• In these rural areas one practical form of transportation is a horse, hence cowboys.
• One town, Chaupi,  was having a soccer tournament.  We arrived just in time for the parade of teams (complete with officials, beauty queens and team mascots).  Never mind it was only about 100 meters from the staging area to the stadium, the participants marched proudly and the spectators cheered enthusiastically.

From the lowlands, 3000 meters, we climbed across the shoulder of Ilinizas to almost 3800 meters.  We were told that this was the old Pan Americana -- it was deserted now.  You could have told me that it was the old Inca Road and I would have believed you.  Much of the highland part of the road was constructed with cobble stone.  Clearly a very solid and stable material for this kind of environment, because such as it was, the road was in good repair.  I understand that this is similar to how the Inca Kings had the roads constructed, but it leaves something to be desired as a bicycle path.

Despite the short comings of the road it is a spectacular ride.  Cotopaxi wanted to suck a bunch more film through my camera, the air was crisp and clear and the temperature was wonderful.

At about 3500 meters we got to the "paramos", a high tundra plain of tufted grass, wildflowers and wind.  I felt like I was riding on top of the world. This was part figurative and part literal, but the literal quality gave the figurative an addition lift.

After the descending 500 meter vertical in five kilometers the surprise in San Juan de Pastocalle was a bull fight.  Again we arrived just in time for the parade.  The main characteristics of the parade were wild dresses, masks and music.  There were men on horse back, marching bands and masked people swinging live chickens.  Asking around we didn't get an explanation for the tradition or the symbolism.

The locals acted like the bull fight was about to begin so we joined them on the fence of the corral.  It seems that in this bull fight anyone can participate and the bull is not killed -- the town can't afford it and no admission is charged.  Over the course of the next hour several young men darted across the corral, the cowboys rode through with their lassos and occasionally tried to roundup the bulls in an adjoining corral and occasionally some of the bull wondered into the main corral -- maybe they weren't the right bull -- but a bull fight never materialized.  Eventually our stomachs over ruled our curiosity and we left without discovering what the climax of a small town bull fight looks like.

Time flies when you are having fun or otherwise immersed in new experiences.  It was after four in the afternoon when we finally got to lunch but it was worth the wait.  The restaurant was in an old elegant hacienda, with a tree lined drive, hardwood floors, courtyard garden, private chapel and shrine, fountains, an other decorative amenities.  The meal, including soup, main course and dessert, was excellent as well.

The dominant activity in the valley is flower plantations.  Our accommodations for the night were again the main house of an old hacienda.