Thirty Something Traveller

I arrived at the southern most terminal in Quito which is pretty far out of town. The terminals seem to have been built at the furthest possible point away from the centre of town in Ecuador, so far sometimes that they might as we ve in the next town. Okay it’s not that bad and you could argue the reason for this is that it’s easier for the busses to get in and out of town, something that would bite my ass when I got to Cali, but that’s another story. I suppose I was a little anxious as I’d done research, I’d just booked the hostel in the recomendación of Claudia, who to be fair recomendad a great hostel. Sadly she had already left Quito. The hostels directions were not amazingly helpful and I was far from walking distance. I’ll do anything to avoid taking a taxi so I headed to the information.

After a few false starts I ended up on a bus for 25 cents, a nite cheaper than the $15 if been quoted by Uber. To be fair it was far and traffic is bad but thankfully, as in Lima, the busses have their own lanes so can speed past the traffic. The bus stopped at what was to be it’s final station about two thirds of the way and I swapped busses, following everyone else. Luckily it went the right way and I was soon checking in at the hostel.

On the way I noticed that most of the restaurants were closed, being a Sunday, and I headed to Plaza Foch the middle of the tourist party area and helpfully just around the corner for a hugely overpriced burger. But I desperately needed to plan, firstly what to do in Quito and secondly how to get to Colombia and what to do there also. It seemed Colombia wouldn’t be too much of an issue but I was still anxious about getting the bus. The guys at the hostel were lovely, but all volunteers, so I wasn’t sure how accurate the information was. I decided to stay an extra night as I wanted to climb a volcano and take a trip to the centre of the world, I’d already been to the end…I’m not sure if they realise it’s a sphere but these countries are heavily Catholic, although I’m not sure how reggaetón fits into that, and I don’t want to question these things.

Having decided what to do I headed back to the hostel to sort photos and update this blog, it takes about 6 hours for each post, partly due to upload speeds but also partly due to me harassing various people on WhatsApp. A Venezuelan girl at the hostel was cooking Arepas so I decided to join and have that with a group of Germans, a Bolivian guy and Chilean guy which made for a fun dinner and interesting conservation. Shortly after I went to bed still mostly unsure how I was going to climb the volcano the next day.

Rucu Pichincha

I awoke early, showered and grabbed breakfast with more Germans and an Ecuadorean lady and her son, managing to get a few tips for the hike on the way. I was told it was best to hail a cab to the starting point which is the TelefériQo in Parque Vulquano. Its best to get a taxi as the area around is apparently a little dangerous. I jumped in a taxi, asked the price and then tried to get out again at which point the price dropped. It was still more than I was told but I wasn’t bold enough to keep arguing. Still I’m getting better and I was happy with that.

I arrived at the station and there were not many people around. I brought my ticket and jumped on the teleférico having a whole car to myself. As I ascended I soon realised why it might have been a little quiet and I was soon in the middle of a cloud.

It was a little cold at the top and slightly unsure of what to do I decided to take a moment to myself. On a clear day you can see the whole mountain range including Cotopaxi but this was not to be the day. Annoyingly each day that passed he sky’s seemed cleared but my weather luck was still with me. A British couple came with a guide and as we chatted for a moment the sky cleared and I could finally see Cotopaxi. I had missed this and it’s something that is on my to do list for the next time I am in Ecuador.

Soon the cloud returned and I saw others embarking on the hike so I decided to head off into the fog and see how far I could get. It actually started clearing at this level but still the volcano was in the cloud and it was impossible to be seen. I took a couple of wrong directions which definitely seems to be my thing, especially at the beginning of a hike, before I ended up on the trail.

Soon after heading in the correct direction I met Natalie, Canadian, and her boyfriend Daniel, Swedish, who were both struggling with the altitude. We walked and chatted for a bit and she explained that her brother, Nathan, was ahead as he was more used to hiking. We caught up and I struck up a conservation with Nathan. It turns out that he and his Uncle have brought some land on the coast, I won’t say for how much but you’ll be lucky to get a car park space in London for that and they had 44 acres. Nathan wanted to farm and Natalie was going to open and manage a hostel. It seemed like a nice life and if land is this cost effective I’d be tempted to do something similar, just maybe not in Ecuador.

Nathan and I hiked faster so we walked together and then stopped to let the others catch up. Which was probably a good thing for me as normally I hike to too fast and get affected by the altitude.

We had interesting conservations the entire day about spiritually and politics. I can’t say I agreed with everything discusses and I get the feeling Nathan felt the same but it was nice to talk to someone who had different and also at the same time very similar opinions to me without feeling the need to argue or even challenge them. We live in a divided world at the moment so my new approach is to listen to different opinions, test them against my own and see how they influence them. Rather than argue from an in trenched position. We know from WW1 that trench warfare doesn’t work so why we are doing it now with politics I don’t really know. We swapped sources so maybe we can meet more in the middle ground somewhere. Maybe it’s because our goals were very similar but we disagreed on how to reach them. Still it’s good to talk and this was in stark contrast to the annoying British guy I met in Cali, but that’s a later story.

The hike is only about 4km from the top of the teleférico but it’s steep and at high altitude. As we stopped a lot of people overtook us and reached the top. The last part of the hike was straight up over volcanic ash, which is essentially climbing in sand. That was tough. As we were climbing the skies cleared and when we neared the top the cloud had returned. At this point we met all the hikers that had overtaken us but decided to return as the cloud had obstructed the view. At that point I started to kick myself a little as if I’d not waited for everyone then I could have been at the top when it was clear. But I then realised it was better to make new friends and hike with others, which was particularly evident when I accidentally started to climb up a wall of rocks and Natalie suggested that I’d gone the wrong way.

I went a little ahead filling the correct path and collapsed at the top exhausted. As you can see from the photo below I was in the middle of a cloud. But then a strange thing happened as the others reached the top. It all started to clear, and not like it had before but properly this time, tho cloud completely lifted. If I hadn’t waited I would have missed this view and it was spectacular. Sometimes it’s good to take things slowly and have a little faith. I should have learnt that back in Patagonia as Cerro Torres was a classic example.

