Toachi Canyon

I start to walk the 18 kilometers that I have to do to go to Laguna Quilotoa from Zumbahua for Toachi Canyon. For the first kilometers, at least, some children walk with me, Melinda, a very cute 11-year-old girl who looks 8 at the most, and who carries her three siblings of 2-8 years home, on foot, as their parents are still at the market. The four children walk as if it is nothing, the small one has some difficulty, if I not had my backpack I would have carried her! There they are, with a huge smile, cheeks burned with cold, sun and wind, the girls look like little dolls with their velvet skirts and Andean hats, and the small children dressed in American clothing, probably from donations.