Camera Talk

A fine train ride indeed. Happy New Year, Pablo, and to the family too!

On the 28th we took a trip to the Lagoon of Quilotoa. Quilotoa is an extinct volcano, and the crater is full of water.
I visited it loooong time ago, and it was quite desolate. Now it is a tourist attraction, with trails, kayaks, etc.
The drive is through a wonderful mix of paramos and valleys.

The paramo is impossible to capture in a picture, a mixture of cold wind, bright sun, and the impression of being close to the heavens

Some of the old style huts can still be seen.


From the paramo one goes through valleys which are protected by sleeping giants


And driving through the town of Tigua, where art developed in its own way



A view of the valley, where the TOACHI river is born

And the river digs a canyon through the mountains


Arriving finally in the Quilotoa lagoon.
There are a few legends around it, one of them is that Quilotoa = The Tooth of Toa (Quiro-Toa). Toa was a Shyri princess which was married to the Puruha Prince called Duchicela (around 1300) to put an end to the war of those tribes and consolidate the Shyri kingdom... until the Incas came northwards a few decades later (around 1480).
The legend says that Toa was the only daughter of the Shyri kings, and when she was going to be married, she pulled a tooth and gave it to the gods of the earth which was dry and scorched, and a mountain full of water came out of it.

The mountain flower of Ecuador (Chuquiragua) is the queen of these arid and desolate locations


and of course... tourist are compelled to take pictures

Going back from Quilotoa we drove back to CotopaxiPungo
where a late arrival ensured a fantastic sunset.... cant believe how vivid the colors are


The city of Quito can be observed from there as a string of lights....


At 4AM, the muse woke me up....
Antisana with Venus

Sincholagua with Venus

Sincholagua and the SouthernCross

Cotopaxi showered with stars

Finally Cotopaxi showed its beautiful shape around 6:30AM, since it has been spewing ashes since August all the west side (on the right) is ranging from black to gray instead of pure white snow



And the clouds from the East (Amazonia) hugged it and covered him

As of today 01/03 that we are flying back to the US, el Nino is here.... as it is usual here, there was a small earthquake on 01/01 (5.5 scale) and a sudden change of weather. From very sunny and hot to rainy.
It is fun to see the the moisture coming form the Amazon meeting the moisture coming from the Pacific and creating rain clouds.

Nice commentary, and nice shots to go with it.

Looking at a (resting) volcano myself today, and was also treated to a five and a bit earthquake to go with my lunch!

Have a good trip back, and happy New Year.

Beautiful series, and thanks for showing us that wonderful region.