Ecuadors unforgettable hospitality

A hike through the Riatadero Del Quinde, from San José de Minas to Meridiano. A tough 1800-metre climb over terrain covered in ridge lines and steep canyons it was expected to take 15-20 hour to reach Meridiano. At about 5pm, 3/4 of the way up the climb rain started to fall. This was nothing new; it fell at the same time everyday. We saw a little house beside the track and took shelter under the porch to put our wet weather gear and headlights on. from behind the house an old lady appeared and Gus started talking to her in spanish, he explained where we were going and asked her about the route we were taking and whether there were any good places along the way we could stop and sleep for an hour or so. As we had no tent we were in need of shelter. She explained it was a couple more hours to the top then a long muddy trek down for about 12h, and there was nothing from here to the next town. Even thou i couldn't speak spanish i could tell the news about a shelter wasn't good and it was going to be a long cold night for us. As we started to gear up she asked if we wanted to come in out of the rain and offered us to stay for the night or at least until the rain eased. It was still early and seep wasn’t on the mind but decided it was a good idea. Well what an experience of a life time and something that will never experienced by most. This woman welcomed us into her home, which she had built by hand with her husband over 40 years ago. There was a fire on the floor in the corner of the room, with no chimney and her husband was busy cooking, a large pot on the fire with some sort of food for their 3 pet dogs. We all gathered around the fire and shared some of our food we had with them and tried to thaw out. It was pouring down with rain outside and there were about 10 guinea pigs running around the room squealing .I have a feeling these weren’t just pets. The woman was a tiny old lady probably in her late 60’s but was absolutely beautiful and so generous. She laid a woven mat down on the floor for us so we curled up and slept for 4 hours. Upon awaking she had a big pot of potato soup cooked for us to share. Soup had never tasted so good. When we finally left about 5 hours after arriving; the rain had eased and we left smelling like smoke but warm, rested and happy. I will never forget the kind heartiness of this couple inviting 4 strangers trekking through the jungle into their home, feeding us and offering us a spot on the floor to curl up and sleep on.