The crater lake that I had been encouraged to visit even prior to arriving to Ecuador. Located most casually in a crater in a volcano, this lagoon is only made more majestic by the turquoise, emerald color of the water and the jetting inclines that surround the lagoon. My host family planned a trip there this past weekend.
Alongside two friends of mine in our trip cohort, my two host-brothers and I packed into the back of my host family’s five-person car while my host mom and dad sat in the front. Praise to God, we put the seats in the back down, laid out pillows and covered it with a blanket for the supposed two-hour drive that was more so three-and-a-half hours.
After driving through the majestic countryside of Ecuador, whilst plagued by back and butt pain, we arrived at Quilotoa! Pulling into the town, there was an indigenous group having a funeral in the street in the fog and rain, an intriguing procession that we marveled at through the window of our almuerzo restaurant.
Arriving at the lake, the view was so cloudy that we couldn’t see the water from the viewpoint. Thankfully, my host-dad was willing to hike down the treacherous, slippery trail to the waterfront. The fog cleared out during the trek down, and we loaded into kayaks at the shore. The green water was ethereally pooled within the jutting mountains surrounding us.
We rode horses back up to our starting point to make our trip even more majestic. God’s glory was so overwhelming evident in the beauty of this experience.
Leaving the quaint town of Quilotoa, my host parents told us that we were going to visit my abuelitos (grandparents) on our way home. My mom joked with us asking if we brought our pajamas to sleep in that night… and we responded with an uncertain “no” to be consoled that she was only joking… from our understanding.
Bestowal of baptism robes
We arrived in a town called Latacunga at a quaint church of which my host mom’s parents are the pastors. We unfolded ourselves out of the back of the car and entered the church in our muddy hiking clothes. We grubbed on a dish with a plantain base, drank coffee (per necessity), and bantered with my host mom’s family around the dinner table. Following dinner, my host mom asked us if we would be available to stay the night. We all responded with a reluctant “yes,” even though none of us packed anything more than what we needed for an afternoon hike. My host mom then let us know that they were already preparing our beds. We bantered for a little while longer with my host abuelitos after which we walked around the chapel building on our way to our room for the night, which was in reality an office room above the pastor's office. Here we were bestowed with baptismal robes to sleep in and mattresses on the floor.
After our night sleeping in this church, we managed to get our grimy hiking clothes back on and find our way downstairs where church goers were beginning to arrive for the service. We feasted on a standard Ecuadorian breakfast, with bread, eggs, juice, coffee, and a plantain scramble with fresh cheese, expressed our gratitude to the family for hosting us, and headed home for Quito.
Weekend #2 with my host family in the books. Yet another impromptu adventure that was filled with overflowing generosity, sleeping in a church in baptismal robes, and being overcome by the boundless creativity of the lord in the beauty of His creation and the amiableness of humanity.