As the sky’s cleared we were lucky to see some eagles at the top.

And just to prove I was really here.

And then it was time to head back down. We were all feeling a little rough and this time we ran though the sand as it was quicker. The skies kept getting better.

And here is the volcano in al its glory.

So sometimes it doesn’t pay to rush. If we had stayed a little long the views would have been even better but sadly it was still hazy so not possible to see the entire range. We shared a cab back to town and I returned to my hostel to get some rest, I went and had some Arabic food and returned to the hostel for an early night.

Mitad del Mundo

The next day it was time for me to go to te middle of the world. I’m not sure exactly what makes this the middle other than it’s the equator and also it’s not actually on the equator as I think the equator line runs across the top of a mountain. Still there is a yellow painted line and for me this was a big achievement. When I left for Colombia the next day I’d be back in the Northern Hemisphere and this would be the first time in 9 months, the longest ever for me and it would mean I’d reached my final country. So I headed to the site.

You can take a taxi or special transport but if you take local busses it’s less than one dollar. Ask at your hostel and they will point you in the right direction. It might take a little longer but you’ll get there. For me it was a weird tourist experience but I paid the one dollar fee, skipped most of the attractions as I simply couldn’t care less and I had a lot of things to do that day and just took the tourist photos.

I took the wrong bus back into town but it did take me to the centre and was surprisingly close to one of the restaurants Ben from the Quitola Loop had suggested. I had a vegan lunch for $3 which was delicious and also had some much needed vegetables.

Afterwards I headed back to the hostel, changing some dollars on the way, and relaxed while I wrote another blog. I was due to meet Micheala, who I’d been chatting to online and she knew an amazing cheese place, at 7pm. So I skipped getting my haircut and just sorted everything ahead of the next day.

After getting a little lost, Uber drivers here are not the best but they are very friendly, we met in an empty restaurant. Micheala has lived in London and half of the other countries in the world and spoke perfect English, which again was good for me. We had some good wine and cheese which I’ve not had for a while and great conservation. I asked her at one point why meet a stranger when she knew I was leaving the country the next day and she said she would only be staying in watching TV otherwise, which I thought was great maybe it’s just the people I meet but it seems that everyone in South America is always doing. It’s better to meet friends, family, strangers than sit in on your own. I like tat philosophy and now we both have a new friend. It got late and I had to get up early the next day so she booked me a taxi to my hostel and I tried not to wake everyone up as I went to bed. Ready to head to Colombia the next day.

I headed to the bus stop in Alausí desperate to catch the 1:30pm bus to Quito. I arrived early and realised it was just a sign on the road. I asked a lady waiting if it was the right way and she said no but I didn’t really understand her reply. A bus pulled up and i was told I needed to wait on the other side of the road. I grabbed my bags and waited in the heat for the bus to come. To be fair it was practically on time but I started to melt in the heat and there were a few other busses that either drive past or turned off before they reached me. Still I always trust in South America and set a time in my head where I’d try another option if the bus hadn’t shown up. Low and behold, soon after the bus showed up and stopped. Well I use stop in the loosest possible term.

Generally all busses in South America have at least two people on board. The driver and conductor. The role of the conductor varies from company to company and country to country but in Ecuador they really do earn their money. The conductor jumped off as the bus continues for another 20 metres and let passengers off. I grabbed my bags and ran towards it, the conductor took my big bag and put it in the hold, another man tried to take my backpack, I’m assuming to help but I always keep it with me, and then we all jumped on the bus without it coming to a complete stop. I was blocked from getting on as the door was open and as it continued people jumped off and I realised for he rest of the journey the same thing happened. I don’t think the bus stopped.

It was four hours to Latacunga and I was eventually dropped at the edge of the motorway junction, again the bus didn’t stop, and immediately was directed to a local bus, which also might have been moving and took me the rest of the way into town.

I was soon at the next hostel just before it went dark. I don’t normally name hostels but if you are reading this to get information on the loop then it makes sense to include. The hostel is Hostel Cafe Tiana, and it’s about a 10 minute walk from the bus station. I selected this on the advice from other blogs as they said it was easy to meet people doing the loop and it was. Everyone there seemed to be either going on the hike or coming back from it. It’s a good hostel although the showers could be better and breakfast is not perfect but I’d recommend. although you can get dinner for around $3.

In the dorm I met Josh and as we were talking Ben and Mary walked into the room. We realised we had met before but took a while to realise that they were at the Asado in Mendoza back in May. For me that was a bit of a shock as they had been heading to Buenos Aires, but turns out they went north through Brazil to Colombia and were now headed south to Peru. Also they were doing to loop as well so we joined for the hike. I had dinner in the hostel and in the room met Dulce, from Mexico, who was heading to work at a hostel in Cali. So swapped details with the hope of meeting up in Colombia.

The next morning we left for the bus station and there were a few gringos on the bus. One was Patrick, born in Canada but grew up in Australia, who would join us for the hike. You have to take the bus to Sigchos, which is 2 hours from Latacunga. Once you get into the lush green mountains its a beautiful journey and I found myself wondering how many times I’d now been travelling along winding mountain roads and switchbacks.

When we arrived we weren’t sure if we needed to register and it seemed not, so we started the hike anyways. Annoyingly the blue sky had turned grey, something that does happen here in the afternoon. The first day was only around 10km and this was a different hike for me as much of it was along dirt tracks and passed villages. Most hikes I do are in the middle of nowhere. Still it was beautiful and it felt good to be moving. I found the first day a challenge, possibly due to not having acclimated still, especially the part up the steep hill.

