Renee and Petes Honeymoon Adventure - Chugchilan, Quilotoa and The Black Sheep Inn

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Travel blog 3 - Chugchillan, Quilotoa and the Black Sheep Inn



Our third part of the trip involved us heading up into the Ecuadorian Andes, about a 3 hour drive south-west of Quito. This area of Ecuador is renowned for its hikes around the many volcanic craters, the various ecosystems, the self-sustaining communities and the award winning Eco-lodge, The Black Sheep Inn. The Black Sheep Inn is based just outside the little town of Chugchillan, about 3200m above sea level, and is a self-sustaining, vegetarian lodge. A simply amarzing place, run by a lovely gentleman by the name of Edmundo and his fabulous team and has subsequently been winning awards and featuring in world magazines for years.



Our trip here almost didn't happen. Renee, being the super organised person that she is, decided to check our pick up time the night before, which confirmed we were to be picked up from Quito at 9:30am, 13th August. Exactly one month after we had planned to be there. And at that point in time, we would be in Peru, not even in Ecuador so no chance we could move our plans around. The next hour was a very stressful one. So we called The Black Sheep Inn, maybe they would have a space. Only one of the Spanish speaking workers, and not the bi-lingual Edmundo, answered the phone. Failed attempt at resolving the situation number 1. Not knowing Spanish all that well, and our hostel owners at that time knowing limited English, trying to explain to them our dilemma became difficult. Thankfully their son, Carlos Jnr, could speak some English, and made the second phone call on our behalf, but still no Edmundo, and still no resolution. Alternate plans began to be hatched, we were determined to trek around the volcanic rims of lake Quilotoa before we left Ecuador. The iTranslate app then came into its own, as we were able to translate exactly to Carlos what had happened, and what we needed to happen. Now he fully understood, (we aren't exactly sure what he was trying to organise for us previously, but the look on his face suggested he now knew) and about 15 minutes later, Edmundo called back, confirmed he could change our booking to the 13th July, and at 9:38am the next morning when our pick up arrived, with special guest Edmundo himself, we started to breathe and relax again.



A little about the The Black Sheep Inn, not only because our stay was perfect, but the people that worked there and its purpose as an Eco-Lodge is something that really moved us. It prides itself on being a true Eco-Lodge, existing by the 5 main principles - conservation, low impact, sustainability, meaningful community involvement and environmental education and interpretation. It was founded by two U.S. backpackers in late 1994, with the arrival of their first guests in early 1996. In 2012 it became 100% community operated, with all the tours and transfers now being done by locals, the cooks and cleaners are all local women and the ground maintenance is completed by a couple of the original employees. Edmundo, the administrator of the Black Sheep Inn, was born and raised in Chugchillan, and returned in 2012 to do the day to day running of the establishment. Everything they present for meals is locally produced, if not grown within the grounds, and the toilets are ecologically sound, using very little to no water (the water that is used in rain water) and were world leading examples when first used 20 years ago.



Edmundo and The Black sheep Inn were also the first to acknowledge that this was our honeymoon, and their gift to us was unlimited beer and wine for our stay. Winning. What this establishment already offered was all our meals, tea, coffee and freshly made snacks throughout the day, and normally you pay for your drinks. Once settled in, we explored the grounds and found the sauna, home-made gymnasium equipment, frisbee golf course, and yoga room. We then found the perfect balcony, overlooking the Andes, so we grabbed a glass of Chilean wine each and relaxed, celebrating our honeymoon. It was so good that 3 glasses each later, Renee thought she'd stop drinking (yes, she apparently can say no). Pete on the other hand, took advantage of the free beer as we bonded with some fellow travellers, ignoring the warnings that drinking and altitude don't go well together. Big mistake. The following 8 hours of "sleep" for Pete involved litres of water, nurofen and someone hammering a nail into his head (at least that's how it felt!). Renee on the other hand, slept more pleasantly.



And so came our first full day at Black Sheep Inn, and we had decided the night before to do the big trek, Lake Quilotoa back to the Black Sheep Inn through a couple of villages, with a few of other guests here at the Inn; Amanda from Canada, Chris from Australia, and Wolfgang from Germany but currently living in Uruguay. Some stats on this trek; we are driven to Quilotoa (about 30 minutes away) and dropped off at the Crater Rim, about 3900m above sea level. We trek about a third of the way around the crater lake (this took about an hour due to the many photo opportunities, but may take others a little less), before starting our descent to Chugchillan and the Black Sheep Inn. We end up in the bottom of the canyon at one point, which sits at 2900m above sea level, before trekking back up Chugchillan and 3200m. In total about 11.8km in walking, spectacular and changing scenery and weather and an experience we won't forget. Including our packed lunch provided by the Inn- cheese, tomato and mustard rolls with cheese from the local cheese factory, popcorn, cookies and fruit, a Trekkers delight!!



