D204 - D219: From Otavalo to Guayaquil, Ecuador – 4 to 19 October 2012

My first stop in Ecuador was Otavalo, a city famous for its Saturday indigenous market. It was surprising to see that the city is mainly governed by the local indigenous community. They own most the businesses and a lot more while they are still preserving their traditional clothing, language and rituals. The male are wearing their long hair in a pigtail with white trousers and alpaca sweaters whereas the women have long skirts, embroiled tops and an interesting headwear. Both female and male wear a Mallorcan style sandals made out of cord.

On D205 we had breakfast and we said our goodbyes with Sebastian. After travelling long hours the previous day I decided it I would chill for a couple of days. The only thing that I did that day was to walk around the town and ate a local fried chicken fast food.

D206 was a Saturday which meant the biggest indigenous market day of the week held on Plaza de Poncho. For couple of hours I checked out the market that reminded me a lot of Peru. 

Later on I got on the bus to visit Iluman a small village nearby situated on a hill. It was totally tranquil but this did not come as a surprise as it was Saturday afternoon. In the evening I watched “The way back” with Colin Farrell at the freezing cold old style Theatre.

The Sunday plan for D207 was to walk around the Laguna Chuicocha just a short bus and pick-up trip from Otavalo. 

Just before reaching the lake three youths asked me to share the expense of the pick-up. The four of us ended up walking, laughing and sharing food for the next five hours. The uphill walking left me breathless due to the altitude whereas my new walking buddies were like little agile bunnies. It was impressive to see the joy they had and also how much they know about the plants living in the wild.

At Rincon El Viajero I met two nice couple from England and Australia. The Australian couple just came back from Galapagos and they were raving about it. This made me re-organize my plan to fit in the visit to the unique archipelago.

After four days in Otavalo it was about time to move my backside to Quito on D208. Once in Quito I was dropped off by the farthest terminal. This was not enough the guy responsible for the bags hesitated to return my backpack (it might have been a lost in translation situation). So I stood there waiting when the bus started moving with rucksack. My first reaction was to run after it like a lunatic. Luckily everywhere in Latin America is full of policemen so they stopped the bus for me. After the smallish drama and longish taxi drive to the historical centre, finally I managed to check in into the modern and spotless Community Hostel.

Quito at 2850m is a chilly-hilly charismatic capital with a flawless historical centre and a full stocked tourist neighbourhood. In the afternoon I strolled around the historical centre. Back at the hostel I met Melissa with whom I shared the dorm. She just came back from Galapagos and she was also raving about it. Initially I gave up on visiting the Galapagos due to high price. But listening to people who have been there I realized that I am here now and I should not miss out on this once in a life time opportunity.

Next morning (D209) I was on a mission to explore my options of how get there by going from one tour agency to another. By the end of the afternoon I had my flight ticket and cruise booked for 7 days starting from 20 of October. I was ecstatically happy about this! Later on I took the Ecovia (local transport) at rush hour to the Quicentro Mall for some retail therapy / window shopping. Riding the Ecovia at rush hour is an unforgettable experience. The amount of people that can get on it is just unreal. I was a bit scared and aware that somebody can rob me but my adventurous side wanted to try it out. Definitely my adrenaline level was high.

On D209 five of us from the hostel went to walk the Equatorial line at Mitad del Mundo. This is a touristic complex around 22 km from Quito and it is built 300m south from the actual Equator (0 degree 0 minutes latitude). Here you could feel that the Sun was burning but due to the over 2500m altitude this was bearable. In the evening we went for some canelazo a hot alcoholic drink with bitter orange, blackberry juice and some local spirit.

The following day (D211) I decided it to climb up to one of towers of Basilica del Voto Nacional. People warned me that it has dodgy and steep stairs with the court of the church underneath it. At first I was fine but after seeing the first part of dramatic stairs my Fazakas - Lengyel genetic fear of heights kicked in. I felt I reached my limit and I cannot continue. But I crossed my limit and crawled up the stairs with shaky body, sweaty foot and hands. 

I was hoping that at the top there would be another way down but I was wrong. After calming myself down and enjoying the view of Quito from the above, I set on to face my fear and was determined to get down in one piece. Almost at the bottom of stairs some guys offered me to help me with my handbag. I assume I had a scary face and they pitied me. Definitely this activity is not for the faint-hearted. I would not do it again. Oh Hell NO! Even after 30 minutes of getting down my whole body was still shaking.

