Closest to the Sun... or so I Thought

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Short version: the rest of Ecuador included Quito, Mitad del Mundo, Baños, Latacunga, Laguna Quilotoa, Volcán Cotopaxi, Volcán Chimborazo, and the skanky border town of Tulcán but thankfully for just one skanky night.

Long version: Standing atop Chimborazo at 6310 meters above sea level, one gets the feeling of being quite high. Even though the mountain is not the highest in the world, or even in South America, it has the distinction of being the farthest from the center of the earth due to its proximity to the equator. Because of a guide who was a complete cabron, I would not stand closest to the sun but a mere 43 meters below the summit. Why we did not reach the true summit was unknown and I did not pursue the matter since I was completely exhausted after barely sleeping at the climbers refuge.

So most of the pictures and commentary focus on a really great trip to Volcán Cotopaxi, still quite high at 5897 meters. My first day in Quito I did not even stay there. Made a beeline between the northern and southern bus terminals using the trolé which is an electrified bus system with dedicated lanes. Beeline is an exaggeration since it took 2 hours from the time I arrived at the northern terminal until alighting at the southern terminal. More like a snail line. But once I got to the brand new terminal I was quite impressed with the general orderliness and cleanliness - both unusual qualities in most bus stations I've transited. Within 5 minutes I was on a bus to Latacunga which is the closest town of any significance to Cotopaxi. That bus ride was about 2 hours, roughly the same amount of time it took to cross Quito. Spent a fair amount of time looking for a hostel that someone had recommended but I could not find it and ended up at Hotel Rosim which was really nice. It was late, most everything was closed, and I ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant to break up the monotony of roasted chicken and potatoes that seems to be the staple meal in much of South America. Hit the bricks next day looking for a tour operator who had a trip going to Cotopaxi that I could latch onto in order to defray the costs of the guide and transport. Even though there was no trip scheduled, I settled on Volcán Route Expeditions after establishing good rapport with the owner, Ramiro. There were not many tourists in Latacunga which was odd since climbing Cotopaxi is one of the more popular trips in Ecuador and the town is purported to be the best place to set up a trip. It can also be arranged in Quito but is much more expensive. I figured I would go with Ramiro either in a group or solo. While going solo would be more expensive I was almost certain I would summit because one guide leads 2 climbers and if one gets sick... everyone has to turn back.

To ensure that I would not have to turn back on the mountain, I needed to acclimatize a bit before the climb so I checked out of the hotel, left most of my gear behind, and took a short bus ride to Zumbahua one of the main towns on the Quilotoa Loop named after Laguna Quilotoa, a massive crater lake whose rim sits at roughly 4000m. After the bus ride was a breezy 14km ride in the back of a pickup to Quilotoa where I checked in to the hostal, had some breakfast, then headed up to the crater rim. Took about 3 hours to hike the entire rim. Good workout, nice views, insanely strong wind. Hung out by the wood stove back at the hostel, drinking tea, just chilling out basically. Dinner was fantastic and by then there were about 20 people staying there. Had planned to hike ~10km to Chugchilán, another village on the circuit, from where I would catch a bus back to Latacunga. Didn't quite go as planned. The trail is poorly marked and follows a bit of the crater rim. I must have peeled off too early and ended up on a well worn path that was not going where I wanted to go. I turned back after a couple of exasperating hours and fending off several seemingly rabid dogs. After lunch of soup, llama, and tea a bus left for Latacunga and I was soon back at Hotel Rosim arranging my gear for the climb.