The Crater Lake is the top of an old volcano, about 250m deep, water temp is about 7 degrees Celsius and the lake itself about 200m across. The photos we took just don't do it justice. We walked about a third of the way around it, taking as many shots of this amazing piece of landscape as we could before starting the trek down the side of the mountain. Every turn we took presented us with something new, something different and another reason to stop and stare. The canyon in which we were descending into, and had to cross to get to Chugchillan, had scenery which again, the photos don't do justice. The Ecuadorian government has spent millions on improving the infrastructure for tourists, and the random placement of park benches were at first strange, but then very helpful as we were able to stop, take in our surroundings and catch our breath. No amount of training back home could have prepared us for this level of exertion at altitude, and when we had to make a steep incline, we were reminded again we were at high altitude. 'Out of breath' was an understatement, but the experience so worth it and a good way to prep for our Inca trek at the end of August.



Our second full day, we hadn't had enough of trekking, so our group from yesterday decided to do the Paramo grasslands and Cloud Forest walk. This time, we started at The Inn, and headed up. If we thought the views from our trek yesterday were amazing, todays were out of this world. We trekked through about 4 different vegetation environments; grasslands (known as Paramo), a cloud forest (essentially a lush rainforest), open woodlands and farmland. After our first hour of ascending, we arrived at our first ridge and we were able to locate some of our tracks on the other side of the canyon from our trek the previous day. Our second hour in, and we arrived at the top of the Cloud Forest. And the name is a perfect description of what we saw in front of us, a forest that was in the clouds. The fact that we were above it and looking down into it just made it more surreal. We then headed down into the forest, learning about the different plants including those used for medicinal purposes and marvelling at the change in landscape we had entered, the density and eeriness of the environment. It felt strange not to encounter bugs and mosquitoes, and thankfully (especially for Renee who gets attacked by all sorts of critters), this altitude keeps these creepy crawlers away. Apparently, there had been recent sightings of bear and wolves by the locals in the area we were headed into, as much as a bear sighting would have been exciting, we were both a little relieved when we didn't spot any. Upon leaving the cloud forest, we again kept ascending, walking past dairy farms (which Pete thought a major tease given he had now gone 7 meals without meat) but still in the clouds. After about 5 hours of trekking, we peaked, at about 3800m, and could see the clouds below us to the left, Chugchilan and the rim of Lake Quilotoa to our right, and the perfect view of the 4 different environments we had walked through. As we sat at this peak, we watched a rain cloud roll up the mountain we were on, and eventually over the top of us. We have been very lucky over these 2 days to be able to trek, eat dinner with and socialise with some wonderful fellow travellers. Each one have brought their own unique take on travelling, with their own experiences which have made these 2 days of trekking so much more enjoyable.



Our third full day, we thought we'd have a more of an easier day and enjoy the Inn and local surrounds, and so we did Edmundo's famous 'skywalk', a 2 hour hike to a plateau within the canyon. Again the scenery was breathtaking, and every plateau we reached gave a different perspective on the mountains surrounding us and the canyon below us. It was also probably our most scariest walk, as we were, at times, climbing a steep path with very little to nothing either side of us, making Pete question at times where we were actually headed. But, as this was also our first hike here in Chugchilan on our own, it was quite nice to be able sit at the top plateau with just ourselves. The day finished in a very relaxing fashion, with Renee having a pre-birthday one hour massage treat and then both of us enjoying another Chilean Red wine and a local cheese platter prior to dinner, the pesto cheese was rated very highly!



And then our journey to the Inn came to an end, much to our dismay. The food we have eaten (ok, for those that know Renee, food is a source of happiness hence why it continually deserves a mention), and as Pete has made mention a couple of times, was all vegetarian here at The Inn. But it has tasted fantastic. Breakfast was the perfect combination, and a great start to the day which has always included muesli, yogurt, coffee, fresh fruit, fresh fruit juice (passionfruit juice was delicious), bread and eggs cooked to your liking. Lunch is packed for us before our walks, and have made the walks great as we know what we are getting at lunch. And the three course dinners have tasted sensational, and every night has been totally different (Pete has been very clear, he couldn't become vegetarian but could definitely enjoy the weekly vegetarian meal if Renee gets these recipes! Renee on the other hand, has found some vegetarian inspiration, who needs meat with all this wonderfulness including shepherds pie with wild mushroom gravy, homemade pasta with vegetables and local cheeses, stuffed eggplant and chickpea curry). Soup is usually the starter with dessert being a concoction of anything local. On our last night the strangest starter yet, vegetarian ceviche (ceviche, usually done with seafood but at the Inn, their take was with vegetables, slightly cured in citrus juices and spiced with chilli) with popcorn; what a great combination of flavours!



Black Sheep Inn was such a wonderful experience. It has given us a taste of what more Ecuador has to offer other than the Galapagos, and a place we'd love to come back to again. Every night we have met more and more travellers, all with their own stories and ideas, helping create more adventures for us. Next stop, Quito part 2!

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Photos

The Illiniza's.
Twin volcanic mountains which are regularly covered by clouds, so we were very lucky to see them both today.

Day 1 Trek
As we began our descent into the canyon

Canyon Panoramic
This is as close as we could get a photo to demonstrate the enormity of what we saw

Comments

[John Rosse]

Blog # 3
Absolutely fantastic - now Galapagos next. Love from both of us. Enjoyyyyyy....