Due to the promxity to villages, farms and houses it meant there were people around, who put us back in track when we went the wrong way and we saw lots of farm animals. It was really nice to be hiking with English speakers. Not that people don’t speak English but there is a connection when you can speak to people from your own country. Ben is actually from Emsworth, which is about 2 or 3 miles from where I grew up. It is actually where I grew up. So it was nice to reminisce. But for now here are some sheep.

It turned really grey as we reached the end of the hike and we were all really happy to see the hostel, Luluilama which I had booked via email. It was pretty busy and worth reserving this in advance. The hostels in the hike include breakfast and dinner and this hostel was paradise for $20. There is a full restaurant, fires, hot showers and spa all available to use along with a free yoga class which I didn’t take.

We grabbed some beers and waited away the wet afternoon until dinner, which was delicious before heading to bed. But the best thing about the hostel had to be the wonderful dog.

The yoga class wasn’t 7am but instead I decided to take photos and get myself ready. Breakfast was at 8 and we seemed to be the last to head off at around 9am. Today the sky was a beautiful blue but it meant that it became hot quickly. Still this was for better photos. The beginning of the trek was mostly down and therefore fairly easy.

We followed the signs that you can see in the picture above and made good progress winding our way around the mountains halfway up the valley. At one point we ended up on a precarious path leading around the side of the mountain. We saw some others in the valley below and beside being an exciting prospect we decided to head back and wind through the valley.

We ended up following a small stream along a beautiful green valley. According to my map we had to cross a log bridge that didn’t really have much support but by now I was happy to take on these things and we walked up the right hand side of the river. Soon we saw a proper bridge and met one of the French girls that had been in the hostel the night before. It turned out that she had come along the correct route and I realised that my version of Maps me didn’t have the correct trail. Mary’s did and it then made sense why she had been saying we had taken a wrong turn, which we had, but we were back in the right path now.

The path then started ascending and we found ourselves high above the steam looking at a beautiful valley.

Then the path took a turn to the right and we ended up waking up yet another mountain. This was more taxing than the previous day but we took on the switchbacks and all collapsed at the top. We took a little detour to a view point and saw some turkeys, one of whom was showing off his feathers.

The sky turned grey, really quickly and we followed the trail along to the road. Ben and Mary had brought some sweets as the children of teen ask for them and are rewarded. This is how different it is here where children can ask strangers for food and it’s not a strange thing. All the hostels provide lunch boxes that come with cookies and candy. Then the local children come running up asking “Tienes candy?”. The first time we offered he packet to the kids and they nearly took the whole thing. So after that we rationed it. Again we would probably be arrested in Europe but it’s different here.

After the track ended we had to walk up the road for a couple of kilometres to the hostel. I toyed with climbing up an extra hill but decided against it. On the way up we passed lots of schools children walking home. We were the first at the hostel and despite booking a dorm I was excited to be given a private room. Although I was annoyed to discover that the bathroom was locked. It took me a long time to work out and several conservations that the room key also unlocked the bathroom. My Spanish still has a long long way to go.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and all met up for a group dinner and a few games of pool, on one of the worst tables I’ve ever had the privilege to play. I opted for an early night as we agreed to meet for breakfast at 7am so we could leave early. By this time we had realised that the mornings were sunny but the clouds came out in the afternoon.

A little gato joined us for breakfast. I stopped him from walking all over the tables and he happily sat on my lap and then stole the cheese from my plate. I suddenly realised his game.

The sin was shining brightly as we left and you could see the clouds hanging low in the valleys which made for a beautiful sight.

We turned left off the main road and went downhill taking a few shortcuts before we hit the main trial. Sadly there was a lot of rubbish but on the plus side we saw a donkey.

We reached the “main” road and were conscious that we needed to make a decision between walking the hard way and the easy way. Unfortunately we were to realise later that by taking one of the shortcuts we had missed the place where we would make the decision. So we ended up on the easy path. We then spotted a sign on the path below and trekked down to that ending up on the hard paths which was beautiful, but alas hard.

We walked down into the valley and crossed a small stream before ending up on a really narrow path with a small landslide. We had to jump across the gap and material was constantly sliding down the hill. It was easy but the drop always makes it feel worse than it is.

We then went up what was the hardest climb so far of the trek, climbing out of the valley up to a mountain. At the top exhausted we decided to go and visit some cascadas but sadly they turned out to be a little lacking this time of year. Having taken a side track we turned around and realised that the clouds had almost covered the sky. It was barely 10am and they had arrived already. We powered on no less walking the last few kilometres before we became slightly lost. We couldn’t find the trails on maps me but we did find one heading directly upwards so decided to follow it hoping for the best. This was the steepest climb of the three days. It was literally walking up the side of the mountain, at nearly 4000 metres, with no switchbacks. But we made it! And then we saw the crater.

It was beautiful, sadly not as beautiful as it would have been with sun, but stunning none the less. We stayed and had lunch and then decided to walk around the side to the town. On the way we ran into a local woman who said we were on the wrong path. I think we would have ignored her but we had had a little trouble identifying the actual path a few minutes before. She told us she was going back to the village and would take us the right way. Which turned out to be a perilous path, and then she demanded money from us. If we had ignored her we would have been fine but alas it’s confusing sometimes. We headed around the rest of the lake to finish the trek.

Arriving in town I saw a hungry dog so gave him my disgusting sandwich.

We then walked to the bus stop where there happened to be a bus and waited until someone told us the bus had broken down and we needed to take a taxi to the next town. Reluctantly we did this and as soon as we arrived there was a bus leaving for Latacunga. It was a long two hour ride and we were exhausted. Patrick has opted to stay in Quilotoa for the night and it meant he would get good pictures in the morning. The rest of us decided to leave. If I had more time I would have stayed but I needed to head to Colombia as I was already late.

We arrived back at the hostel and opted for pizza and beers which was amazing. There is a pizza place on the edge of town and I’ll share it with you one day.

We grabbed some more beers, headed back to the hostel and had an early night. The next morning I grabbed breakfast and went for a little walk around town. The centre of Latacunga is very pretty and it’s probably worth spending a little time here is you can.

