Aug 15 - Sep 3, 2016: Ecuador

Aug 22, 2016.  Hostel Tiana, Latacunga, Ecuador.

• Bus to Quito, then $20 taxi ride - about an hour - to go from the north to the south bus Quito bus station.  Quito has got to be the longest town ever.  Then another bus to Latacunga, along a beautiful road with farmland, rivers, and volcanoes all along the way.  Checked into the Hostel TIana, had a meal of roast chicken and French fries - pretty standard fare around these parts - before having my hair cut for $1.50.  Left my Outdoor Research hat on the bus, and then somehow misplaced my camera - I think I was pickpocketed (It was in an open pocket of my parka.). Idiot.  Fretted about it for awhile, then decided I could do just fine with just the camera of my iPhone.  Freedom!  I should also mention that I misplaced one of my hearing aids several days back - I put both of them in my shirt pocket, and when I went to retrieve them later, only one was there.  How do these things happen?  Should I email Caren to get my other hearing aids and give them to Len?  Should I have Len buy me a new camera?  So far I say no to both questions.

• I like Latacunga - full of energy, the downtown fun to walk around it, very few tourists, nothing much to do.  I just wish there were better food choices - and not just here, but every city I've been in so far.

Aug 23, 2016.  Hostel Tiana, Latacunga, Ecuador.

• Paid the big bucks -  $40 - for a day's trip to Volcán Cotopaxi.  There were four others on the tour - a French guy, a South Korean guy, and two German girls.  Counting the Ecuadorian driver/guide, that makes five nationalities.  We drove to the end of the road, part way up the volcano at about 13,000 feet, then hiked to the hut at 15,500, huffing and puffing all the way.  Impossible to go any further: thanks to global warming, and recent eruptions (last one: January 2016), there is less snow on top, and it melts faster, and it makes the hiking more treacherous.  Still, a great view from the hut.  Wild horses spotted at around ten thousand feet.  What in the world do they eat?

• Had my first pizza, and it was pretty good.  Trying to watch the carbs, as my belly is ridiculously large, and I spend too much time worrying about it.  I think the solution is another big hike, a la the PCT.