Quilotoa Loop (E)

I continued my trip north by heading out of Baños on a two hour bus journey to Latacunga, starting point for what is known as the “Quilotoa Loop”. Quilotoa is the name of one of the many volcanoes in this area and travelling around the mountain by public transport is a good way to spend a few days off the main tourist routes, seeing stunning landscape and indigenous communities.

Whilst riding a local bus from Latacunga to Chugchilán, my first destination of the loop, the scenery was breathtaking. We were climbing to approx 3,900 meters, seeing the rugged Andean mountains, snow capped volcanoes and deep valleys in the distance. I found a very cozy hostel in the small settlement of Chugchilán, my base for the next day’s hike from the Quilotoa crater. Luckily I met an English couple who wanted to do the same trek so we could team up and split the cost.



We set off on a pick-up truck after a good breakfast. The one hour ride brought us to the rim of the volcano where our driver found us a guide to accompany us for the five hour hike. After gazing at the emerald green crater lake we made our way down the volcano into lush green valleys and through a deep canyon before ascending back into Chugchilán.



The next morning I started the long journey to Colombia. The only possibility to leave Chugchilán (other than the 3am or 4am bus) was jumping on the milk truck to Sigchos. The truck stops at many houses along the way -buying and selling milk from/to local farmers. The milk is stored in simple plastic containers together with dirt & dust from the road. The tour turned out to be really good fun and we were able to experience a part of the local way of living.

I continued my journey by bus through Quito to Ibarra, where I spent the night and arrived at the border town of Tulcán the next morning.


Pick-up ride up to the volcano


Fancy more volcanoes? Here is Cotopaxi

Baños (G)

Nächste Station war das ca. 7 Stunden weiter nördlich gelegene Baños. Das bei Einheimischen sowie ausländischen Touristen beliebte Städtchen liegt auf 1‘820 Meter über Meer, eingekesselt zwischen steilen Felswänden und zu Fusse des mächtigen Tungurahua Vulkans. Der Vulkan ist derzeit ziemlich aktiv und hat in den vergangenen Monaten die Bevölkerung auf Trab gehalten mit Sperrung des Luftraumes und Evakuationsübungen in Baños und den umliegenden Dörfern.



Ich habe mich über die Vulkanischen Aktivitäten im Vorfeld schlau gemacht und bin trotz Abraten Auswärtiger Ämter nach Baños gereist. Insgesammt drei Tage habe ich dort verbracht und die umliegenden Täler und Berge bewandert. Das Wetter hatte es gut mit mir gemeint und so konnte ich die Regenausrüstung getrost im Hostel zurücklassen und die kurzen Hosen auspacken.

Zum Schluss spielte dann auch der Vulkan mit und verschabschiedete sich mit einem Asche-“husten“.



Eine kulinarische Spezialität sei hier auch noch erwähnt: Was bei uns in so manchem Kinderzimmer rum rennt, wird hier gerne zu Reis oder Pommes serviert – Das “Cuy“, oder zu Deutsch Meerschweinchen, schmeckt nicht besonders (der Geschmack ist ähnlich dem eines Kaninchens) und Fleisch ist auch nicht viel an den Knochen. Nachdem ich es vor ein paar Jahren schon mal in Peru degustieren durfte, hab ich’s mal wieder probiert und werde es in Zukunft wohl sein lassen.

Quito, Otavalo & Cuenca (E)

After arriving in Quito I took a taxi to the hotel where I was supposed to meet Cyrill (a friend from Basel) and his girlfriend Regula. Unfortunately Cyrill had missed his flight from the United States and would not arrive for another two days. Regula & I decided not to wait in Quito but to make good use of these two days and travel to Otavalo for the famous saturday market (one of the biggest markets in all of South America).

A short bus ride brought us to Otavalo where Regula had worked for the last four month as a volunteer. We met some of the other volunteers and had a look around town. On Saturday we set off to explore the huge market which occupies a fair bit of the town centre - vendors sell fruits, vegetables, tourist souvenirs, animals and much more. In the evening we took the bus back to Quito airport where we finally met Cyrill.



We spent the next few days together exploring Quito, cooking in the hostel and planning our next steps. I did not have an exact idea where to go in South America so I needed a while to read into this huge continent and to decide where to start. I finally booked a cheap short flight the Cuenca in the south of Ecuador and said good-bye to Cyrill & Regula who were leaving for the Galapagos Islands the same day.

I decided to start in southern Ecuador and make my way up through the country and into Colombia. Cuenca is Ecuador’s third-largest city and due to the large amount of old colonial buildings a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city and region is also famous for the production of the Panama hat, a traditional brimmed hat that has its origin here and doesn’t have much to do with Panama. I instantly liked the city with its relaxed atmosphere and chose it to be my “home” for the next ten days while I was taking Spanish lessons (four hours a day) to improve my quasi non-existent Spanish. I found an excellent cheap hostel with amazing food and enjoyed my free time at the city’s museums, markets & cafes.

Otavalo Market




Panama Hat Showroom