After I returned we said our goodbyes and I was alone again. I headed to the bus stop and was immediately on a bus headed to Quito which was a short two hour trip away.

I arrived at the bus station in Cuenca and as usual there was a bus leaving right away for Alausí. It’s a four hour journey and follows the road up to Quito, which is where my bus was headed. I got on the bus which was stiflingly hot. And readied myself for the ride. I generally listen to podcasts which helps drown out the blazingly loud movies that are played. Although sometimes it is just music but at a sensible volume. I’ve taken to listening to podcasts and at the moment Adam Buxton is the podcast of choice.

It was an interesting journey out of Cuenca, at first we were on a Mother way as we wound around the mountains and then this turned into single lanes as we got higher. About 2 hours outside of Cuenca the scenery suddenly turned beautiful. I couldn’t get any photos due to the bus windows but we wound our way around one of the biggest valleys I’ve ever seen with a huge mountain in the middle that just dropped off far far below. It was stunning and I’d recommend doing it in daytime if you can.

It was dusk when I arrived in the town. Dropped off on the main road I headed down, the long way, towards my hostel. The town was really pretty and I wanted to take photos but decided to head to the hostel day come back in the morning. The hostel was amazing. It was a little more expensive but worth the cost and I had the best shower I’d had in months. Maybe even here? Showers generally aren’t that great as there is no mains gas. It’s all bottled.

I chatted to a Dutch guy who was also getting the train the next day and he headed off to dinner while I took my time sorting things out. I then headed to a local restaurant which was dead but I couldn’t be bothered to search further as I was so tired. I opted for prawns again. I love them and was not disappointed until they tried to charge me more for the bill but I sorted that out.

I heard a lot of shoring and cheering coming from somewhere and walked a few blocks until I found a sports hall full of people. Most were watching and others were lined up in the middle. I had a peak in the main door and didn’t realise I could go in. It tirned our that the Dutch guy has gone in and watched the whole thing as it was a Miss World esq competition. Next time I have nothing to do I’ll try and join in, although I was exhausted and happy to go to bed and watch Netflix.

The next morning I work up early and properly met Denis, who had come into the room late the night before. I sat down to a great breakfast and then headed to the train.

So if you want to book tickets for the Nariz del Diablo you can do so here. It’s $33 and if you do book I’d advise you go for the A side as it gets better views than the M side. I don’t think it really matters which carriage you are in as the train swaps sides for the return journey. We all needed up in different carriages and after a short introduction from the guard on the train we were off.

The train turns around back on itself as it starts the first big descent.

It then settles down and traverses along the side of the mountain for 20 minutes or more.

As you can see it’s a fairly scenic train ride. It would have been nicer if the other half of the carriage didn’t pour over to the side I was on as mine had better views. But to be fair you can’t really blame them. One guy filmed the whole journey, which is about 45mins one way. I hope there will be some editing.

Soon I started to see the track where the train would take its second steep downhill. You could see it winding back on itself and it really was a feat of engineering. Then the station came into view as well as lots of local people that the staff had to encourage to move off the track. They were all taking photos and I wondered if this was part of a daily routine, or put on for the tourists but I actually think they all left on another train I saw as they all disappeared fairly quickly after the first stop.

The train soon came to an abrupt halt with a shudder. I started to wonder why when it began moving backwards and changed tracks. This was the first switchback. It’s obviously hard to build a turn on the mountain so instead it just reversed direction.

We pulled through the station, past all the people and past dancers and stopped a few hundred metres up the track. We were told that we could disembark and it gave me a chance to get some photos of the train.

After the short break we returned to the train station for an hour. By this time must people had gone, the locals, and we were treated to dancing. There was a small museum and the engine switched ends. We are here for a little over an hour which for me was took long but it gave me the poor to take photos.

Soon it was time for the return journey. The train returned to the town the same way but the engine was now on the other end. Also less people were taking photos and the light had changed so I got some better shots.

The above is the track and next more shots of the train along the valley.

The train ride was really fun, it would have been better if it were a steam engine and I was able to sit on the roof, but I understand why this has been banned due to people dying. I was really glad I had made the stop. As the village was pretty Denis make the decision to stay an extra night and I stayed a few more hours. We wondered around the town and up to te statue taking photos. Stopping in the market for lunch.

Soon it was time for me to start the journey to Latacunga, it would be another 4 hour bus journey and I was keen to arrive before dark.

I arrived at the main road, and was somehow attached by mosquitos on the way, and a bus pulled up straight away. I jumped on and was on my way to Santa Elena. I was tired, well hungover, the bus was busy and fairly uneventful. Before I knew it I arrived at the station. I needed to take a second bus to Guayaquil and after visiting the bathroom, as there are none on the busses, I wondered up and down the rows of booths and couldn’t see a sign. It’s difficult for me to ask as I still can’t pronounce the name. I saw a line of people all at the same booth and I took a risk that this was the right bus, it is after all the biggest town around, well in the country even, and soon I was on one of the back seats on my way. This journey was 2 1/2 hours and the ride was so bumpy that I thought I was going to be sick.

I was back at the large terminal with the shopping mall. I decided I needed a break and brought some water and food whilst I researched how to get to Cuenca. I found out the bus would be another 4 hours but that it would pass through the Cajas national park at close to 4000 metres. I was excited to get back into the mountains so off I headed. Tourist information pointed me to the right booth. I was told there was a bus leaving in 10 minutes so I’d brought my ticket and went to the second floor where I jumped on to enjoy the ride.

Despite it being stupidly hot and overcast the journey was beautiful. I’d recommend that you try doing this is daylight. When the bus approached the mountains the skies cleared overhead and as we circled higher there was low lying mist in the valleys that made the mountains look like lakes. I didn’t manage to get any pictures.

