26-28th April 2022

Where do I begin?

I had a very miserable introduction to Ecuador. It was that most British of things, the weather, that set things off to a not-so-great start. After the mostly sunny, blue-skied weather in Peru, the grey, overcast skies, interrupted by rain, came as a bit of a shock to the system.

I felt like I was back in England, but with an unreliable weather forecasting system. (Every Ecuadorian tells you to ignore weather forecasts. They also say that the weather and women are equally temperamental and unpredictable..hello casual sexism.). They are certainly right about the weather. I experienced brief warm sunny spells in the morning in Quito, overcast by mid-day, rain showers in the mid-afternoon and freezing cold in the evening. In Baños, snow was predicted while it poured down with rain for two days and scuppered all my plans.

And yet.

Even in the miserable, cloudy, overcast, grey days, the beauty of the countryside is hard to ignore. The seemingly non-stop mountain ranges which are covered with carpets of verdant green grasses, shrubs, bushes and trees with snow-capped peaks, craters or volcanoes, and interspersed with streams, rivers, gorges…the lush, earthy smell of the tropical rain forest and swamps….the multitude of waterfalls.

The range, size, taste of fruits and vegetables that the country produces – blessed as it is by the year round warm weather with 12hrs of sunshine, and the different ecosystems created due to the huge variation in altitude across different areas of the country. Apparently it is known as the ‘one-dollar country’ as everything costs a dollar. The bag of strawberries I bought for a dollar would easily have cost between £10-12 in the UK.

I had set aside 10 days to explore this country and within 24 hours of my arrival, I realised this had been an epic mistake on my part. My refrain the rest of my trip became, ‘I’ll just have to come back and see that next time’.

I started off in Quito – where I did very little. In part put off because everyone kept saying how unsafe the old town was…and it did feel a bit grimy and rough; in part because I was exhausted after Peru (not helped by the fact that on a phone call to a very close and treasured person..you know who you are… I was told I looked tired and had bags under my eyes. Exactly what you want to hear when you are ‘on holiday’) and also lastly because ‘slow travel’ – I was listening to my body and it was screaming out to spend some time resting.

It felt really good to say to a wonderfully lovely tour guide I made friends with, Jenny, ‘Nope, I actually can’t be bothered to go to the Mitad del Mundo, I’m tired and would much rather have a nap this afternoon’. I did go on a free walking tour the day arrived which is almost always the first thing I do when I get to a new city – it is an excellent way to get your bearings and also get recommendations directly from a local on top attractions, best restaurants etc. I usually find good walking tours on Tripadvisor, sometimes on blogs. I enjoyed the walking tour – it gave me an opportunity to sample exotic fruits like chirimoya, sweet cucumber, granadilla, tomate de arbol, sapote, to name a few…and appreciate some of the architectural highlights of the Old Town.

There were 4 things I knew I wanted to do in Ecuador, even before I arrived – hike the Cotopaxi Volcano, take a trip to Quilotoa lake, do the waterfall bike ride along the Ruta de las Cascadas in Baños and go to Cuenca. However I wasn’t sure I could fit them all in.

Jenny was great in helping me pare down my plans (bye bye Cotopaxi), come up a doable schedule and gave me a fantastic itinerary for Banos – going as far as drawing me a map to the best empanada stand and restaurant in the area! I would definitely recommend her company. ‘Quito Bike Tours’… and have promised to let her know when next I’m in Ecuador.

Definitely the highlight of my time in Quito (although it wasn’t really in Quito), was the fact that I got to go to Laguna de Quilotoa. Again, the weather wasn’t the best – it was overcast but I was grateful it wasn’t raining (and in fact, when we began the hike back up to the top of the crater, I was very grateful the sun wasn’t shining, as it would have made a very challenging hike even worse).

The drive from Quito to the Cotopaxi province was stunning, the panoramic views of mountains and valleys while driving along the avenue of volcanoes. (Ecuador has about 45 different volcanoes, with 15 active ones, including Quilotoa ) We made a brief stop at Tigua, to have a look at some of the interesting hand carved folk masks depicting animals, devils and other folklore characters, which are worn during festivals. There has been an explosion of interest in this type of traditional art in the last four decades and the Tiguan artists continue to use it as a medium to tell the world about their culture. We went on to Zumbahua where due to the cold we were encouraged to try out the local alcoholic drink made from sugar cane ‘puntas’. I don’t drink alcohol, because I don’t like the taste, yet on this trip I seem to have tried every local alcoholic drink going. I think the puntas was between 30-40% alcohol. It tasted like every alcoholic drink tastes to me, i.e. like alcohol, but the burning sensation definitely warmed me up.

