The Rough Guide says give the Quilotoa Loop 3 days, the locals in Latacunga say just do the day trip to the Quilotoa Laguna crater and come back on the same day.  We decided to try and do the full loop in 2 days.

To get to Quilotoa, we needed to get a bus from Latacunga to Zumbahua and then get a truck to drive us to the crater.  We hadn´t expected such an amazing bus journey.  On a gorgeous clear morning the route gave us clear views of Cotopaxi, our 1st view of the even bigger Volcan Chimborazo and the ever smoking Volcan Tumguruhua not to mention some stunning local hills with sheer cliff peaks including one that looked like a mini Macchu Pichu. On arrival at Zumbahua we bartered a better than book price to jump in the back of a truck to drive to Quilotoa.  Unfortunately, this meant that the 6 indigenous people already in the truck got kicked out in our favour - I guess not the best way to endear yourselves to the locals but it wasn´t our call.

Quilotoa Laguna didnt disappoint with the crater towering 400m above an bright green lake.  The lake itself is self contained with no outlet.  Unlike Cuicocha, the walk allowed you to walk down to the lake which was a nice 40 minute walk.  Chilled out lakeside for 45 minutes with some friendly llamas and mules.  The walk back up was an entirely different prospect and was equivalent to clambering up a 400m sand dune.  I ran ahead and ordered lunch but still not in time to get only bus to overnight stop in Chugchilan.  Tried to haggle with truck driver for lift but neither parties would budge until a rival truck driver turned up and we got our price.   

Cloud desceds pretty predictably in this area and as we left Quilotoa, we were surrounded by cloud, which is probably a good thing given the speed the truck driver drove around the hairpin bends with steep drops off the side of the road. 

The Cloud Forest Inn could not be challenged on trade description as on arrival we could not see a thing ! However hostel was lovely and had a communal room where everyone could share travel stories and advise on future destinations.  We had finally hit the gringo trail as the hostel was really busy (with Germans equalling the Canadians and Brits).  Its a small world as one traveller (Rachel) had lived on Thompson Road 11 years ago before moving to London !!

On our 2nd day of the loop, we got up for breakfast to a deserted hostel.  Everyone else had got 3, 4 or 5 am buses to other destinations.  However we opted for the lie in but then the 23km walk to Sigchos. With a 8am start the cloud was still encompassing but it had pretty much burnt off by 9.30 providing great views of the surrounding hills and gorge.  The walk was a nice meandering stroll without much climbing.  However the fun wore off after about 3 hours and the last 2hr 30 mins were a bit of a slog.  Reached Sigchos in time for the bus back to Latacunga.  By evening we were all suffering the muscle strains and Dave and Marie were laughing at my cowboy walking !  With friends like these.....

Yet another early start!!  Caught the 8am bus to Chugchilan ($2 for 1.5hrs).  The scenery was breath taking.  It was a clear day so you could see for miles & miles & all the volcanoes around.  Its a pitty we couldnt get any photos.

We then got on the back of a truck to Laguna Quilatoa, a volcanic crater lake which was amazing.  We walked down to the rim (easy) & then back up again (bloody hard!!).  At one point I wanted to jump off the edge for an easy life!!  Note for next time - hire a mule!

We missed the 2pm bus (only one!).  But we hung around & bartered for another truck to take us to Chugchilan.  We arrived at Hostal Cloud Forest, which is exactly as it says on the packet ... it was very cloudy looking out to the forest!

The shower was HEAVEN!  The best one to date.

I bumped into Veronica (the lady I shared my cabin with at the Galapagos).  This was the first time we'd actually met "English" speaking people along our route.

What an amazing 3 days!!

It all started in Latagunga, a town that really didnt do it for me but was the gateway for great things to come. The Quilitoa loop (as its called in Lonely Planet) is basically a series of towns to the West of Latacunga and the Panamericana which are all connected by one road in a loop kind of fashion. At the halfway point is supposed to be one of the most amazing sights in Ecuador - Laguna Quilotoa, a massive lake in the middle of a volcanic crater.

Anna and I planned to base ourselves in the tiny town of Chugchilan (three great hostels there) and do some day trips from there. The trip to chugchilan proved to be at once the most gut wrenchingly horrible and stunningly beautiful bus rides I have ever been on. The first half of the journey was on sealed roads and ascended over 1000m allowing the bus driver to prove that Ecuadorian bus drivers have as much "balls" as anyone. Overtaking buses going up hills on blind corners was the norm, a simple toot of the horn the only thing deemed necessary to avoid an accident.

As the road plateaued out, the land became a patchwork quilt of crops and paddocks and we were able to see for kms all around. The road continued to twist and turn for another 20 or so kms until it reached the tiny town of Quilitoa which is where the real fun started. From there it was 23km along an unpaved potholed track, along cliff faces that you would seriously think twice about riding with a mountain bike. Nevertheless, our fearless bus driver tore along it like it was a main highway, I think I was thrown from my seat 5 times along the way...and have no idea how the chicken and the lamb strapped to the roof managed to survive.

Somehow we made it. I have never been so thankful to leave a bus ever! Chugchilan is a tiny tiny town made famous by the Black Sheep Inn (an ecolodge of apparently world class standards). Our budget could only afford another hostel though, The Cloudforest Hostel - the rooms are a quite cramped but it is very cheap, the food is good and best of all there were hot showers.