I arrived in Cuenca in the dark and headed straight to my hostel. After checking in and dropping my things I went to get some food. Being a Sunday most places were closed so I went to a local looking restaurant that brought me the wrong food and potatoes instead of chips as they had run out. The food was fine and i didn’t complain as I couldn’t and afterwards I retreated to the hostel for some well deserved rest.

That morning over breakfast I met a couple of other people headed to Parque Nacional Cajas, which is passed on the bus the day before. I didn’t really know much but I had read it was beautiful.

We were told not to leave too early and the hostel owner drew is a map with instructions of several routes, these are also all on maps me. We arrived at the main bus terminal and jumped on a bus to Guayaquil, the journey is 1 hour and costs $2. They will drop you outside of the park entrance and you need to go and register with the park rangers. I decided I wanted to climb a mountain and they informed me that I needed to head further up the road. I met Linda, from Latvia, and we started walking up the road to the trail head. It was immediately stunning and we were lucky to have blue skies.

I was excited to use my camera again and immediately began snapping photos as the path wound its way around the lakes towards the mountain.

Then we started to climb. The peak was not that high, in comparison to where I was standing as the peak was around 4000 metres. I had misjudged how long I’d been at sea level and climbing was hard. It was going to get harder. But the views were worth it as soon as we started the climb.

I was really glad that Linda was with me as I seemed to be unable to follow the trail. Luckily she was able to follow the trail signs. We made slow progress as it was ridiculously steep and the altitude made it hard work. But still little by little we inched towards the top.

I took some fun pictures of flowers.

And then we went higher and higher. We kept needing to stop for breaks. And before we knew it we reached the top. Which I’m sure you can see below was completely worth the pain.

I stopped and are one of my sandwiches and then we followed the path along the ridge taking in the beauty of the valley. I should point out that this is one tiny section of the park. It stretches for miles in all directions and I’d love to explore it further one day.

The park rangers had told us specifically to take this route as I had wanted to approach the mountain from the side we would descend. When we started going down I could see why. This has to be one of the steepest descents I’ve made during my time here. If I was still scared of heights I’d be a little nervous but I’ve banished that fear and I was with a friend as we stumbled and tripped down the face of the mountain. Still it was beautiful and for a time I thought I’d never make it to the lake. But we did.

After we made it to the lake we decided to take the pink path. It was another 4 kilometres through beautiful landscapes. First we walked through some pristine forest and took a detour to find a cave, as Linda is a huge cave fan. Then we worked out way past some lakes. The sun really started to come out and created some beautiful shots. One of the lakes is covered in these reeds. I loved the colours and the way they interacted with the landscape. At one point we came across a hill and saw that there were boulders organised in a line. There is an Inca Trail through this part of the world and we wondered if they were paced here on purpose.

Okay, this is my favourite view and the desktop wallpaper if you ever need one. That’s why there are lots of shots so indulge me.

Afterwards it was just a case of following the path to the end. We thought we found the Inca Path and reos a delicate route between private land that was fenced off.

We waited on the main road for the bus but Linda suggested that we also try hitchhiking,, as there was only one bus an hour. I was happy to as I’d only accidentally hitchhiked once in Peru and at the time I thought I was going to die. About 5 cars went past and then a father pulled up with his two daughters. We jumped in the back and chatted in English and Spanish. He was really nice and knew some English. It turns out that this si another city were English speakers are coming to retire and you will see why later. I suppose as Ecuador uses the dollar it makes it a perfect country to move to.

The father was an estate agent so gave us a little insight into going’s on and then dropped us close to the city centre. Linda and I said our goodbyes and I returned to the hostel, exhausted, with a little altitude sickness but very happy. I think this is one of the most beautiful days in my time here. I tested and then went out for some noodles.

Afterwards at the hostel I got talking to one of the owners, Jude. She is from just outside Brighton and did the same as me but ended up meeting her husband here and they run the hostel together. We soon realised that I used to work with her brother in law at the BBC. It’s a smaller world than you think. I really enjoyed this hostel as I met some lovely people and had great breakfasts along with playing with the cat.

I was leaving for my next destination later the following day, i had to move fast in Ecuador as I didn’t have much time. The city is beautiful and i wanted to explore it so I went on the tour during the morning. And this is why I think I could live here.

The tour was really good and the city has an abundance of churches and amazing art and artictecturhe.

Also did you know that Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador? Yep! I’ll flesh out that story when I have time but for now here are the photos.

Afterwards I headed to the hostel, grabbed my bags and flagged a cab to the bus station. Ready for the next stop on my adventure.

I had the dorm to myself on the final night in Banos which was great as I had to get up early for the bus and it meant I didn’t wake anyone up leaving. I arrived at the bis station as instructed and was told to wait on the benches. I waited 20 minutes and nothing. It was approaching the leaving time off the bus but the woman said I should wait. A few minutes later and she told me to follow her. We left the station and it dawned on me that the bus was heading for the main road, it pulled up and I jumped on. I wasn’t sure how long the journey to Guayaquil would last so I settled in for a long journey. Turns out it’s 7 hours and I arrived around 2pm.

This city was huge, and is the biggest in Ecuador. I wasn’t stopping for long as my final stop for the day was Salinas. I found myself in a shopping centre so ran for the toilets and upon passing the food court grabbed a McDonald’s for $3 and then quickly headed to buy a bus ticket. After approaching several wrong booths I found out there was a bus leaving in 10mins. I was instructed to follow two people who brought a ticket ahead of me but they went the wrong way. Actually it turns out I did and the bus left from the second floor. I made it up there and the bus left,

Checking my map the bus seemed to be heading the wrong way. I checked and my ticket said Santa Elena, not Salinas and I realised they sounded similar. I resisted the urge to run to the driver and another passenger assured me it was the right way. It was but after another 2.5 hours I needed to get a third bus. I was stole I could get a taxi but just outside the station a bus was leaving and that cost 30 cents. It wound its way along the streets and after around an hour I found the hostel.

