Hello fellow travelers from 
This time I was not accompanied by a tour guide. My common sense, desire to know the place and full attention to the moment allowed me to have one of the best travel experiences I've had.
On my trip to Ecuador I stayed at my friend Hector's house in Quito. From there we went by road and in 3 hours we arrived at the town of Cotopaxi where the Quilotoa Lagoon is located in the Ecological Reserve called Ilinizas.
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These sheep welcomed us, their synchronicity and order caught my attention. They were accompanied by a shepherd. We asked him where he was taking them and he said they were going back to his flock which was about half an hour away from where we were at that moment.
This group of tourists were as excited as I was, also for them it was their first time in the Quilotoa Lagoon.
Note the people in the background, they wear typical costumes of the region, how nice it is to get these details that allow us to know part of the culture of the place.
From the first viewpoint just before descending the view is spectacular, incredible turquoise color of the lagoon, my doubts began to arise, how was it possible that color if the lagoon is surrounded by a volcano, I imagined it dark.
It is located at an altitude of 3,914 meters above sea level and the temperature was 14 degrees Celsius.That day I wore a sweater, jacket, gloves, mountaineer hat, scarf and it was enough to be in the place.
The view from the lookout is so beautiful that without realizing it, I think I spent about an hour contemplating. My friends decided to go down without me.
The view from the lookout is so beautiful that without realizing it, I think I spent about an hour contemplating. My friends decided to go down without me, we agreed to meet at the bottom. That made me feel super good, because I take time to enjoy the moment, the space, respecting my pace.
I started the descent early in the morning, and I could see the trail with the mules, this hike took me about 1 hour.
There are 2 options to descend to the lagoon, by horse or mule and the second option is to walk down. As I have told you before, I don't like to burden the horses with my weight, so my friends decided to go down on horses.
These are my 2 friends with whom I did the walk, the one with the blue shirt lives in Quito and is used to the weather, that's why you can see him without cold weather attire.
There is a part of the mountain where the terrain is made up of sand and is quite steep, which is why there are ropes held from end to end to serve as support. I did not hesitate to lean on the ropes, I did it slowly.
I see this photo and I am left with the feeling of peace, silence and immensity that I experienced when I was there. This lagoon of volcanic origin is a place we all deserve to visit.
Meeting this little boy playing with his dog filled me with tenderness, he told me that he lives very close to the place and his parents were working nearby.
In my descent I was enchanted with the landscape, the turquoise blue of the lagoon looked stunning.
I had the joy of seeing up close a wolf of the moor, calm, sure-footed, solitary.
The minerals contained in the lagoon are the cause of the bluish and greenish tones, sometimes the sunlight intensified them.
On the shores of the lagoon there is a space for camping, I would really love to have that experience.
I confess that at this moment I was nervous, the boat felt unstable and bubbles were coming out of the water, I was terrified of falling into these high temperatures.
I was only there for about 10 minutes and I asked my friend to take us back.
You can navigate in the lagoon, go through the 3 kilometers of diameter of the crater from the top and see the place from different and spectacular angles.
My friends decided to go on horseback. I refuse to do that atrocity with those animals, as long as I am healthy and with vitality I will always choose to go on foot.
Just like children when they do not want to leave a place, so was I, however we had already arranged with the cab to take us back to Quito and we wanted to be punctual.
According to my experience, this tour is to be done early in the morning and to spend at least 6 hours there. For those who practice hiking is a trip that becomes unforgettable.
Thank you for joining me through this post.
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[//]:# (!pinmapple -0.85590 lat -78.90107 long Lagoon Quilotoa, Stunning emerald color d3scr)
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