"¿Cuáles son sus nombres?"

A girl who is probably seven years old answers with a series of four or five names. We encounter her and her classmates while following the path down into town. Although the children are ostensibly in the middle of a school lesson, their desire to run off and play is obvious. Their teacher, challenged by her charges' wayward attentions, offers us the same mildly exasperated smile that first-grade teachers all around the world share. A few minutes later, we hear footsteps behind us. Two of the students run up, slowing their pace so they are just steps behind us. One girl is dressed in traditional Otavaleño clothing of a white blouse, wrap skirt, dainty slippers, and gold necklace; the other is in a sweat suit with cartoon characters printed on the front.

While both keep their heads pointed straight ahead, they follow us with their eyes, shyly answering our questions. Then, with a quick jump over the edge of the trail onto the steep slope that leads to their homes below, they're gone.

Once in town, we wander up and down the streets, poking our heads into stores. One stops me cold: Fat cones of brightly colored thread line shelves around the store. Emboldened by several days in Ecuador, I flub my way in Spanish through a request for wool. The shopkeeper pulls bags out of a corner and reveals pounds of wool in warm brown, bright turquoise, and brilliant red. At just $3 per cone, they are worth the arm ache that comes from carrying two around for the day. Besides, the chill of the previous evening has stayed with me, and I am dreaming of knitting up a thick cap that will carry me from fall straight into winter.

Winter

With no desire to tempt fate a second time with a bus ride back to Quito, we hire a driver­ and a car for $55, which is worth every penny in comfort and saved time. With just 24 hours left, we have but one season left to conquer. The fastest route to winter leads to the snowcapped Cotopaxi, the world's highest active volcano, an easy day trip just 90 minutes outside of Quito.