On our way from Cotopaxi to Otavalo, we stopped at Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world), which I thought would be just a monument but was actually quite the thing with restaurants, shopping, small museums, etc. Because I wasn't expecting all that, I felt a little overwhelmed (and tired from the very sleepless night with Maeve, traveling with babies!). Generally, a lot of the things felt like repeats for us because we've been in Ecuador for 3 months. We've visited a chocolate factory, and Guayasamin's Capilla de Hombres, etc. I think that this would be a better stop for someone who is only in the country for a short period of time. Overall, I really liked the celebration of all the different cultures that exist within Ecuador in the different regions. Fun fact, did you know that the equator is 5km wide to account for variance? It's really fun to have visited the equator. Traveling to Otavalo was the first time we've been north of the equator in almost 3 months. 

Because we were unable to do any hiking on our first go at Cotopaxi, I knew I had to return the next day. Fortunately for us, Maeve was up shortly after 6am (after a very sleepless night, sorry fellow hotel guests!) and we were at Cotopaxi National Park not long after it opened. It was a very misty, cloudy morning and the entire time there was cloud coverage over Cotopaxi, so I’m really grateful we were there the day before. We hiked around La Laguna, which was mostly flat and took just over an hour. 

I firmly believe that God took extra care when he created Ecuador. It is so beautiful! I’m so grateful we had the chance to come to this incredibly National Park. I’m really, really glad we made this stop. 

Our next stop was Cotopaxi National Park. We made two visits to the park on two days. On our first day, we checked in and it was recommended to us to rent a 4x4 vehicle if we wanted to hike to the Refugio. We decided to see how far our car could get us. The drive into the park was breathtaking and as we drove up Cotopaxi, the cloud coverage slowly cleared, ultimately revealing the peak of the Volcano! It was mesmerizing and I had Conor pull over so many times to take photos! I loved every minute! In the end, perhaps we should’ve enlisted the 4x4, because at some point our gutless Chevrolet Spark could do no more and we had to roll down the mountain and turn ourselves around. Everything was so breathtakingly beautiful, that there was no room for complaints whatsoever. Only gratitude for where we were. We decided to go back down and hike the Lagoon, which we would’ve done if someone hadn’t locked the keys in the car! Fortunately opening a car manually (aka breaking in) is a common skill set and everything turned out okay, although it did chew up a couple of hours. We’re making memories! 

My favorite picture I took is the one of the llama and Cotopaxi in the background. Is this for real??? Yes, it is. 

At our Cotopaxi hotel there lived a llama names Juanito. Our girls fed him carrots on three separate occasions. They just adored him! My favorite was when Maeve fed him a carrot without understanding that he was going to take the carrot from her hand. She was so angry! Lots of screeching and yelling. Maeve did eventually warm up to him, sort of. She remained wary of Juanito. Holly and Greta on the other hand could not get enough of the poor guy! What a fun experience for them to have!

We stayed one night very close to the south entrance of Cotopaxi park at the Rondador Hotel. It was such a great stay, with very friendly staff, especially with Maeve. The restaurant had really yummy food! It was such a pleasant time. I highly recommend traveling in Ecuador with a baby. Ecuadorians are so kind, but their kindness is magnified when you have a cute, blue eyed baby traveling with you. Maeve has helped us to make so many connections!