One of the highlights of our stay in Isinlivi – a teeny, tiny pueblo in the Andes along the Quilotoa Loop (a hiking route that provides days of wandering through incredible green valleys) – was learning how to milk a cow. Andrew and I accompanied Rosarita – a local farmer – to her pasture where her milk cow and calf were grazing. It took a little instruction and practice, but we both managed to “pull and squeeze” some deliciously sweet and warm milk from the very skeptical provider…
Rosarita was so kind. After we tortured her poor cow with our very awful newbie milking technique, she still invited us into her house to see how she turned the milk into local cheese, showed us her garden and a varied animal collection that provided eggs (hens), chickens (likely more than just the eggs), and guinea pigs (called cuy in the Andes, and quite a delicacy).
We also had the chance to go hiking locally into the hills behind the hostal we were staying in. While the trail was not very well marked (witness Andrew not being so sure which way to go!), we did manage to get to the top for a lovely view of the pastures and crops below, and ran into llamas and lambs on the way up and down.
Our other days when we used LluLluLlama as a base were day trips to Cotopaxi and Quilotoa Lagoon – those were very spectacular outings saved for my next installment.
Living La Vida Loca 