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- Dec 28, 2011
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Ecuador Climbing School underway
MM guide Tino Villanueva checked in with an update of the team. After a bit of acclimatizing and shopping, the team has moved up on Cayambe for some schooling.
If this looks like the way to start off your New Year, join us on one of six trips in Ecuador starting in January and going through Feb.
“A belated Merry Christmas from the South American Ring of Fire!
“Mountain Madness has begun its holiday expedition and climbing school on Ecuador’s volcanoes: Cayambe, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. Our team has assembled and we have been spending the past couple of days acclimatizing while exploring Quito, the world’s second highest capitol city at 9500 feet above sea level.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=4d24fbe7dc429a7e28584d66225e46dd 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=ac447daafabfe59ff65c6f07445e4f9d 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=06de102ea1e642945e1f7a9f19df6081 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=81ee765889a4426bd1965df341c36454 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=f3821bc9bc8d905f9e1b9e49127cd62d 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=abd41f42eacf5efd00ec7dacbdeea55f 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=f1c3a1659f32f2f0b0e5e3d3da337c49 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fcayambeandquito.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=61cf7623292cbb5126daba8c73db1843 500w)
Quito with Cayambe in the background. Tino Villanueva photo
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=22025999460f1d8bca48f2397de09ce1 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=3aeae29a9ff5499576b92932c8b46aa6 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=8df1f4a204681850b2c75c6cfd4a883a 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=5b896e850457eb160c351249f7552342 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=4a1a0df4663d3c464b304852ee054e1e 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=802dc3e1360d5285fcfe31cee5d30935 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=4360a073176b32656f60a535ca1347b7 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-Virginmarystatue.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=3a60b4b36c2b0f07d071fb559af1e053 375w)
Virgin Mary Statue. Tino Villanueva photo
“Our first day in Quito started with a visit to El Panecillo, a park on a hill that rises above the city. This hill has been the site of the original center of the city on a defensible high ground. It has also been the site of an ancient water reservoir. Now it stands as the landmark park with a stunning view of Quito. From the viewing deck on the 41 meter tall statue of the Virgin Mary watching over Quito, a symbol of the sigificance of religion in the country, one can easily see the narrow strip that is home to the city’s two million residents. The city is over 60 miles long and only 3 miles wide in it’s narrowest sliver.
“Next, we made our way down into the Old Town. The historic center of Quito is a UNESCO world heritage site, considered one of the most important in Latin America, with about 130 monumental buildings. First we visited Eugenio Espejo, the site of a colonial era hospital that has been coverted into a museum. Housed in the museum are exhibits of modern art, those dedicated to the history of the city and tributes to the history of the building itself. The building was constructed using a combination of new, for the period, Spanish architecture combined with native techniques. In fact, even today the floors and roofs of Eugenio Espejo stand with little more that bamboo and mud holding everything together.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=c95b452c98031d78934fd36f69d0c841 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=ae7f6aa0eea0715313b5b759fd9df8b8 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=59d33c727d3be4a6881c3e7056c29578 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=1ee7b901590bd55bbc3b6c19cd399add 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=18b3e90f996db212d41112ddac547b1a 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=f9baa0649e719de6fc31876ec5555250 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=51af9ab17cc88df07338b1a591c788f9 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-church-interior.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=b17d6d4329853954f9b986e8224cd92a 500w)
Eugenio Espejo. Tino Villanueva photo
“We then walked over to the Church of La Compania de Jesus. Construction of La Compania took 160 years. One of the reasons the church took so long to complete is because of the complex stone carved exterior. Most rock in Ecuador is volcanic and very soft, therefore very difficult to carve without crumbling. Another reason the contruction took over 100 years is that everything inside the church is covered in gold. It is a monument of what the Spanish expected to find in El Dorado. The Incan people, however, had no currency value in gold and, because they had an abundance, they used gold as a protective coat over their wooden structures. This is true in La Compania, as the natives were made to carve intricate artwork out of wood and then painstakingly apply gold leaf over nearly everything. Walking into the church overwhelms the eyes with gold shimmering on pulpits and altars. I almost thought to put on my sunglasses!
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=311269bf4413a29eb47a64fd7a902ccd 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=518642b05ac735e411305d9449a7251c 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=005975454d7306513cc776a896438af5 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=8e0dea17261d1a86b767f75612838b77 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=e181cf31f2913fc872636ef777d66aa1 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=c974e171a9156195d24c34e9efb959a6 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=5384d5501cdd714c4efb8853fa6c5573 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-food.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=dd99afca5d9f0a0af372082713f5d0a5 500w)
Eating in Otavalo Market
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=66516583a9cdc61b522df3dc47f0fd5d 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=dde536fc8cfdf7101db06b65c92ec066 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=f87fad68e18e0c52e822cb77336b0df1 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=159b248bc5967686591429692ac1c459 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=3c45b08c84f22e4476d6d4a3e644b20e 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=c629b7928d2b466c191aff05e86cb4f5 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=60d6173ff5ddd4e34ba1dcaa08890199 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalo-pig.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=6675b013f8a79fd49d8c64aa68065de2 500w)
Pig at Otavalo. Tino Villanueva photo
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=9cb82dd7d27cc8a15cb41b3490ecca17 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=50fef8789d7bd3e67635831adfd30b50 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=4e81bde7248d1fd131d5759fbdb94b14 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=d7205e0eb1a226fbf034c628121aa3a4 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=f823ce4a2b733110c8797424d7a121a2 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=045956001286c2047b88400c2e100349 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=0eb9ad257f3cb4398e8873a77fa0ceec 375w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2Fnewswire%2Fecuador-otavalotextiles.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=4565d66a0a34a744cc9e73ecc7474f88 375w)
Otavalo textiles. Tino Villanueva photo
“We capped off the day with a visit to fellow Mountain Madness guide Ossy’s beautiful hacienda, RumiLoma. Situated on the side of a dormant volcano, Pichincha, and overlooking Quito 1500 feet below, it is a mesmerizing place to have a meal or spend the night. We sat down with Ossy’s family to a gourmet meal that delighted the taste buds and a view that I could not turn away from. While the busy city lights twinkled below, we enjoyed our amazing setting far above the hustle and bustle of the city. Equatorial constellations shone brightly above, competing against the city below. The setting was outrageous and, of course, our host was extremely gracious.”
~ MM Guide Tino Villanueva