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Published: November 27th 2008
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The Lonely Planet describes a journey around the Quilotoa Loop as "a little confusing" - Ha! Your not kidding. After being dumped on the outskirts of Latacunga, catching a local bus with goats on the roof, daring some of the most dangerous roads in South America and getting completely lost hiking from Laguna Quilotoa to Chugchilán, I am just happy to find my way back to civilisation in one piece!
I first found out about the remote Quilotoa Loop from another backpacker in Banos. Like every other traveller I consulted the The Lonely Planet to find out more. It was obvious that the Loop was well and truly off the gringo trail because the details in the Lonely Planet were very vague, although it does get one thing right - "Everyone is wondering around completely lost and confused!"
I caught the early Bus from Banos to Latacunga. As the bus travelled across Ecuador through small towns and villages I became trapped in my seat by a large Andean woman carrying a young baby. As I tried to work out my location on the map the baby proceeded to vomit all over my Lonely Planet. I couldn't help but laugh,
maybe the baby had read the book and was letting me know what he thought!
Being the only gringo added to the complexity of knowing when to jump off. When the bus finally stopped in Latacunga I just sat there completely unaware that I was actually at my destination. Suddenly the driver started to shout "Quito, Quito" my gut instinct drove me to shout "Latacunga, Latacunga". The conductor proceeded to push me off the bus while it was in motion. I had seconds to grab my backpack and get out of the way before getting run over by oncoming traffic! I guessed by his reaction that I was actually in Latacunga and was slowing down his schedule!
After swearing a few times at the conductor I suddenly realised that I had no idea where I was. I looked around at the chaotic streets and yet again had the familiar feeling of being completely lost. I walked down the main road towards the city before wondering into the first welcoming building I could find. When I began to ask for the bus terminal, three girls began giggling at the lost gringo who couldn't speak Spanish. With the power of
a Spanish dictionary I eventually managed to explain where I wanted to go!.
As soon as I arrived at the bus station a tout immediately pointed me in the direction of a clapped out bus parked in the corner of the terminal. I stopped for a moment to take in the madness of people wearing colourful Andean clothes and bowler hats jumping on-board the bus. With them they carried strange smelling foods while others tied lamas and sheep to the roof. Unfortunately there was no seats available so I ended up sitting on the floor for the bumpy 2 hour journey to Chugchilán.
As the bus went high into the Andes along mountain edge dirt roads I took in the stunning views of the canyons and valleys. It had recently been raining so the dirt roads had turned to mud. Whenever the driver hit the breaks the bus would slide towards the mountain edge. There were shear drops everywhere. It was one of the most dangerous bus journeys yet!
I eventually arrived in Chugchilán. I was amazed at the size of this mountain town. It consisted of one church, three hostels and a few shops. It didn't
take long to find the Cloud Forest Hostel and meet a couple of German and Swiss travellers who had also made it to this remote town in the Andes.
The next morning five of us decided to catch another local bus to Laguna Quilotoa and do an independent hike to the Creator Lake and then back to Chugchilán. I had a strange feeling that hiking without a guide would spell disaster - I hate it when I'm right!
We hiked around the rim of the volcanic creator lake and then down into the creator its self. It was a strenuous hike back up before heading across the valleys and canyons towards Chugchilán. At one point I slipped and twisted my knee making the rest of the hike quite painful.
We walked for hours into the Andes and along the edge of a stunning canyon. Somehow during the hike we took a wrong turn and got completely lost. We couldn't see a lot because we were high in the Andes and the fog had set in. When we asked local children the way back they pointed us in the wrong direction on purpose!. We were lost for 6
hours in the Andes and ended up going off the dodgy trails and Scramble down an almost vertical path down the side of the Canyon. I still cant believe we did that it was very dangerous but we knew we were on the wrong side of the canyon.
The next day we visited the Saquisilí market. I could have been back in India. There was meat hanging in the streets, pigs heads sitting on tables, all sorts of strange foods and smells together with locals that just shouted "one dollar one dollar" at me each time I tried to take a photo. I didn't pay them a thing... Some looked really pissed off ha ha!
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