Ecuador - ama la vida in high altitude

Not only did we experience a significant drop in temperature (from tropical 35°C Galapagos down to around 20°C) in Quito, but the entire scenery altered drastically when we arrived in the world’s highest capital  which resides on an impressive 2,800m amidst a multitude of volcanoes. This make for a lot of micro climates and viewpoints around the city that allow a great perspective of the enormous North-South stretch of Quito. After the safe and protected island life we certainly had to adapt to big city life, especially in a place where currently public life stops after dark and streets are deserted as deemed dangerous. Apparently, there isn‘t much political stability right now, fights of drug cartels and the planned introduction of new (private) weapon laws have locals as well as tourists worried big time. 

On a tour through the historic centre of Quito, a picturesque UNESCO world heritage site, we learned that politics in Ecuador have been quite entertaining since a hyperinflation hit the country in the 90s and the USD was introduced as the official currency. Presidents have been chased away or killed, within 2007-2017 Ecuador had 10 different presidents, of which a female president only lasted three days in power. 

Located right at the equator, the area of Quito takes pride in their location at latitude 00°00‘00 aka the center of the world; a monument marks the spot and when visiting you are able to try out several experiments on both sides of the equator: water rotating out of a sink in opposite directions (right on the equator line it even drops down vertically), walking on the equator with closed eyes you will start leaning on way or the other.. And chocolate, coffee but also roses grown here are very famous. Only here chocolate beans collect flavors from other plants growing around it, so without blending with aromas Ecuadorian chocolate can contain subtle notes and flavors naturally and hence is sold mainly as pure/dark. 

The Ecuadorian cuisine is famous for their ceviche, potato soup as well as guinea pig and cow intestines, with our vegetarian diet pre-Ayahuasca we had our struggles to find good options at first. Also, Ecuadorians like to put cheese on everything, from the fried plantains to mozzarella on hot chocolate 😜

Our second stop in Ecuador was Latacunga, a 2h bus ride South of Quito, and the starting point for the Quilotoa loop, a 3-day hiking trip through the Andes: from Sigchos to Isinvili, then to Chugchillan, eventually ending at the crater rim of Quilotoa with a beautiful view over a lagoon. A lot of these exotic names of towns and places derive from the indigenous Quechua language. 

While we had some steep climbs to master, this was a first for me that acclimatization to the altitude was approached rather conservatively: While Quilotoa is located on 3,850m, we climbed 1,200m from the starting point over the course of the three days. Signs along the paths were at times scattered and getting lost was part of the deal, but it also allowed for making some new friends and the group we were hiking with grew day by day. Kudos to the hostels of the loop offering a broad range of food with vegetarian options available, LuLuLama we even found to be one of the best hostels we ever staid at. The funniest experience we had when a local kid in tears was crying his eyes out next to the path and us trying to help him out without him speaking much Spanish; we consoled him, one of the guys took him on his shoulders and he got a bag of candy from someone else. We arrived in town and his two older brothers waited for him, grinning about the candy he scored from us. All of the sudden he wasn‘t so sad anymore and the three boys walked away laughing.

The third and last stop in Ecuador for us was Baños, know for its thermal pools and being the fun sports capital of Ecuador. We had shared a taxi with an Israeli couple we met during the trekking and would run into more people from the Quilotoa loop family again as well. Waterfalls, wild water rafting, ziplining, abseiling, and swinging bridges kept us entertained and adrenaline rushed for two days. Due to its small size and being very touristy, Baños was easy to navigate and was very safe compared to other places. 

A long bus ride from Baños to Guayaquil later we were ready to leave for Peru, Lima and the Peruvian jungle awaited us.