A Spanish girl checked me in and I found out I was the only guest. Now I had WiFi o wanted to plan out my next few days at the beach and I was too tired to make a proper decision. I decided to spend one more night here so I could walk tomorrow without too much pressure and then go to Ayangue and Montanita over the following days. I relaxed at the hostel and then went out for dinner to try some sea food. This is afterall why I am here. So I found a popular restaurant and had some shrimp.

After I went to relax in my hostel ready for hiking he next day. Okay, so I’ll be upfront and say that Salinas was not on my hit list. It’s not really on anyone’s as it tends to be locals who visit here, although I’ve heard more and more English speakers are coming here to retire and when you Google Salinas all you get it houses to buy. I was told I should go to a place called La Chocolatera, which is a little bit of land jutting out into the ocean. Now the problem with the coast at the moment is that it’s permanently overcast, just like Lima. The sun returns in November but that’s too late for me. Still I was only here a few days so I set out to complete my task.

I had breakfast and started my hike. It was only 4km from town so I figured it would be fairly easy. As it was overcast I didn’t put on suncream and that would prove to be a mistake. After a few wrong turns and being turned back from security check points I found myself near the beach. There was a warning about live rounds bing fires but I couldn’t see any red flags so decided to cross the last piece of land before I reached the beach. I was headed to another viewpoint when a man on a motorbike approached me and said they were having a Tsunami training so in 15 mins the beach would be evacuated. I quickly headed to the viewpoint and had a little look at the sea lions and birds before I headed back to be evacuated.

I headed along the road to La Chocolatera but not really wanting to go the whole way along the road I skirted back to the beach that was now deserted or evacuated. I followed the path to the viewpoint and came very close to some giant birds. Before I could get my camera out they flew away.

Eventually I reached the view point I’d been heading towards. There were a number of people here as a few tour busses had arrived. I kicked myself for a second and then realised I wouldn’t have gotten one even if I knew they existed. I had a walk around the area and took some photos.

I decided to walk back along the road and saw a man coming back from the hill so I decided to follow the path up to the mirador. I spotted a friendly lizard on the way

And I got upclose to some big birdys.

It wasn’t too far to the top and at this point it was getting quite warm and the sun began to be a force through the clouds. The view was great and it was just a shame the weather wasn’t great as it’s a really nice beach town.

I had a coke and some crisps whilst I reflected and caught my breath before heading back to town. By this time I could feel I was burning but there was nothing to be done and I covered my neck. On returning to the hostel I realised my legs were red, which is weird as it’s the first colour they have had on them since 2005 so not all bad but I was sad to have sunburn on my first day at the beach.

I had been told I should try shrimp Ceviche so I headed out to a little second of the town which is covered with sea food restaurants.

The dish was delicious so I went off in search of ice cream as I felt I deserved some after the hike. I found a place that did crepes and didn’t realise I’d ordered a no crepe dish. I was a little disappointed by the ice cream as it want Argentinian standards but it hit the spot

After I had a little walk along the beach. I had intended to relax and sit there but it was around 4pm and people were starting to leave. Instead I headed back to the hostels and read my book in the hammock.

Later that night I decided to take a break from the seafood and went to a Mexican restaurant for tacos which were delicious and then returned to the hostel, where I was still the only guest. One of the owners dogs has been killed te day before by a car so they had decided not to take any more bookings. I watched Netflix and went to bed.

The breakfast hadn’t been great at the hostel so I went around the corner to a cafe. I discovered they had cheese toasties on the menu so snapped those up and got a cup of proper coffee before returning to the hostel to get my things.

Today I was excited. I was going to Ayangue which I’d been told about by a Swedish couple all the way back in Buenos Aires. Today I would be getting $10 lobster. I jumped on the local bus back to the terminal in Santa Elena and then quickly brought a ticket for another bus heading up the coast which was also leaving immediately. I was having good luck with busses right now.

The bus dropped me and several others at the side of the road and three of us quickly got into a can which took us the further 3km into town. I would have walked but 3km is just over my limit. I checked into my hostel, this time I had a double room to myself. I was feeling a little stressed out by this point as the hostel I’d wanted to book for the next day in Montanita was now sold out I’d accidentally booked a room for the Sunday and the day before there had been lots of beds left. I’d arrived in another hostel where I was the only guest and Montanita was a party town, so I didn’t want to be stuck in alone. At this time I was waiting for a reply from the hostel about moving my booking.

I stayed in the room using the WiFi and refreshing my emails. At last I had one and they said they would see if there were any dorms left. I decided to head to the beach but couldn’t relax to due to the hostel situation. This is what I mean when solo travel is lonely sometimes and after a while I start to become paranoid that I won’t meet anyone’s again. I always do but it’s one of those things that hit you.

I walked along the beach and there were lots of restaurants serving seafood. I picked on that was fairly busy and was told the lobster was $15. I was a little annoyed for not haggling or going somewhere else but I’d made my bed so I’d eat it. The lobster was delicious but i couldn’t relax so after I headed back to the hostel.

Still no response from the next hostel so I decided to go back to the beach and read until it was too cold. I sat in a chair under a gazebo and was shocked but again stupidly didn’t argue when I was told it was $5. I paid and then read for the next few hours. By this time I’d had a reply from the hostel and was told they only had rooms which were a lot more expansive. Not being able to make a decision I called Brad. It’s weird sometimes, making decisions can be really hard. I’d probably have been fine to have booked any hostel in town but in my head I’d decided I kept booking the wrong hostels and to be fair for the past 3 weeks I’d ended up on quiet hostels and I didn’t want to repeat that. Brad talked me through it and helped me make a decision.

Around 8pm I decided Togo our for food and see if I could meet someone. There were some bars on the beach so I headed for these but only one had people there and I felt they didn’t look sociable so decided to come back later. The town was as busy as it could be so I brought a burger from a street vendor and a some beer and headed back to the hostel with the plan of going back to the bars around 10pm. At 10pm I was too tired to do anything so went to bed. At this point I wished I’d just come here for the afternoon but it’s all an experience. I learnt a lot this day.

