6 May 2008

Today I am staying in a very pleasant hostel in Banos called Plantas y Blanco.  We have a fun group of people here.  Sitting opposite me is a pretty German girl.  She is about to start a PhD in Biochemistry.  I think it would be nice to travel with her further south.  We have had a nice day today rafting for 2 hours down the river, Rio Negra.  It was a little painful on my shoulders  and we had to paddle hard.  On 2 May I left from Zimbahua from Quito with the intention of staying their the night and seeing the marked in the morning.  However, as usual, the travel times were much longer than I was told and I didn’t arrive until after dark.  It was long before a local guy approached offering me a ´ride´ to Quilotoa, a small village on the rim of the crater lake, a further 45 minutes up a broken dirt road.  Of course he overcharged me but I didn’t have much choice.  $25 USD goes a long way here.  I was too tired by this stage to argue the point with him too much.  It was also a quick lesson in how much misinformation people will give you just to extract a few extra dollars.  

Quilotoa is situated 4000m above sea level on the rim of a spectacular volcanic crater lake.  In the morning I set out alone to walk from Quilotoa to Chuchulan, about 12 miles down the valley from the rim of the crater.  It involved a bit of navigation skill, as the locals have destroyed all the signs, so that they can be hired as guides.  But all was ok and I was presented with some beautiful scenery as I trooped around the crater and then descended into the bowls of an impossibly steep canyon, with equally impossibly steep plantations cultivated by the native Indians. 

The indigenous folks were very brightly coloured woven clothing, usually with a child strapped to their back in a blanket.  All the women and men wear fedora hats.  They are truly remarkable in the distances they walk to and from the fields, or town or school.  It´s a very physical lifestyle cultivating this land.

The landscape here reminded me again of many parts of New Zealand, with many plantations of pinus radiata and Ecualyptus trees growing along the edge of the farm land.

As I descended into the immense canyon that cuts the valley in half, I had to negotiate some pretty precarious bridges, for example a 60ft deep gorge, with no more than a round wooden telegraph pole lain across to form a bridge.  An indigenous gentleman  wielding a machete  to cut the broom growing along the side of the track, nonchalantly bent down, plucked his 5 year old boy up, who was tailing behind, put him on his back, and then casually strolled across the 15 meter stretch across the telegraph pole in his gumboots.  I wasn’t so game or that keen to slip and die so shimmied across on my arse.

I was dead buggard by the time I arrived at Chichulan and was pleasantly greeted by the owners of the Black Sheep Inn.  The Balck Sheep is a wonderful retreat built by two Americans about 15 years ago with a strong ecological theme.  The place recycles nearly everything and has pleasant, naturally composting toilets.  I was grateful to relax here a couple of days with nice food and wine, a fire, and a view.   It´s not that warm at 4000m above sea level.

It was a long trip to Banos, over six bumpy hours, because the roads are poor and damaged by rain.  Today I threw myself off a bridge attached to a bungy, in the middle of my chest.  Quite an experience.  I wish I had my camera with me.  The first 1 second was a real rush as I plummeted head first towards the river, but then the bungee caught me and I somersaulted back right way up, before commencing the giant swing in the canyon backwards and forwards.

Nicole wanted to stay at the hotel so I went to Quilotoa Crater by myself. I thought I got up quite early but after I showered and had breakfast it was already 9:30 and the best bus to Quilotoa from Latacunga had left at 9am. There was another bus at 11am but the problem would be that it would take 2 to 3 hours to get to Quilotoa and the last bus from Quilotoa leaves at 13h30 so I wouldn't be able to get back, or get back cheaply at least. There was the option of hiring a bakkie (pickup truck) to take me to Zumbuhaua (sp?) but they might charge me as much as 10USD. I decided that the worst that might happen is that I might to stay over for a night so I packed my sleeping bag and headed out on the 11am bus anyway.