Next I wandered around the museum of Camillo Egas a local indigenous painter from the first part of the last decade. His work is depicting rituals, habits of indigenous community.

I wanted to visit the Palacio Presidencial on Plaza Grande, where the current president carries out his daily tasks. But due to the long queue I decided to return later. Instead I visited the Iglesia La Compania de Jesus, an impressive kitschy church ornate with golden wooden carvings.

I returned to queue at the side of the Palacio Presidencial. After 45 minutes queuing finally my turn came. But the female guide did not let me in with the copy of my passport despite the fact that shortly before the security guard told me it was fine. I was very angry but because I really wanted to see this palace I had no choice just to return to the hostel and get it. On my return I entered and I was walked around with a bunch of impatient Ecuadorian.

At the palace state gifts from different countries were displayed. Among these was a gift from Hungary. At the end of the tour I was shocked to see that this guide would let in the tourists with their copy of the passport. Injustice makes my blood boil but in this case I just had to let it go.

On D212 I said goodbye to Quito but I was not sure where I was heading. On the trolley I decided I would take a bus to Lacatunga to reach Laguna Quilotoa. One of the things that l like about travelling alone is that you can take spontaneous, last minute decisions. In Lacatunga I was lucky and I could get a bus almost instantly. The Quilotoa Loop has the reputation that the transportation is scarce. Travelling through picturesque Andean villages, valleys and hills of different shades of brown - green I could understand why it is a recommended place by LP.

Once in Laguna Quilotoa the temperature was dropped quite dramatically. I was directed to an ice cold room with two floors. In Ecuador they do not have heaters only use endless number of warm blankets. At places with an altitude of over 2500 after the sunset the cold kicks in. The local community of Quilotoa is settled on the rim of the crater and it consists of maximum of 300 indigenous people. They had indoor markets, a lot of hostels and they seemed hard workers and organized.

At 8’clock the next morning (D213) I descended to the scenic crater lake and hung out for a while before I returned to climb the steep hill.

Later on I was given a free a lift to Lacatunga by two environmental workers. On the way we stopped to have a local lunch at Pujili.

From Lacatunga I took a bus to Ambato to reach Guaranda. One the way to Guaranda the bus reached 4000m and passed by the Volcan Chimpirazo (6310m), highest Volcano in Ecuador. It was 7 o'clock by the time I got to Guaranda. Due to being Saturday night the terminal was closed so I was dropped at the front. There was no sight of a taxi so I started walking uphill with the hope that I was going in the right direction. I did not have a lot of information about this town not to mention a map. Luckily a taxi driver passed by and stopped. He brought me to Hotel Bolivar which was way more expensive than what the LP was quoting. But I stayed as I did not know another place. After reaching my seventh month milestone I noticed my energy level is dropping because of the constant movement.

The following day was a Sunday (D214) and in order to regain my energy I decided to do absolutely nothing just stay warm and watch movies.

On D215 I moved to the nearby Salinas, a mountain village famous for its cheeses, chocolates prepared based on Swiss recipes. After reaching this compact and extremely cold village, I settled at Hostel Samilagua. I did a quick village tour stopping by the cheese factory and enjoying a proper hot chocolate at the chocolate factory. Due to the cold and mist I stayed most of the time in the cold room covered by three blankets to keep myself warm.

The next morning (D216) I went for a walk up to the cross and visited the nearby salt mine.

I am slowly but surely getting fed up freezing my arse off in the beautiful Andes. 

Just before saying farewell on D217 I made a last stop in Alausi the charming valley town surrounding by dramatic mountains. This is the starting point for the train down to the Nariz del Diablo (The Devil’s Nose).

The morning of D218 I took the touristy train through dramatic scenery down to Sibambe passing through the Nariz del Diablo in zigzag. The trip was 12.5 km long starting at 2350m and descending to 1800m. The Nariz del Diablo package is totally designed for tourists.

Upon our arrival in Sibambe we were greeted by some dancing locals. Then at the top of the hill we were served breakfast and a guide were explaining the history of the railway.

Just before midday I took a five hour bus trip to Guayaqil, the second largest city in Ecuador.

On D219 I just visited the Malecon 2000, walked up 444 steps to the top of the Cerro Santa Ana, strolled around the streets of the downtown and getting ready for my week adventure on the Galapagos.