ve ever seen it up there, and we got some great views of the lake and the surrounding countryside.

Ricardo lives in Pasto with his German girlfriend. We became friends 3 years ago when I was studying in Quito and he was a squash trainer.

Last time I tried to hike around with Paul and Kent, it was completely socked in so we turned around a third of the way in. This time it only sprinkled a bit then broke into patches of intense sun. Some teenage Ecuadorian boys were mountain biking the trail with a jug of Cola in tow, which looked pretty formidable to me.

Meanwhile back at the ranch preparations were already underway for the "entrega de castillo", or turning in the castle. As best I could understand, this is done to promote sharing between communities and to celebrate the bounty of the harvest. Once we got back from hiking, Ricardo and I helped tie dozens of bananas, oranges, grape bunches, homemade rolls, and boxes of wine to large wooden lattices, making the castillo. We made two since we had been given one last year--I guess tradition demands a double return.

The garland of "uchu", or red chili peppers was put on the castillo as the finishing touch.

My little niece Ayriway only cracked a smile after extensive tickling.

Cousin Rolando is a national level track runner.

We entered a big field dancing in circles with the castillo to the beat of our very own band--my host dad and uncles playing the guitar, harmonica and flute.

After what seemed like an hour of dancing, we turned in our castillo and watched other groups arrive dancing.


My aunt and baby Kindi, with some of the wildest, most inquisitive eyes I've ever seen. He's kind of afraid of me but I think we're becoming friends.

Summer English classes have been going well, with over 80 kids showing up each day. Luckily I have some high-school volunteers from the US to help me out. I teach the advanced level, and nine of them teach the other three sections.

Last Friday we took the kids on an adventure to the sacred Lechero tree, picked up trash, and hiked down to the Peguche waterfall for a picnic lunch. We had a blast and all the kids made it, despite the long hike uphill.

It’s amazing how far the temptation of cola and empanadas will carry kids…

...even the tired ones.

Some of the boys were very squirrely, running ahead or climbing the sacred tree.


Over 90 of us were there, but some were messing around or refused to be in the picture. All in all it was an awesome "caminata", or walk.


On a sad note, my dog Mingari was run over on Monday morning. I'm especially sad because she was so happy and full of life, and took care of the little puppies like they were her own. At least she enjoyed the short life that she had.

Fortunately, aside from a few sad things that have happened recently, I'm enjoying work and my host family a lot. Through the castillo and other cultural events I partipate in because of them, I'm learning a lot about indigenous culture. My good friend Kelly is working in Quito for a few weeks, so I went to visit her on Sunday. It was great to catch up after so long, and we'll be hanging out the next few weekends. Hasta pronto,
Lorena