Quito is a massive city. There is an old section filled with history and great architecture and the new city (called gringo land) full of bars, clubs and tour companies (yuck). I decide the next day to get the hell out of Quito and leave it for the end of my trip (I have to fly out of here anyway). Headed for Baños (yes spelled the same as a bathroom but diff inflection). This is a place where many Ecuadorian vacation. The town is situated near the volcano Tungurahua, also know as "The Black Giant," it is the second largest active volcano in Ecuador. Alas I did not hear or see anything. However it has hot springs and lots-o-activites; rafting, canyoning, bungee jumping etc...I opted for a bike ride on the wonderfully STEEP roads of Ecuador to see about 7 waterfalls. What the hell was I thinking, bikes, mountainous downhill roads with no guard rails , big ass trucks passing me and I just do not get along. I think bungee jumping would have been safer. I was exhausted not becasue of the ride either. What was nice was hitting the hot spings afterwards. Nice place to chill.
Next I was off to do the Quilotoa loop.
I started in Latacunga. The main reason for going to Latacunga is that it is the starting point for the Quilotoa Circuit, a 200 km loop through various small, mountain towns. "Getting there is half the fun" loop is what this should be called. I have read so many blogs and books on this and it seems like there was no easy way to do this loop. The bus schedules to get to these remote towns in the Andes range anywhere from 2-5am and a milk trucks, Again if this is so popular for tourist why not make it easier (i am jus sayin). In Latacunga I go in and out of many tour groups that will do this loop for a heafty fee. I start asking for a loop trip...USD 200, two days, $120 a day trip is $75 (It is more expensive becasue I am a solo traveler). The LAST place I ask says they have a small group going and they can drop me off for 30 bucks SOLD!. It worked out well. We were able to stop at many little towns and take our time.
On Saturday there is a market in the small town of Zumbahua. Not much in the way of "gringo goods" but it was filled with so many colorful things from the fruit to the ppl. The trip ended in the town of Quilotoa, a windy town set near the crater lake of the same name. Once a volcano now a beautiful green crator lake. You can walk the rim or hike down and up (or take a horse back up) On our way down we saw many ppl walking up red faced out of breath, near death becasue the air is so thin at this height...I looked at my guide and said I am taking a horse up. We all agreed. The crater is gorgeous. The hike down was nice but the ride up was...umm laughable (well for me anyway) No saddles, just a blanket tied to the back of a horse. You really had to hang on and I had these sweat pants on that had no traction so I literally kept slipping off the horse. I was laughing so hard thinking what it must look like and this poor horse becasue I was holding onto his mane for dear life. Luckily no one had a camera out. My arms and thighs hurt so much the next day...I bet less than they would have if I walked up the crator!
So in Quilotoa there are only 3 Hostals. I stayed at Pacha Mamma. No heat and the floor had a watery film on it. It had a fire place in my room so I had a nice little fire going but damn it was cold when it went out. I secured a guide to take me to the next town, Chugchilán. I could have opted for a 3 am bus but the walk (6 hrs) was supposed to be spectacular...only one problem I have a bag that weighs about 45pds...."Ahhh Senor, cuánto suplemento para que usted lleve mi bolso" For an extra $10 he would carry my bag. I know I am so bad but.... SOLD. Thank the makers I did. It was a hard hike down very steep and muddy hills (you know how my knees are). The landscape was outstanding and I KNOW I enjoyed it more with my 5 pound bag upon my back!
All the books say this hike is about 5-6 hrs. I would say yes if you do not have a guide. The beginning of the hike says to just follow the blues arrows. I counted all of 3. Now I am not saying anything like the guides may have had something to do with the missing signs but it took us only 4 1/2 hours to get there (I met a couple who did not hire a guide and they got lost...7hrs later they made it into to town). Word to the wise, hire a guide. It was an awesome hike. Green everywhere.
I hiked to Chugchilan which is surrounded by this beautiful scenery and that is about it. I wish I knew more Spanish becasue it was a market day there (very small) and everyone was getting drunk...well the older folks were. It was hilarious. Stayed in a great hostal, Mamma Hilda´s. Another word to the wise make sure you have a good long book becasue there aint nothing to do in these towns except chill and try to stay warm. Met a great couple from the UK (the ones who got lost). Next day UK couple (Sophie and Leo) opted for the milk truck at 5AM and I opted for another hike -this time I was going to carry my backpack to the next town of Isinlivi. The hike was hard but so amazing. My guia (guide), cute little Westin, all of 16 yrs old was very knowledgeable about all the plant life. It was comical because many times he stopped on very steep hills to explain a plant and I kept saying to him..."el hablar y yo de la subsistencia ging para guardar el caminar" (keep talking and I will keep walking). If I stopped I would never have started up again. He got the picture and pulled the plant life and had samples for me at the top of the hills.
When I got to Isinlivi (again a very small town) I went into another cute hostal as it started to downpour (poor Westin he was walking back) but it was sooo cold and I still had not dried out from the last walk...If only there were a bus baclk to Latacunga. The hostal owner said are you taking the bus back today or would you like a room? What bus? There is a 3:30PM bus ONLY on Monday. I am a big believer in signs so I took the bus back to Latacunga. I had no idea where I was going to stay and I really did not want to stay at the same place as before... Wouldn´t you know at a red light I saw Sophie and Leo and they pointed me to a great hostal they were staying in.
We decided to do a small hike up Cotopaxi volcano on the next day. It is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world.
Now you can climb all the way up Cotopaxi to the summit (19,347ft). Your climb begins at 1AM from a refugio at 4800ft and you do not reach the summit for another 6-8 hours. What do you see from 1AM to 6AM...Nuthin. Which is why we opted for a small hike to the refugio. A mere hour to hike 200meters. The air was thin up there (12,000ft+)!
Our guide said we were lucky becasue we had a great day, one every two weeks to see the volcano so clearly. It was amazing!
Next off to Mindo. This is north of Quito (64km) so I had to take a bus back into Quito and then out to Mindo. It was a long day but again the bus ride did not disappoint me. The views were outstanding.
Mindo is a lush green heaven, especially for bird watchers. You can get up at 5Am to go birdwatching....PASS. I am not a bird watcher but there was a great hike to see about 8 different waterfalls. It was very damp and sometimes I felt like I was in a movie. The mist coming off the mountains and the sounds you hear. Again I am not a birdwatcher but I saw 10 diff types of birds and 14 diff. butterflies and the symphony the birds put on for me was incredible. You will have to trust me on this becasue my camera is crap.
Next day I was going to do another hike but it began raining and did not stop so I hauled my butt to Otavalo. This is a town about 90km north of Quito. Otavalo is famous for its Saturday Market, filled with an Animal, Fruit and Artisan market. People from all over Ecuador, Peru and Boliva come here to sell their wares....Ahhh Shopping. I am hoping to find some great Christmas gifts!
This will prob. be my last update (until I get home???). I leave for the states on Monday (it is Friday).
This has been an amazing experience and the people of Argentina, Chile and especially Ecuador are incredibly warm and friendly. I have had a great adventure and I cannot wait until the next one!!!
Hope you enjoyed reading and I cannot wait to see you my friends and family!!
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