The next day I woke up to blue skies and after being told the checkout wasn’t until 12 I headed back to the beach to get some photos. You can see it’s a really pretty cover that is protected from the wider ocean and the water is warm. This is where you will realise I’m never satisfied as now I wanted to stay to enjoy the sunshine.

Is been messaging Rosi, who lived nearby, and she was heading to Olon, a town just north of Montanita and said she would en happy to show me around. I decided to check out early and head up to my next hostel. So I jumped in a taxi to the next road and almost straight away a bus pulled up and I jumped on.

Montanita is a party town for both locals and tourists a like. It’s a place where people go surfing and drinking and I’m not sure what else, but is essentially full of clubs. Not really my ideal but i hadn’t been out in ages and I’d been told I should visit. I arrived around 11am and the town was sleepy. My hostel was 20 mins walk down a muddy track and when I arrived they were a bit rubbish. I was told that I couldn’t check in until 1pm and then promptly ignored. I realised later that the staff were hung over and I managed to carve out a little spot until someone arrived who knew what was going on. I waited until 1pm, was let into my room, which was lovely, had a shower and jumped on a bus to meet Rosi.

Rosi was lovely and could speak good English but insisted on speaking Spanish so I could learn. I think I understood about 25% and she took the time to speak slowly and repeat herself many times until I understood. We had ceviche for lunch and then took a walk up the beach, before walking to a lookout point.

It was a fun afternoon and was really good to practice my Spanish and to see a place I otherwise would not have. When it started getting dark we went to the main road and had to wait a long time to get a bus back. I jumped off near my hostel and realised I’d been attacked my mosquitos.

At the hostel I put my name down for dinner and retreated to my room until dinner was nearly ready. I forced myself to go to the bar and had planned on sitting there except s big group of really young people were at the bar, in fancy dress and there was no way I could get involved. I pulled up a bar stool but after a couple of failed conservations I retreated to a table and wrote more of my blog.

I really felt I’d made a bad decision by coming to the hostel as everyone was so young. As dinner was served a few guys joined me and we got talking, and afterward I met more people as the goth went on. Around midnight people decided to go to the town and I joined. It was crazy and so loud. We brought some drinks on the streets and visited a few clubs, they don’t seem to mind that everyone took drinks from place to place.

After dancing for a while lost people ended up on the beach and was just killing around. I was exhausted and decided to call it a night around 3am. I’m not sure the last time I stayed up that late! I woke up tired and confused around 8am. I knew I had to check out by 11am but I didn’t have a plan. As I was checking though messages a girl told me that the weather in Cuenca was good. I had wanted to check out the national park and was desperate to see some blue sky so made a decisión to go there.

Over breakfast I was talking to some of the hostel staff and they advised me to go to a hostel, so I booked it and was glad another decision was made for me. Breakfast was delicious and at 11:30am I headed to the main road to flag down a bus for the first part of my next journey.

I awoke in El Coca not really knowing my plan for today. I was still torn between Banos and Quito. Banos seemed like the better option as it meant I could go down to Cuenca afterwards. I decided I’d let the bus Gods decide and headed to the bus station, but not before finding a panadería to get some breakfast and stocking up on snacks from the supermarket. I jumped in a taxi and was sad to see that most of the busses to Banos were night busses. I asked at the last kiosk, I can remember why and had a little issue with 10 in the mañana vs tarde and noche. After I had a complete brain meltdown I brought a ticket for 10am and would be on the bus in 45minutes. Great as according to google it was only a 4 hour journey. After I looked at my ticket I realised it was to a place called Puyo. I went to question it and I was told I could get a bus from there and it would only be a further hour. Ok.

I jumped on the bus which left on time and then seemed to be driving the wrong way through the city. It stopped for petrol and after it started crossing the bridge south, where there seemed to be a huge lack of roads, instead of heading to the highway in the north. I asked a fellow passenger and they said the bus did indeed go to Puyo so I accepted my fate and sat on the bus. It was boiling hot and it powered thought the Amazon, first on dodgy asphalt roads and then gravel. Stopping at the villages along the way. I soon realised this was not going to be a 4 hour journey.

At one point the bus stopped and a load of people got up and I realised too late that they were going to use the bathroom. I thought it was a little strange as there was a toilet on the bus but as I’ve since discovered in Ecuador the toilets are more of a theoretical eminently. So when I tried to use it the door didn’t open. You could argue the next thing that happened was lucky or unlucky but I’ll leave that to you. Maybe 45 minutes later the bus stopped. At this point we were años hit by a huge storm. 10, 20 then 30 mins went by and I realised we were not moving. I decided to ask to leave the bus and was able to release myself in the biggest storm ever. I rejoined the bus still not really sure as to what was going on. I Janet really paid attention to the time but after what felt like an hour everyone suddenly left the bus. I followed, and it turned out they were walking up the road. I had realised there must be something blocking the road and indeed there was. A lorry that was deep in the mud and wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon. So we swapped busses with those coming from the other direction and then sat on it for a while without moving, I until the cries of “vamos amigo” became too much or they were just ready to go. The bus had to reverse and then do an interesting 12 point. I asked how long the journey would take and it was another 3 hours. Which indeed it was. The rest was fairly uneventful and I was dropped off I. Puyo with the driver waving to another bus. I got on and was on my way to Banos with Jumanji playing at record volume for the 12 time. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it but many of the busses here play films, normally something inappropriate like an action film with a lot of violence and especially in Ecuador at a loud volume. No one seems to watch either.

After another 90mins I was finally dropped off in Banos. For once I hadn’t booked a hostel and that morning there were plenty of places. Sadly it turned out to be a holiday weekend and the hostel I wanted to stay in, Community, was fully booked. They pointed me to another hostel where I was greeted by a very friendly man and luckily I had a bed for the night. Exhausted I went to a reasonably priced restaurant and treated myself to a steak that is not had in sometime.