When I arrived in Quilotoa the weather had obviously deteriorated and it was cloudy and raining a little bit. The crater rim is right next to the bus stop so I walked up to it and only saw clouds. I then started looking around for a place to stay as I expected to have to wait until morning to get a decent view of the crater and the lagune (sp?). The first hostel right opposite the crater is decent and offered me a room for 10 USD including dinner and breakfast. I walked around a bit more and found another hostal where the owner Manuel initially quoted me 8 USd and then came down to 6 USD for the same deal. His lodgings were a lot more simple though, basically consisting of a large room with 5 or more double beds crammed in. I got the impression that I would be sleeping in the same room as him and his family as well. Initially I was a bit taken a back but he didn't let me leave and accompanied me back to the crater rim. After a while the idea actually grew on me because I thought it might be a nice way to get to know a local family and practice my spanish a bit as well.

As we got to the crater though the clouds had cleared up somewhat and I managed to get a decent view of the lake and take some pictures. I still wanted to stay to hike down to the lake in the morning which I think would have been awesome but in the end I decided that I better get back to Nicole. I had also found a truck that would take me to Zumbuhaua for 2 USD instead of 10 USD and from there I could catch a bus to Latacunga which runs every hour. Thus it was decided and I was on my way back to Latacunga.

We arrived at a tiny town called Quilotoa, the only intention to see the emerald crater lake. What a wee journey it was! The road is much better than what we had thought it was going to be (especially after the roadfrom Popayan to San Agustin in Colombia)! We arrived just after lunchtime and the cloud was setting in - being at 3,800m it was pretty damn cold!! We walked up to the crater lake and had a look decided not to go down until the next morning due to the cloud setting in - a decision which ended up being the right one as it ended up pelting down with rain and others were caught out!

I wasn´t feeling that great and slept for a few hours while Nathan tucked into his book (which he finished). The place we were staying at included breakfast and dinner (and we later saw why because there is barely anywhere you can actually eat here) which we were looking forward to because we had missed out on lunch. I went to get up to go and have some dinner and felt so sick. I felt really weak, lightheaded and sick. Nathan explains it as me having a bit too many to drink! Anyway, I felt terrible. It was short lived though, I just ended up having to lay down and felt much better after something to eat. Mild altitude sickness.... how delightful! We met an American guy who gave me some Vit B and also put some grapefruit seed extract into my water bottle (apparently it helps the small intestine and kills bacteria... pretty cool)!

There was a small explosion in the bedroom that night .... Nathan got the small fire going and the lady gave him a fullcup of gasoline to get it ready. Nathan put a little bit on to get it going and it literally exploded and also caught the cup on fire which was a good length away from anything! It was pretty scarey at first, especially when the cup melted and the gasoline in it spread to the wood and near our packs! Scary shit! The place was so cosy after that, and we had one of the best sleeps ever (even though the beds were a tad on the hard side).

Next morning, we got up and after hunting for ages for our tickets for the lake (you have to pay $1) and not succeeding we thought we would head down anyway regardless! And sure enough we didn´t even need them! The lake was beautiful, a striking emerald colour and the walk down only took about 45mins with us stopping for photos (including the infamous jumping photos)! The walk up however took only about 1hr. Couldn´t believe it really when you looked up from where we had come from and the height of it (and the fact we are at altitude here) it was pretty good going in our opinions!

We caught the bus back at 1pm to Latacunga and found a bus to Ambato. Once at Ambato we had to get another bus to Banos. What a joke it was! There were buses to other towns that go past Banos but wouldn´t let us on and told us we had to get a taxi to another terminal which was just a sign by the side of the road. We ended up getting on one in the end, but jesus.... come on Ecuador! Since being here it has only been trouble trying to get on buses and the terminals are terribly organised compared to Colombia. It makes travelling a very frustrating experience! Nevermind I guess, we will get to Peru somehow!

Arrived in Banos, a town that you can not miss even if you tried! It is a small resort town offering walks and hot springs, and everything else you can imagine! We went out for the best meal of our trip here.... and all for only $15USD! Bliss! We may stay longer....!