That night over dinner, we engaged in some international conversation with a Czech couple (Vlad and Yanna) and a couple of Serbian guys, and we all hooked up a horse trip to a cheese factory and into a cloud forest for the next day.

The next day proved to be a memorable one. First of all the horse tour - my horse farted an obscene amount, bit other horses and constantly decided that the best route was always the one a couple of cms from the cliff edge....having only ridden a horse once I was a little worried to say the least. Annas horse we think was an outcast (maybe had a little bit of donkey in it), it didnt like to go near the other horses, if it did it was bitten or kicked. Still, the country side we rode through was breathtaking and walking through a cloudforest seeing (and smelling) all the different varietys of plants was awesome. Apparently, 40 years ago, the entire area was covered in cloud forest, then humans came and managed to stuff it all up by undertaking slash and burn techniques for crops and grazing paddocks. The remaining cloud forest is now in a protected zone so hopefully it remains for many years to come. 

It was incredible to see the way that people make a living in this area, primarily agricultural and primarily corn and potatoe crops. It was the way the crops were planted though, literally on slopes that could almost be considered as cliffs, farmers tend there crops 365 days a year, sometimes walking half a day into the nearest town just to sell them for like $10 and then walking half a day back again....the people here a very poor.

After 5 hours or so I was glad to get off my horse....give me a snowboard any day!! Not ones to sit still for any length of time, the Czechs suggested a walk into the canyon below was in order. Never trust Czechs!! After 2 hours of walking, I was 200m up the side of the canyon, in my sandals, holding onto the serb girls hand as she came periously close to falling...it was the second ridiculous situation I found myself in since arriving in Ecuador. Awesome awesome views and I am so glad I did it but never trust a Czech when they say they have found a path. Top walk though Vlad!!

The next day we were up early and catching a ride in the back of a bus up to the town of Quilotoa to begin our walk around Quilotoa crater and back down to Chugchilan, 12km in total or about 3-5 hrs depending on hour fast you want to walk (The track is quite well described in the Lonely Planet so finding the way is pretty easy). The trip up in the truck cost $5 but was well worth the cash...standing up above the cabin as we tore round the crazy roads was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. Another highlight coming moments after jumping off when we walked the 50m to the top of the crater for the view down onto the lake.....it was absolutely stunning, I cant really describe it. Luckily for us, the first hour of walking took us one third of the way around the craters rim (there is actually a 5 hour walk that goes all the way around) so time spent gazing down to the lake was plentiful, unluckily for us the clouds rolled in after about 20mins (The weather to date has been down right mean). To counter the clouds, we dropped to about half way down the crater and the views returned, but it made for a tough hike back up. Definitely worth it though.

We dropped off the other side of the crater soon after reaching the top again and made our way down the other side towards Chugchilan, along the way passing through small remote towns, locals tending their crops and sheep (we even got to see a 1 hr old baby lamb) and even attracting a flock of school children. The last hour or so provided more stunning views as we descended to the bottom of a major canyon (using well trodden paths this time though so no repeats of yesterday) and rose again up the other side. Extremely tired by the end of it we couldnt wait for a big feed....ahhh, chicken and rice for the umpteenth night in a row but oooo, a little bit of avocado this time...you beauty!!

That night we were treated to some local school girls performing traditional dances in the dining area at our hostel. It was magic.....until they all grabbed a tourist (6 of us in all) by the hand and got us up dancing. Having had no beers I was a little worried about my dancing skills but it was all good in the end!!

Yep it was an amazing three days....but as the saying goes "a rolling stone gathers no moss" and my clothes were starting to gather some sort of odourous fungi which meant it was time to move on. Up next was Banos and hopefully a laundry!!

On the way back from Quilotoa we stopped at a village called Chugchilan where a small trek led us to a series of steep canyons.  The walk down one side and up the other to get to the largest canyon was extremely difficult in the heat of the midday sun.  But it was worth it to peer down the hundreds of metres of sheer cliff face!

An early morning truck took us to the Quilatoa Laguna, then we hiked over mountains and through valleys back to the hostel (about 15 km).  Photos definitely do better than words here, but our guide did say we were ¨muy rapido¨ so I think we did OK

Well they say the sun shines on a dog's ar*e even some days (or at least they do in Australia ;)) I feel pretty lucky that I decided to see some of the Quilatoa circuit.  A lot of the guidebooks mention it as an option, but I don't think any of them do enough to mention just how beautiful the scenery is around here.  I'd consider this to be a must do in Ecuador.

Happily escaping from Latacunga I was on to a noon bus for about 4 hours of some of the most breathtaking scenery you'll see.  I'll let photos do the talking on that.

I kind of feel like I'm setting myself up for a fall though, first the fantastic Secret Garden hostel in Quito, now the Black Sheep Inn has set the standard pretty high for accommodation in South America.  The hostel is located wayyyy up the hill and just has a great atmosphere and really friendly staff (Buffalo seems happy to carry your bags up the hill if you don't want to :) )

After enjoying the views, and a fantastic Mexican meal (it is all vegetarian here, but delicious) Buffalo had lined up a day hike for myself and and English girl, Kate, the next day. So it was all sorted with very little effort on my part, which is always best I feel  :)