At Ramiro's office the next day I was pleasantly surprised that there were 3 other climbers on the trip which meant two things: it would not be me and my meager Spanish trying to converse with the guide and the trip would be cheaper. The only concern was that none of my climbing partners had any experience although some had previously been to altitude on treks. Once we sorted out the jeep's electrical problems and smoking dashboard, we were on our way to the park around noon. Took a couple of hours to get to the parking lot and another 40 minutes to hike to the climbers refuge at 4800m. After lunch we headed up to the glacier to practice walking with crampons and ice axe. I probably could have skipped that but I wanted to suss out my potential climbing partner, a bloke from Ireland named Gavin who had been on the Galápagos the day before which made me a tad concerned about his lack of acclimatization. Before sunset we headed back to the refuge for an awesome dinner of soup and pasta of which I could not get enough. I was feeling pretty confident of reaching the summit since I felt really good and had such a massive appetite. Sleep was hard to come by and I think we were roused from our restless slumber around midnight for breakfast of bread, tea, cornflakes and yogurt followed by a departure at 1:15 a.m. Brutal. Gavin, our guide Fernando, and I made excellent time and passed several groups that had left before us. It was unfortunately cloudy so we didn't get much in the way of moonlight even though we were a couple of days before or after the full moon. After 4:59 (under 5 hours!) we were standing on the summit just as the sun was rising. Couldn't stay for too long since it was extremely cold. I led out on the descent around 7 a.m. which the guide surely regretted since I kept stopping to take pictures. He seemed to be overly concerned with getting off the glacier before it got too hot but we were far and away the first group headed down so I was not worried. Made it back to the refuge in 2 hours. After another breakfast consisting of our first breakfast's leftovers and an attempt at a nap, we were hiking back to the jeep ~10:40. Not sure how long it took to return to Latacunga because I dozed and the traffic was awful. Back in town, tried to stay awake after dinner since it was Saturday night and the only night anything happens in sleepy Latacunga. Couldn't manage that but got a well deserved and recuperative sleep instead.

Next day headed to Baños which was not at all trivial even though it is just a couple of hours from Latacunga. It involved a transfer between bus stations in Ambato for which taxis wanted $1.50. I wasn't too keen on that ride seeing as I has just paid $1 for a 1 hour bus ride. Eventually a helpful driver of a bus to Riobamba took me for free to the Baños bus station. And by bus station I mean the side of the road near the Baños highway turnoff. Even after reaching the bus station there was still more frustration as the first bus that stopped had no seats and I was in no mood to stand for an hour. Apparently buses in Ecuador are never full. I got off, retrieved my backpack from the luggage compartment, walked back to the "station," and was relieved when another bus with a vacant seat pulled up to the curb. Another surprise awaited me upon arrival in Baños - Ecuadoran independence day and the middle of a 3 day weekend. Baños is one of the most popular local holiday destinations owing to its proximity to Quito. There was very little availability in the way of hotel rooms and what was available was pretty dismal even by my questionable standards. After searching for a couple of fruitless hours, a local artisan helped me secure a room at his friend's Spanish school which ended up being my own very nice room in the teacher's house for $15. The town cleared out Monday morning so I changed rooms to La Chimenea which was really nice and an amazing deal for only $8.50. Spent a couple of days recovering from Cotopaxi by visiting the thermals (baños means baths) and eating a lot of ice cream which went down really easily in the relative heat of Baños. Then I set out for the ill-fated trip to Chimborazo.

Had a couple of more days in Baños, mostly repeating the first 2 days. Was lucky to meet a Canadian ex-pat and his Ecuadoran wife who took me along La Ruta Cascadas, The Waterfall Route. There is a lot of water in Baños especially in July and August. The wind blows up from the Amazon Basin carrying humid, saturated air and dumps it upon reaching Baños. Countless waterfalls are the result with Pailon del Diablo easily being the most impressive. My last day in Baños was the only sunny one out of 8 so I took advantage of the bluebird sky and hiked up to the Mirador de la Virgen then further to Ventanas, or windows, to get an up close look at Volcán Tungurahua which has been active for about the last 10 years. One eruption closed the direct road to Riobamba years ago and it has not yet re-opened and there is a stretch of the Ambato-Baños road with a new bridge and massive, truck-sized boulders strewn about. One can see why the government is a little skittish about the volcano and has, during times of high activity, evacuated the town. Baños is right smack at the end of a very short valley coming straight down from Tungurahua. The place will be buried in minutes when there is an eruption on that side of the mountain. ¡Adiós, Baños!

That's about it for Ecuador. The last bit there consisted of Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), touring Quito and its excellent and well preserved historical district, and the flight to the Galápagos Islands. Thanks for taking the time to read this much.

Hasta luego.

