As on my first hike to the Lagunas de Piñan I had not found a good way down, and as Anibal had suggested a good return trip ending in some hot termas I went again to Iruguincho. Anibal had said the trip could be done in 2 days on horseback. As Anibal was not around, I found a local horse guide. It took some time to locate him and to get going, but finally we had gone to the pasture, he captured and prepared the horses and off we went. We did not go that far, though.... We climbed some steep path, persuaded the horses with some difficulty to ross a river, went underneath lots of bushes and up a steep trail again. Well, and then I was just thinking 'hey, the horse is toppling over ... read more

I had a stop over in Alausi. I arrrived late and was lucky to receive the last free bed in the last hostal in town... As there wasn't any early transport to Achupallas I had a few hours in Alausi, and they were well spent: I couldn't stop watching the amazing locals in their traditional clothes, walking around the shops and bartering at the market. ... read more

Macas is a pretty remote jungle town. However, I liked it, as it is relaxed, has a nice climate - not too warm, not too cold -, lies inmidst rolling green hills and has good food and friendly people. My main purpose to visit was however (unrelated to the book project) a visit to a local Shuar family. I went to the family of Daniel Ayuy who live about an hour outside of Macas next to a river, in the jungle. It is a lovely family with 10 kids. Daniel told me that he had actually wanted a lot more kids and thus wanted a second wife which is custom among the Shuar (his grandfather had 5 wifes!), but his wife who is a Kichwa did not agree, so he gave in and now only has ... read more

El Altar is an extinct volcano on the western side of the Sangay National Park, 170 km south of Quito. The Spanish named it as such as it resembled a huge cathedral to them. The indigenas call it Capac-Urcu, which means "Great Mountain" in Quechua. El Altar is one of the most challenging mountains in Ecuador and has a total of nine summits, all of which have church-related names. El Obispo, with 5319 m the highest peak, was the first one to be climbed, in July 1963 by an Italian team. I never aimed to summit any of the peaks, as they are all too dificult for my capabilities. My goal was to reach Laguna Amarilla, the crater lake from which there supposedly is a great view onto the summits - that is, if the day ... read more

Quito is a city of 2 million people. Admittedly, it is in a developing country. However, typically you don't realize it and there is plenty of whatever one might need. The fruit shelves are abundant with the most incredible exotic fruit you may ever have dreamt about. The supermarkets have literally everything you can buy back home. And there is beautiful artesania, medicinal plants, stolen cameras, heaps of cheap pirate copies of whatever CD or DVD you might dream about and loads of other things. But then, every once in a while the whole city all of a sudden runs out of a certain product. It first started with hanging files. I use them to arrange my hiking information of the various locations in Ecuador. As i have accumulated loads of brochures, maps and other stuff, ... read more