Our fourth country of the trip took us to Ecuador, with 9 initial days exploring the mainland.
The first stop was the capital Quito, the second highest capital in the world. As our flight first took us to Panama, and then on to Ecuador, we ended up arriving at our hostel in the old quarter quite late. With no dollars to hand we asked our receptionist where to grab some food and he suggested a local spot nearby, whilst also having to lend us some money as he advised against going to the ATM at night. What followed was one of our most local, but delicious meals to date, including a tender goat stew, and some of the local llapingachos (or potato cakes) - opting against the specialty of cows placenta.
For our full day in Quito we decided to kick off by first going on the cable car to the top of Cruz Loma. The views from the top over the city were absolutely incredible, and it was amazing to look out over the Andes. There was also a fun swing which we made use of, taking photos.
Upon our return to the bottom we went for a quick market lunch (our new, favourite cheap way to eat) before going to meet our group for the free walking tour with guru walk we’d booked on to. The tour started at the basilica before taking us down seven crosses street, with some stops for a sweet tasting, ice cream tasting, and chocolate tasting - Sarah’s particular favourite! It was a great way to explore the place, giving us a real feel for Quito in the short time we had here.
Our next destination was the small market town of Latacunga, a base to access the Volcano Cotapaxi. The bus network in Ecuador is unique in that we were dropped off on the side of the motorway, as opposed to the town itself - having to catch a taxi the rest of the way. Arriving on a Sunday afternoon the town was sleepy, so we took ourselves on a self guided tour of the numerous churches and squares, ending up in the park of flowers where we happened upon all the locals spending their afternoon around the boating lake, with small stands selling goods, and carts serving food.
Our main reason for coming here was to visit Volcan Cotopaxi so we arranged a tour for the next day via our hostel. Starting early we drove to the National park, winding down the road with amazing views of the volcano as we climbed to the car park below the Refugio. It was then up to us as our tour guide sent us out of the car and pointed to the zig zag path that would take us up. At this point the winds had picked up, making us very grateful for all the layers we’d put on. The climb was slow, hampered by the wind and the altitude, but about 45 mins later we’d made it to the Refugio.
Grateful for some shelter we had a hot chocolate and coca tea, before deciding to brave it to the glacier. Thankfully this bit was more sheltered but it was even higher altitude (5100m), with lots of loose rocks along the way. However, when we got to the glacier the views made it all worthwhile (even if Sarah did end up coming down some of the steeper bits on her bum)! The journey down was much quicker, as we decided to take the straighter, but steeper, route from the Refugio back to the car park.
Our tour then continued to Laguna de Limpiopung, with some beautiful views of the volcano and the park, before wrapping up with a local lunch on the way back. Absolutely knackered we decided to then treat ourselves to our first pasta of the trip for dinner.
The next day we caught another bus that would take us to Quilotoa, our base for two nights to explore the lagoon - a crater created by a collapsed volcano, filled with waters in a beautiful bluey-green hint. The bus zigzagged it’s way for two hours through some beautiful mountain scenery with views of a natural cracked, cavernous landscape as we arrived closer to our destination.
Quilotoa was unexpectedly cold, at an altitude of 3900m - but thankfully our hostel had wood fires in our room that were gratefully lit both nights of our stay. We spent our time here walking the circumference of the lagoon to take in the various miradors along the route. However our first challenge was to descend to the bottom of the crater for a different perspective, and to see the waters up close. The views were incredible, and worth it for the hours hike back up the vertical ascent over 280m’s.
Quilatoa was beautiful and we were sad to leave to head to Banos, especially as the apple weather app was telling us it would be even colder there! After approx 4 hours travel (with a bus back to Latacunga and then a bus into Banos) we arrived to a rainy but warm place - turns out apple weather is very wrong for this location which we were happy about. We quickly booked onto a selection of tours before wandering around the town, which was surrounded by green mountains and waterfalls in every direction. Our first tour was set to be to see these waterfalls although when met by the guide we were informed that a landslide meant that the road to get there was inaccessible. Instead he offered a tour to some viewpoints which we quickly (perhaps too quickly) accepted. What followed was one of the strangest experiences of our lives as we were ushered onto a Chiva bus playing loud music, which then drove us up the mountain.
Although the views were incredible the viewpoints themselves were odd, with statues of shrek, gods feet and hands and multiple hearts to pose in front of! It was also super busy with lots of local people visiting. We were glad to be back in town within a few hours and headed for another cheap and delicious market lunch, before getting ready for our afternoon tour to the swing at the end of the world.
Again we were ushered to a Chiva bus (never a good start) before being driven out of town, where we hit the BIGGEST traffic jam of all time. In about 2 hours we probably moved a maximum of 100m! At that point the people in our bus demanded we turn back, as there was no way we’d make it to the swing before dark. Upon returning to the hostel we learnt it was actually an Ecuadorean holiday to celebrate their Independence Day which probably explained why it was so hectic!
Making the most of our time in Banos, on the morning of our last day we finally succeeded in completing a tour. We had arranged to go zip lining, and it was possibly the most fun we have had in a long time. After getting equipped, we made the short walk up to the first of six lines that would take us across a valley overlooking forest canopies, waterfalls and the rivers below. Each line had a recommend way of crossing which included the basic seated position, upside down, and the most fun of all superman! When signing up for the tour we didn’t comprehend that we would have to first go up, and whilst fully kitted up it made for some out of breathe ascents. Our second to last line allowed us to go in tandem which allowed us to get some great photos, however the winds meant that on our final line we both came short to the end and had to be rescued having been left dangling above the rushing river below!
Thankfully the town of Banos was beautiful and a perfect place to spend time; what we failed to do on our intended tours we made up for in the good vibes and excellent cuisines! Ecuador has exceeded our expectations, and we still have 8 days on the Galápagos Islands to look forward to.