Jon

Travel related details

Quito accommodation I stayed in 3 places over 2 trips to Quito. The first was Hostal Tutumanda which I would enthusiastically recommend except that the manager botched my second reservation, did not tell me, and I did not find out until arrival. The first time I stayed there was great. The hotel is also a Spanish school and has a great chill out room with DirecTV and lots of DVDs. I watched "Snatch." Good flick. The hotel is located on Colón between Av. 10 de Agosto and Versailles, about a 10-15 minute walk from the northern and of La Mariscal. I booked through Hostelbookers and got a nice, clean, quiet room for $10 with my own bathroom. The manager asked why I used Hostelbookers because the hotel pays a 10%!c(MISSING)ommission to be listed on the booking engine's website. So the second time I booked directly with the manager via email which he confirmed. When I showed up at the hotel at 6:30 pm after returning from the Galápagos, I was informed by the assistant manager that the hotel was closed. The manager was nowhere to be found. I was not at all happy especially since I did what he asked by reserving the room directly with him and he screwed it up and never told me in a second email. If you would like to stay here, my recommendation is to reserve the room through Hostelbookers, which does not charge a booking fee, rather than rely on the employees to follow through with their commitments. After expressing my displeasure, I went next door to Hotel Cotopaxi which was $12 and no where near as nice or quiet. There is a restaurant on the ground floor where a simple and filling almuerzo costs $1.50. There is also a parking garage and the buzzer goes off all night long. One night there was one too many so I moved to Gringolandia and stayed one night at Hotel Bonaventure (Av. Amazonas and Joaquin Pinto) for $20 but it was very nice, clean, quiet, w/cable TV, and right in the thick of things. A double room was $30. There are loads of places to stay in La Mariscal. Just show up and you'll quickly find something suited to your budget.

Eating in Quito is great from your basic almuerzos, to fire hot Indian curry, to super schwanky (or so I've heard). Two places stood out. Chandani Tandoori (JL Mera and Cordero) has delicious Indian food. I went there several times and each time tried to order the hottest item on the menu, something called phall which I'd never heard of. The first couple of times the owner/waiter talked me out of ordering it but my last night in Quito I was not to be denied. It was possibly the hottest dish I'd ever eaten anywhere. There is a small cafe with an Italian name on Amazonas at Jorge Washington that I frequented for espresso drinks and the best jugo naturales in Quito if not all of Ecuador. Try the jugo de mora, blackberry juice.

Quito transport is a nightmare. The 2 main bus stations are at the opposite ends of the city and miles from everywhere. Carcalén handles buses to the north, such as Tulcán and the Colombian border. If you arrive from the north at Carcalén the first thing you want to do is either take a taxi to your destination in the center (probably ~$6 but I didn't even ask) or the local bus to terminal norte for el trolé which costs $0.25 (which also includes the trolley fare), takes 20-30 minutes, and can handle large packs. The trolley bus is perpetually packed. You can get on with a large pack but it's not comfortable unless you get a seat. Take this to your stop in the center (most likely Santa Clara or Mariscal for New City). Get off at the last stop for the terminal sur and buses to Latacunga (1½-2 hours, $1.50+$0.20 terminal tax, leave all day), Baños (3½ hours, $3.50+tax), and most other places in Ecuador. Going in reverse to Carcalén, take the trolley to the end of the line ($0.25), look for the line of passengers waiting to board the bus to Carcalén, and pick up a transfer ($0.05). Buses to Tulcán leave frequently, take ~4¾ hours, and cost $4.50+$0.20 terminal tax. Taxis to/from/between the terminals are economical if there are 2-4 of you. I shared a taxi with 3 others from the southern bus terminal to La Mariscal for $1.50 each. $6 is the going rate and you should agree on the fare beforehand rather than letting the driver use the meter. It's only marginally faster than taking the trolley because there is a lot of traffic and signals while the trolley has its own lanes. But a taxi is much more comfortable. There are 2 bus companies with their own terminals in La Mariscal saving trips to the outer terminals. Panamericana goes once a day in the morning to Tulcán and on to Bogotá, maybe nonstop, so if you want to go to southern Colombia, take the bus to Tulcán and continue on Colombian transport. I think they also have a bus to Lima, Peru. The other company is Transportes Ecuador with buses to the south, mainly Guayaquil for $9-10 leaving all day, some at night. These companies' locations were actually correct in LP S America 2004.