Despite the town buzzing and being invited by some people I’d met in the common area I decided to have an early night. Well that would have been the plan if it hadn’t been so loud. It’s a shame as most of the hostel is great but my bed was overlooking the plaza and possibly the noisiest place in the hostel.

I decided to sleep in a little the next day and arranged to meet Claudia at 10:30 I don’t think I mentioned above but I received a message form Claudia who also happened to be heading to Banos. After speaking to a couple from the US in the dorm I realised there was a lot to do.

We decided to start by hiking up to La Casa del Árbol, a swing on top of the mountain. It was 4km and I figured that it wouldn’t take long. I was wrong, and it was a really steep ascent. It had been a few weeks since I’d been done any hiking at altitude and I was back up at 2500 metres so was really hard going.

We finally reached the road and there wasn’t far to go when a 4×4 pulled up and offered to give us a ride. We accepted and jumped in the back excited for the opportunity. A lovely family from Guayaquil had given us the ride and we hung out with them whilst we queued for the swing. As you can see the swing is on the edge of the mountain. I was a little scared to get on the swing but as soon as I was swinging I had a great time.

Afterwards they kindly gave us a ride back to town. We all crowded in the inside of the car. It’s amazing how many people you can fit in if you try and the police are not going to pull you over. It was really fun to sing reggeton songs on the way down. Back in town we grabbed a late lunch and then went back to the hostel to rest. Later Claudia and I met up again to book rafting on the river and had dinner at my hostel which apparently did Ecuadorian food. I ordered the vegetarian tacos and added chicken. I realised it was a good way to get more vegetables into my diet.

It was time for an early night as we would be rafting in the morning. We were picked up at 9am and ended up in a minibus which drove around town picking up other passengers and played dance music. We stopped off at the office and picked up our equipment and boats before we headed off down river. We were instructed to change, given life jackets and split into smaller groups. It was here we were given the safety briefing where we were told what to do if we were knocked out the boat, the boat flipes over, hit a rock, we’re dragged away by the current and a multitude of other ways I might end up in the river. I started to become a little scared as the briefing was strongly suggesting that I’d be in the river.

Then we got in the boat and practiced paddling on land and took our positions in the boat. We then carried the boat to the river and jumped in. One girl was told to sit on the front and off we went down the first rapid.

After the first rapid we pulled into a calm area and were told to jump in the water. Whilst the others questioned I jumped in. I really need to question things before I do them. Once we were all in the water we were given 10 seconds to try and get back in the boat. This was not easy so I grabbed a strap and managed to pull myself in. Then as shown in the safety briefing those of us in the boat pulled in anyone still left in the water. In hindsight this was really good as have us experience of the water.

Before each rapid we were given various instructions and all followed them. The rapids were grades 3 and 4 and at various times people were locked out the boat. After a couple go rapids the guide asked who wanted to go upfront next so I jumped at the chance thinking it’s better to get it out the way and I perched on the front of the boat. It was really fun and I got to drink a lot of the river water. It was actually easier than rowing as the water tended to knock you back into the boat and I had more to hold on to.

There was one point where just before the rapid we were told the boat might flip as it was the biggest one. Luckily it didn’t and to make up for it our guide kept us paddling against one rapid and half the people fell out. We hit a couple of rocks at times which made people fall out. The Dutch guy on the front slid under the boat which looked really scary, but he said he wasn’t and it was fine. At another point we were taken a different way down the river and bounded off rocks as we went down the rapids. Apparently this is the fun way.

It was over all too soon and was so much fun. Not only did they take all of the photos but lunch was also provided. All for $20. We went back to town exhausted.

After a quick shower Claudia and I went to the coffee shop again as they offered the most amazing milkshakes. We didn’t realise that they were designed to be shared.

Afterwards we decided to try the hot springs for which Baños is famous. From the advise of her hostel we went to a local one around the corner. Entrance was only $2 and we seemed to be the only tourists there. They had two hot pools and we needed to rent hair nets. The fist was around 30 degrees and we stayed there for a while. It was busy and personal space is not so well regarded here. But we did speak to a few people and practiced Spanish. The next Pool was crazy hot. The first time I went in it felt like I was burning. A little like walking on the sand in Huacachina. I led the Pool after a few minutes and after I got out for a little while I thought I might fair for a little while. Claudia chatted to a man and we sound out the Pool was 40degrees. Which is pretty hot. I gave it another few goes but I couldn’t get used to the temperature. Afterwards Claudia went back to her hostel and I went out in search of pizza.

On the final day we decided to cycle to the Pailón del Diablo. It’s a waterfall and the ride is 20km downhill which goes past a selection of sights. We met around 10am and collected our bikes and then started off cycling. Most of it was on the main road so I’d have to deal with busses and lorries. It was mostly downhill and pretty steep and we sped off towards the first stop.

We passed several waterfalls and there are tunnels on the route, the first one needs to be cycled through and the others there is a cycle path.

After a few more kilometres there was a bigger waterfall and there is a cable car across the valley. We jumped on and before I knew it we were speeding high across the valley and I was taking photos. It was only on the way back that I realised I hadn’t even considered the height.

After more downhill we parked our bikes, locked them up and followed the path to the waterfall. There is one point where you can go right behind the waterfall. To get there you have to practically crawl on your hands and knees through a tunnel.

We went and had empanadas for lunch as had been suggested and then decided to look at the other side. This involved walking across two high bridges and we got a much better look at the river and the waterfall.

I started having a little play taking close ups of the water and slow mo videos.

We went back to the village and luckily there is a truck that transports is and the bikes back to town.

Afterwards the Sky was a little brighter so I took a few shots of th town which is actually really pretty.

That night we decided to go for pizza. I can never have too much. Claudia went to take her night bus and I was spending one more night before heading to the coast.