Isinlivi

Last weekend we headed to the wonderful Llullu Llama Hostel on the Quilotoa Loop. Feeling I have been over doing the social aspects in Quito it was a welcomed change. No Bungalow for me ( as my liver sighs with relief) I also felt the need to be a grown up for a couple of days, there is only so many inappropriate conversations a girl can have in a short time.

So early in the morning we head off to meet Christian the owner of Llullu Llama Hostel who has kindly offered to give us a lift from Quito to the rural and almost untouched Sigchos. As always I fell asleep before even leaving Quito so can’t tell you much about the drive till we get to just before Latacunga where we pick up Chris and Julia somewhere on the Pan America. They had been waiting 2 hours in the roasting sun next to a food stall cooking nothing but Cuy and Rabbit (slim pickings to say the least). At this point we head up into the mountains and to what can only be described as perfect scenery. Watching the green hill’s expand as far as we can see, unbelievable how the locals manage to farm at such heights buts they do and the different crop fields make the hills look like a patchwork quilt.

After more than an hour on one of the most questionable roads, questionable because at times I am not sure it was even a road we arrived at Llullu Llama. The small town is just how you would picture a small Andean town to be, farmers out milking cows by hand, chickens running around everywhere and the local kids looking like they don’t have a worry in the world. Everyone was so friendly and would wave as you go past. However, after being there for a matter of 5 minutes the heavens opened and one of the loudest storms started, so what to do? No TV, No Wi-Fi so you guessed it a crate of beer and cards. Quechua is still spoken here so trying to find Beer was not the easiest task, after a couple of false promises we found an 11 year old shop girl selling Beer (no kidding). With a slight feeling of guilt we paid her but this was soon erased when she told us to bring back to empties so she could cash them in, so obviously this is not the first time this 11 year old girl has been dealing in Beer.

So lowering the tone of the serene little village as we walk back to the hostel with our Beers and maxi bags of Dorito crisps. Then the real fun and learning began with cards, uno and trying to light a fire at altitude (harder than you think). Crystal done this in her normal classy style of a tie dye onezie with a butt flap button that was only just holding together!

The next morning we woke up early to catch sunrise over this spectacular backdrop. A quick hike up the nearest hill didn’t fail us physically or on the views. Once again I was reminded of how lucky I am to have this on my doorstep and how many places are left still to be explored, not just here but the whole world. Looking down at the small farms where large families sleep, eat and live in one room, to some people these conditions would be hell but if you think how close they must be working and living like this. I felt envious of them that I would never feel this kind of bond not many people will ever, it made me think about home and how many things I have and will miss out on.