Airport transport, however, is efficient, cheap, and reliable. The first hotel I stayed at was 2 or 3 blocks from Av. América where the L3 (another bus line with dedicated lanes) passes the airport ($0.25) between ~5:40 a.m. and midnight (give or take) taking ~15 minutes from Colón (stop is called Seminario). There are also buses to the airport running north on JL Mera but they leave you a block away from the airport. Not a big deal unless you have unwieldly amounts of luggage. There is also an airport route via the trolley but involves a transfer at terminal norte making it more complicated compared to the other routes. International departure tax is a whopping $41.80. Cash only, change given in US$. Check in first, then fork over the greenbacks at the small window.

Colombian border crossing was surprisingly easy each time I did it: once going to Colombia and twice from Colombia to Ecuador. After catching a bus to Tulcán, you can take a taxi direct to the border crossing at Rumichaca (maybe $3) or take a local bus ($0.20) to the center then a colectivo, or minibus, to the border for $0.75 but you may have to wait for it to fill up. Set out early. Hotels near the Tulcán terminal are dismal and $8-10 for a single. I stayed in Hotel Los Andes which was OK and had an unremarkable restaurant in the lobby. Hotels in the center have to be nicer. At Rumichaca, get stamped out of Ecuador and walk across the bridge to DAS for a Colombian entry stamp which is free for Americans and many other nationalities, 30 days, no questions asked. You may be able to get 60 days if you ask politely. Another colectivo will take you to the center of Ipiales or the bus terminal for $0.75 or 1,500COP (Colombian pesos, also written as $1.500). I got off in the center to use an ATM then walked to the terminal in ~10 minutes. You can change money at Rumichaca but beware. I once crossed with another American who converted COP into US dollars (official Ecuadoran currency) and the money changing dude had reconfigured his calculator to swindle any tourists who didn't know any better. The Ipiales terminal has buses heading north every 10-20 minutes. Popayán is an 8 hour ride with a lunch stop about 6½ hours after leaving Ipiales. The ticket costs 25.000COP with Super Taxis but you need to ask for a discount after quoted a price. That goes for any long distance bus ride in Colombia. I got used to asking, "¿Es el mejor precio?"

Mitad del Mundo is worth half a day (including transport). It's easy enough to get there by bus but it takes just over an hour each way. I took the L3 on Av América to the end of the line at Ofelia ($0.25) where there is another bus ($0.15) to Mitad del Mindo. I went on a weekday and it was pretty empty but I think Sundays are popular and there are live bands. The entrance fee is $2 plus various combination tickets for the museum and planetarium. I opted for the $4.50 combo ticket with the museum thinking it was the science museum but it wasn't. It was a cultural museum inside the monument. Not sure where the science museum is.

TelefériQo is Quito's cable car up to 4100m on Ruca Pichincha. It is $8 for foreigners but that is also the ticket for the express lane so you can bypass the line. If there is one. Like Mitad del Mundo, I went during the week so there were very few people. It had sort of a Mad Max post apocalypse feel with abandoned buildings, peeling paint, and weeds growing between the sidewalk cracks. I'm sure weekends are more fun. It is cool and windy at the top. To reach the summit is a couple of hours hiking beyond the observatory. There is a bus ($0.20) that passes by leaving from Avs. Colón and Americas stopping far from the entrance but there is a free shuttle every 15 minutes or so. There are also direct tourist shuttles for $1 each way that pick up and deposit passengers in La Mariscal.

Latacunga is not the place in Ecuador where you will find much nightlife or many places to eat dinner. Most everything closes by 8 or 9 p.m. including almost all of the good restaurants that are only open for almuerzos (L'été on Clle. Quito at Rumiñahui being one of the better ones. It does not serve French food). My choices for dinner were a chifa, roast chicken, and a surprisingly good pizza place on Quito north of Guayaquil which also has 600 mL Pilsners for $1. There are many places for $1-2 breakfasts consisting of eggs, bread, fresh juice (almost always tree tomato), Nescafe, and the occasional fruit. Real coffee can be found at numerous cafes scattered over town. Hotel Rosim is on Quito at Salcedo and is really nice, clean, and secure. Bus terminal is an easy 10-15 minute walk from the town center. Buses leave all the time for Ambato (transfer point for Baños). Takes 45 minutes and costs $1. Lavandérias Carolina is on Av. Rumiñahui near Quito. $1/kg and same day service if you drop it off early enough.