So eventually we arrived at the lake Quilotoa!  It is a large lake filling the crater of an extinct volcano, and is beautiful.  In particular, it was so quiet (no other tourists there) and hidden from view such that I had to go right up to the view point at the edge to discover what we had been travelling most of the day for.  It was breath-taking.

The passage down 300 meters to the shore of the lake was a difficult and steep path cut between the surrounding rock.  When we got there down we kayaked on the lake and stayed in some pretty basic accommodation (the ´toilet´was a hole in the ground - plenty of chances for ´squatting´ John but I didn´t take full advantage this time!).  It was very cold at night so we lit a camp fire and drank an Ecuadorian spirit whilst listening to Carlos (tour leader, Spanish teacher and host family father) play on the guitar.

The view of the lake on Sunday morning was beautiful as the sun rose above the crater, much clearer sky than the day before.  We had the option of taking a donkey for th walk back up, but I chose to go on foot - a really tough climb given the altitude and the sand under-foot.  Still, we got to the top after about an hour - a very satisfying walk!

You've probably heard that half the adventure is in the getting there... well catching a bus bouncing along dirt roads, recklessly skirting along ridiculous cliffs, honking the horn to alert any trucks, buses or cows that might be round the corner was pretty fun. This part of Ecuador is cool. The Quilotoa loop is a group of small towns set amongst the gorgeous hills of the Andes and nearby snow covered volcanos. Whats was kinda cool about the journey around these towns is even though they are relatively close to one another in distance (not time), there is no way you can get around them all in a day or two...cause the buses, which leave at ridiculous times (try 3 and 4 in the morning!), just won´t allow you to.

We decided to be a bit sporty, and donned our stout shoes for what was meant to be a 5 hour hike from the gorgeous Laguna Quilotoa, which is a lake nestled in the crater of a volcano, back to our hostel in Chugchilán. We caught the bus at 4am to the lake to start the walk, and were met by a local who invited us to his 'hostel' for breakfast. Arlene was mildly concerned about the shotgun that leant up next to the fireplace in the dirt-floor single room shack, that really didn´t resemble much of a hostel......Tris on the other hand embraced the rustic style of the hostel, and checked out the gun when our host wasn´t looking.

The scenery was spectacular, but really we only appreciated it for the first 5 hours of the hike. Weren´t we meant to be finished by now? We had made our way over mountains, through valleys, over landslides and along cliff walls...but the concerning part was that we now seemed to be making our way deeper and DEEPER into the canyon...which meant that we eventually would have to climb the same distance UP. All we can say is that we made it...Arlene only made it with A LOT of encouragement and a ridiculous number of rest breaks...

Tris is feeling prepped for the Inca Trail, and Arlene is thanking her good intuition that she really doesn´t like hiking that much (especially when she ended up vomitting due to the altitude later that night!!!), and had already decided that 4 days walking to Machu Pichu really doesn´t sound as appealing as a train ride.

We then made our way to the next town, Saquisilli for the weekly market, partly by what has been the coolest mode of transport so far...in the back of a milk truck!

We threw our packs into the back of an old toyota ute, fitted with three barrels to collect milk from the locals. We squashed in with locals and their children who were also hitching a ride, and watched as people ran from their homes trying not to slosh any milk out of their 'bucket', which sometimes resembled fuel, fertiliser or detergent bottles...to give to the 'milkman´ for payment. This has been the most fun and entertaining journey so far.

After another bumpy bus we made to Saquisili for a traditional market the next day.  We ended up going to another animal market which had the extra bonus of having llamas for sale.  The market was refreshingly local after the craft market in Otavalo and wandering around was fascinating.  However, not needing brooms, spare nails, pigs heads or "the latest in American fashion" (translates to 80's fashion) all we could do is watch in wonder.   

Also on the way to Quilotoa we passed through an even smaller market town called Zumahua.  Unfortunately the market as just packing up as we got there - probably because we had been delayed by the rally - but it was a very picturesque town so I´ve attached some photos!