Blogs from Quilotoa, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 7

First full day in Ecuador and I set off with two Dutch (Onno and Angela) and two Italians (Andrea and Laura) to see the highest volcano in Ecuador called Cotopaxi, about 80km south of Quito. We drove with our local guide in our 4WD truck through the stunning ´Avenue of Volcanos´to get there and then drove up the side of the snow capped volcano to 4500m. We then trekked up 300m to 4800m where the climbers´refuge is located. Whilst not the toughest climb I have done on my travels it got me to the highest altitude I have ever been. That night we stayed in a small cosy hostel near to the volcano. For dinner we, by complete fluke, ended up at a very swanky local hacienda (Spanish stately home) called Cienega which dated back ... read more

Laguna Quilotoa is a gorgeous crater lake that was formed after the Volcano’s last eruption in 1797. This site is at like 4000m above sea level, so it's cold (bring a lot of warm clothes). Today, it is the home of a small community that gets to see this beautiful view everyday. When we got there Saturday afternoon after traveling from Quito to Latacunga to Zumbahua to (finally) Quilotoa, we found a hostel, got some food and went to see the beautiful lake, which is literally 2 minutes from where the town. It was almost completely covered by fog, but its beauty was still apparent. We chilled out in the Quilotoa for a bit before trying to entertain ourselves with drawing one another and playing games. There is not much to do in Quilotoa at night, ... read more

I was going to do the Quilotoa Loop but it's one of those out of the way trips nicer when done with a travel companion. Coincidentally shortly before I planned to go, I met a guy who did it 7 years ago and wanted to see the owner of a hostel he went to back then. So it worked out well that we met. Country Ecuador is BEAUTIFUL. The bus ride up was invigorating and it was great to see loads of indigenous people in their local dress. It was a clear day and when we finally got to the Quilotoa Laguna it just about took my breath away... Quilotoa is a one street town at a really high altitude (3854 metres) and the other thing that took my breath away quite literally, was climbing back ... read more

again for more photos see Katie´s flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/katierob The difference between Colombia and Ecuador for two neighbouring countries, who share quite a common history, is stark. Colombia for all its fincas and coffee plantations really remains quite urban with localized regions of high population and vast areas of mountains, valleys and rivers with not more than a few scattered houses about the place. Ecuador in contrast seemed to optimise the word rural with all but the very largest cities still largely revolving around their respective weekly markets. But although it was much less developed than Colombia it really seemed that every inch of the country as populated and cultivated. So even though it has a proliferation of volcanoes and mountains over 4000 -5000m they appeared gentle and tame (or s... read more

Had a crap day travelling back to Quito at six in the morning and then went onto Latacunga which, in the nicest way possible, was an absolutley hellish place which I never want to see again. The hostal was rather dubious and we made full use of our sleeping bag liners for the first time since arriving as the beds were rather iffy. Bel and I even got followed back from the bank by some guy so we had to duck into a shop selling piñatas to avoid him. He stopped in the shop in front which was soooo not subtle so we crossed the road and dashed back to the safety of the hostal. However, nice drive to Quilotoa in the early afternoon to arrive in the mist with no-one around. Wandered through the ... read more