Laguna Quilotoa is easy to get to from Latacunga and worth a night especially before climbing Cotopaxi. Buses leave frequently for Zumbahua from Latacunga, taking 2 hours for $2. There are some direct buses all the way through to Laguna Quilotoa. Barring a direct bus, there are pickups from Zumbahua to the lake. There were 5 of us and we each paid $2 then another $2 tourist tax to enter the village at the lake. I stayed at Hostal Cabañas Quilotoa for $8 with breakfast and dinner, paying another $2 for an extra breakfast upon arrival. The food is excellent and there are small wood stoves in the cabañas as it gets cold up there. The main hall is a good place to hang out as it has a large wood stove. Don't expect much in the way of English being spoken or being able to take a shower. At least one direct bus leaves for Latacunga around 1 p.m. for $2. There are other villages in the Quilotoa area but the lake is the best area from what I heard from other travelers.

Baños is really nice especially after spending a lot of time in the highlands or on the volcanoes. There's great value accommodation, lots of good food, coffee, and ice cream, and great nightlife. Don't show up on a Friday, Saturday, or holiday without a reservation as Baños is very popular. I stayed at La Chimenea which was really nice and $8.50 for a single with bathroom. Doubles and triples are $7.50 and $6.50 per person respectively. There is a good cafe on the roof open for breakfast and lunch. The hotel is located on Martinez near 12 de Noviembre. There are so many places to eat I can only mention 4. Achupalla is adjacent to the main plaza on 16 de Diciembre serving almuerzos and meriendas for $1.75. I ate there a lot. Try the avena if that is available to drink. I think it is oatmeal but not the kind that grandma made. It's very unusual and delicious. For breakfast I frequented Coffee Lounge on Halifants at Ambato. Super small with equally super slow service but the food, coffee, and juices are excellent. There is an Italian restaurant on the south side of the plaza on Rocafuerte that is very good. Can't remember the name but it is just to the left of the karaoke bar. A lot of places are closed on Sunday. La Chimenea (not my hotel) roasts excellent chicken and spuds if you aren't sick of it.

Piscina de la Virgen is the town's thermal baths. During the day there are 2 pools on the upper level that aren't too hot. But at night they open a pool on the lower level that has to be over 40°C. It is much more crowded at night. Changing rooms but no lockers so don't bring valuables. Each visit is ~$2. There are many spas where the full works of steam bath and massage runs $30-$40 for a couple of hours' treatment. I went to one called Nueva Vida.

I generally don't single out businesses that I consider unscrupulous but I would advise against using Deporturis Cía. Ltda. and the owner Angel Sevilla, my guide on Chimborazo whom I met my second day in Baños when I was looking for a trip to the volcano. I got a weird vibe from him and decided to look elsewhere. I went with Adventure Equatorland who ended up hiring the same guide anyway. Additionally, the owner was very deceptive about what was going to be covered by the fee. The equipment was substandard and the guide was a jerk who kept berating me for going too slow even though we passed at least 5 groups that had left before us. The food was simply some chicken and rice bought in Baños and barely reheated at the refuge. And we never attempted to get to the true summit once we topped out which was never mentioned to me before I paid. On the way back to Baños he kept complaining about how late he was getting back home. I think we got back around 2 or 3 p.m. which is not at all late but wasn't he hired for a 2 day trip? He was barely gone for 24 hours. Suffice it to say that I cannot recommend either company for any kind of trip. There are dozens of agencies in Baños. Get other travelers' advice and don't simply rely on a guidebook's recommendation.

Don't waste your time on the chiva tour to see the volcano. You can't see the volcano from the lookout. The views of Baños by night are nice but the whole trip takes a few hours and I could have done without it. Don't pay more than $3 if you do go. Dress warm.