Quilotoa is located in the middle of the Andes mountain range, in Quilotoa village. It took us about three hours to get there, from Quito. The view of the lake from the top of the crater (at the mirador) is just absolutely heart stopping, jaw – droppingly beautiful. It was a brilliant, emerald green hue which was so unexpected for me. In every picture I had seen of the lake before I went, the waters looked blue. Our guide, Esteban, told us that it is also called the ‘lake of a thousand colours’, the colours ranging in spectrum from yellow on the edges, green, blue, brown and all the colours in between. This is mostly because of the minerals from the volcanic activity, but also depends on the time of the day, and the amount of sunlight on the day. It was Esteban’s fourth visit to Quilotoa that week and he said the lake had been a different colour every visit.

The rim of the crater sits at approximately 3900m (12800feet) and drops to 3500m at the lake. We opted to hike down to the lake. We were told it would take 40 minutes to get to the lake, and about an hour to get back up… and it all sounded so easy! What they do not tell you is how steep the hike is, particularly as the terrain is sandy and there is very little grip. Have I already told you about my fear of heights? And of falling off/down a mountain? Which is ironic considering how much I love climbing them! I wished I had hiking poles for this trek. Our driver, Robert was an absolute saint, and offered me his hand, as support, as we went down.

Stopping to appreciate the views along the way certainly helped.

And I couldn’t help but be impressed by the locals who seemed to be skipping down the trail, wearing footwear that ranged from slippers, to sandals, to heels!

The views kept getting better and better the further down we went and at the lake, just beyond the shores, it was a vibrant, crystal clear green. There is something so healing, rejuvenating and restoring for me, when I am in or close to a body of water. I wanted to stay there for hours.

Unfortunately we were only there for about an hour -walking along the small sandy beach and scrambling across rocky shores. There was an option to go kayaking, which I wished I could’ve done, but I had left my motion sickness pills and bands in the van…and my experience of kayaking in Croatia had taught me that those were essential prerequisites.

We began the trek back up to the rim. (There is an option to be ridden up by a horse, for $10. I have to confess that I considered it…and went as far as talking to my tour guide, Esteban, about it. We agreed that I would start the hike and he reassured me that if it got too challenging we could always call for a horse at any point).

Rather than taking the shifting, sandy, path, he suggested walking on the stone borders along the path, initially. This was definitely easier than the path but came with an extra spice added to my fear of falling off a mountain. We did this about a quarter of the way up, until it really did get steep on the sides so I returned to the path. My old friend, altitude sickness, also seemed to want to rear its ugly head as I noticed my breathing becoming increasingly difficult and the beginnings of a headache. I had to take it really slowly. ( I did definitely wonder how I had found myself on yet another hike, having sworn off them for at least 2 years after the Inca trail!). Robert, that angel of a driver, offered to carry my backpack – which he kindly did the rest of the way.

In fact all the guys were really lovely – the two French Canadian guys who were also on the tour, were unfailingly solicitous of me. They, and Esteban, opted to take a different route – which involved scrambling across the mountain face while Robert and I stuck to the path after a brief attempt at scrambling. I actually preferred the uphill climb to going down hill – a short spell of rain meant the path had more grip and I appreciated that stability. And as for the breathless that came with the altitude, I was an old hand at dealing with it!

I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment at getting to the top, without the aid of a four-legged friend.

I took one last look at the vista – the emerald green lake, the trees, plants and shrubs that carpeted the crater, the various paths like ribbons adorning the mountain side, the jagged peaks and troughs of the crater rim, and the storm clouds gathered just above, and thought….Ecuador, you rock!

Interesting fact about Ecuador…Did you know?

The indigenous tribe who founded Quito, before the Incas and Spanish arrived, were called ‘Quitu’ which translates to ‘middle of the world’. It is said they marked the centre of the world not too far from the current designated site…centuries before the equator was mapped by French scientists in 1736.