I thought I had well and truly grown out of being capable of the kind of excitement that children have in the lead up to Christmas, but the anticipation before Ashley’s visit felt just like that. It had been about 1.5 years since we’d last seen each other, and Ashley and her cousin Jess were due to get to the hostel at about 1:30am. I decided that I’d stay up and wait for them, but the periodic waves of adrenalin and also being almost 30 ruined this romantic idea, and by 12:30am I couldn’t resist bed any longer. Only 20 minutes later there was a knock on the door and there they were! It was a very surreal and happy moment.
Despite having been in transit for a day or so and arriving in a city that sits at 2850m above sea level, both Ashley and Jess were up and about bright and early the next day for our trip to Otavalo. It was amazing they were so fresh, I felt like a truck had hit me just for staying up past midnight. Otavalo is a small town about 2hrs bus drive north of Quito and is famous for its giant market. Although it is held every day, the biggest day is Saturday and this was conveniently when we were able to go. If Ashley visiting was like Christmas, then going to one of the biggest markets in South America was like waking up on Easter Sunday ready for the Easter egg hunt.
Within minutes of arriving, Ashley and Jess bought heavy and impractical Ecuador-themed drink bottles, and this was followed up by a purchase of matching colourful shorts for the three of us. Safe to say we gringoed the hell out of that market. We made sure to get back to the hostel in Quito in time for craft beer happy hour, which meant there were a few sore heads for our travel day to Latacunga the next day.
Latacunga is the city where most people base themselves for the Quilotoa Loop, a 2-4 day trek through the countryside in the district of Cotopaxi that is said to be one of the top things to do in Ecuador. There wasn’t much planning required – the walk goes through small villages and hikers stay in hostels along the way so we didn’t need to do any food prep or hire any gear. Not really much of a loop, you can start the hike in a little town called Sigchos (2800m) and finish at Quilotoa (3800m), or vice versa. We chose the former as although there is more climbing this way, we wanted to save the Quilotoa crater lake until last. It is always nice to have the promise of amazing views for motivation during a walk.
The hostel we stayed at in Latacunga had given us a page of instructions for the trek as the path is not well signposted. Initially this seemed like an excellent gesture, but the grainy black and white photos and vague comments such as ‘after some minutes you will come to…’ proved a little difficult to follow. Getting lost on the Quilotoa Loop is part of the experience it seems, and we had a few confused moments and unintentional detours along the way. Thankfully the locals were all very happy to help out with directions.
On day one we walked a few hours from Sigchos to Isinlivi, past green pastures and numerous cows. We stayed in a quaint little hostel with views of the valley and a llama, and helped some local children carry sacks of potatoes up the hill to their house. From Isinlivi we had about a 5 hour walk to Chugchilán, winding through the valley and ending with a climb to the road leading to the village. The hostel here was also excellent, and we enjoyed a beer with some pretty interesting travellers.
Day three was the longest and the most impressive. We passed through a small village and it was disappointing to see some of the other hikers give lollies to the local children. The path slowly wound its way up and we found ourselves standing on the rim of the Quilotoa crater looking down into the enormous turquoise lake. After another hour walking around the rim, we arrived in Quilotoa village. We were very lucky to get the view we did at the top, as the clouds came rolling in as we approached the village. The next morning, we went kayaking on the lake before returning to Latacunga.
Our next stop was Mindo, a small town in the cloud forest north west of Quito. The bus from Quito dropped us at the exit to Mindo on the highway, at which time it began to pour with rain. We missed the only taxi that was there, but thankfully there was a bus stop to take shelter under. Whilst waiting there, a friendly man began talking to us in Spanish and explained that he had a hostel in town that we could stay in. I initially responded to this offer with more than a little internal scepticism, but he turned out to be incredibly helpful. His car had broken down so he had called a taxi which he let us take instead, and told us to have a look at his hostel and if we didn’t like it then that was just fine. After meeting his adorable wife and taking a look at the rooms, we were sold. We were basically staying in the couple’s house (their room was next door to ours and we shared a bathroom with them), and felt a bit like their children.
Mindo has a very interesting mix of expats, tourists and locals and quite a relaxed feel. We only had time to stay two nights, but I could have stayed longer. We spent our time there doing a chocolate making workshop, a walk to seven nearby waterfalls and ziplining. I had never ziplined before, and being scared of heights I was a little nervous to begin with. It was actually a lot of fun and I was glad that the others decided not to mention that a US tourist had died ziplining in Mindo a few years ago.
It took a full day to reach the coastal fishing village of Mompiche from Mindo, a distance of only 325km. Such is the frustrating nature of the Ecuadorian bus system. Our days in Mompiche were pretty much structured around when we could have our next batido (smoothie). I think one day we had three each. This was mixed in with reading in hammocks, sleeping in hammocks, walking along the beach and sampling the local specialty ‘encocado’, a dish of seafood served in a delicious coconut milk sauce.
Another travel day got us back to Quito, just in time for craft beer night again. It seemed appropriate to end Ashley’s visit the way it started. One her last full day we explored the Old Town and had lunch at the market.
There were some teary goodbyes that night. It was a great couple of weeks and Andrew and I really appreciated the visit by both Jess and Ashley. Hopefully I don’t have to wait another year and a half for my next Christmas.
Erin
dred 