I can't comment on the waterfall tour bus ride because I went with some people I met who had a car. I don't think the waterfall tour stops at Rio Verde, location of Pailon del Diablo which is really the best waterfall. I met a couple who had rented bikes and ridden downstream along the Rio Pastaza then threw the bikes on a local bus instead of riding back uphill to Baños. That sounded cool.

Path to Mirador de la Virgen is mostly a staircase and easy to do on your own. Takes 20-30 minutes. Follow Montalvo uphill out of town then ask people where the path is, "¿Donde está el sendero por el mirador?" If you are feeling ambitious you can continue on a steeper, muddy trail to Ventanas where the views to Volcán Tungurahua are even better. There is also a road but where's the fun in that?

The main street with all the bars and clubs is easy to find. Weeknights are generally muerto and there's no cover but weekends are packed and a small cover is typically charged.

Feel free to message me through the blog if I can be of any assistance.

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Photos

Chimborazo
On the way back to Baños.

Antisana and climbers refuge
Close to sunset.

Quito by night
A few hours before we would wake up to begin the ascent.

O'dark thirty on the ascent
Actually ~3:30 a.m. Feeling surprisingly chipper.

Cotopaxi shadow
About 6:40 am on the summit.

Cayambe (l.) and Antisana (r.)
At sunrise from Cotopaxi's summit.

View from Cotopaxi summit
Quito and Pichincha in the distance.

Chimorazo
As seen from Cotopaxi's summit.

Iliniza Sur (l.) and Norte (r.)
Also as seen from Cotopaxi's summit.

Climbers ascending...
...while we were descending.

Terrible Traverse close to the summt
Didn't love it.

Icefall and Ilinizas
On the descent from Cotopaxi.

Cotopaxi and climbers refuge
Close to the parking lot after a great climb.

Laguna Quilotoa
Massive crater lake, 7 or 8 kms around the rim. Spent a night in the village at 3700m to acclimatize before Cotopaxi.

Cotopaxi and Ilinizas
On the flight back from the Galápagos.

Baños
Mirador is the small, white structure near bottom of the ridge in the center. Ventanas is on top of the ridge.

Volcán Tungurahua
Active volcano. Baños has been evacuated a couple of times this decade.

Ruta Cascadas
Waterfall Route from Baños. There are cable cars whizzing by most of them. $1 round trip.

"Puenting"
Jumping off a bridge attached to a harness.

Pailon del Diablo
Devil's Cauldron where the Rio Verde dumps into the Rio Pastaza.

Grieta del Cielo
Crack of Heaven or something like that. You have to crawl through a narrow passage which pops you out directly behind the waterfall and its torrential output. You can actually get further behind the water, in it really, than where I was standing in this picture.

Mitad del Mundo
Straddling the equator.

Comments

[Kolby]

Safety?
Can you talk about your safety in Ecuador? Any problems you encountered or heard about? Thanks!

[aka]

Survived another one!
Congrats Jon. Your pix are fantastic. Looks awesome! Here in Seattle getting acclimated to the changing winds and weathers of early fall. And preparing for two endurance art works. Safe travels home.

[Mike Zimmerman]

Cool
Hey Jon - this looks really cool. When I get back and hve some down-time I'm going to read most of it. great pics! Mike

[Herman en Christl]

Great views
He Jon, Great views, Have to be fit to do this kind of climbing. In 2006 we were in Lhasa on high altitude for the first time. We all experiance the feeling of getting high and had to acclimatize for 2 days. You find your way very easy without much planning, so it seem. We like to see "Peking Express" with you in it some time. Fending off dogs in the middle of nowhere, i can imagin what that looks like, haha. Do you have pictures of that action? We straddle the equator a few days before you did and probably on the same spot. Did you see the museum and view inside Mitad del Mundo? Later.

[Lisa]

wow, amazing!
I love traveling vicariously through you!!!

[povertyjetset]

Safety in Ecuador
I did not think Ecuador was any more or less dangerous than any other place I've visited. Just take the usual precautions with your valuables and personal safety (like not walking around dodgy places late at night or whipping out a guidebook map in the middle of a crowded sidewalk) and you'll be fine.