Cultural Notes
La Laguna Quilotoa – short version
Laguna Quilotoa
- Remember, expect this to be challenging.
- First, read the English version.
- Next, read the Spanish version.
- Click the control to hear the audio.
- Listen several times, following along on the transcript.
- Finally, listen without looking at the transcript.
- See how many words and phrases you can pick out.
- Then try the long version.
Short Version
Laguna Quilotoa
One day we decided to visit a crater lake in an extinct volcano in the central Andes of Ecuador. There are a number of such lakes in this region. We drove to one called Laguna Quilotoa. We were able to hike from the rim of the crater to the lake more than 1,000 feet below. The water appeared either blue or green, depending upon whether the sun was shining or behind the clouds. As we walked back up the trail, a woman followed us with a burro, hoping we would tire and pay to ride the burro to the crater rim. When we reached the top, half the town was waiting with craft items to sell us. We bought several paintings depicting indigenous life, each with a snow-capped volcano looming in the background.
La Laguna Quilotoa
Un día decidimos visitar una laguna en el cráter de un volcán extinto en la región central andina del Ecuador. Hay varios lagos similares en esta región. Fuimos manejando hasta uno llamado la Laguna Quilotoa. Pudimos hacer una caminata desde el borde del cráter hasta el lago, que queda más de 300 metros abajo. El agua parecía azul o verde según si el sol brillaba o se escondía detrás de las nubes. Al volver a subir el sendero, una mujer nos siguió con un burro, esperando que nos cansáramos y le pagáramos por montar el burro hasta el borde del cráter. Cuando llegamos a la cima, la mitad del pueblo nos esperaba para vendernos artesanías. Compramos varias pinturas que representaban la vida indígena, cada una con un volcán nevado en el fondo.
