20/10/2022 From Cali, Colombia to Quito, Ecuador
Another cold night bus
The 11-hour-night-bus-ride from Cali to the Colombian border didn’t go as well as expected. It seemed as if I had the worst seat in the entire bus. The little TV in front of me couldn’t be turned off. So I had a bright white light blinding me the entire night. Moreover, the AC was dripping on me. Therefore, Blake gave me his raincoat so that I wouldn’t get wet inside the bus. And lastly, the AC was really really cold! The joys of long bus rides in Latin America!
Crossing the border by foot
At 7.15 a.m. we arrived in Ipiales, where 10°C felt freezing cold after the 30°C in Cali. We took a taxi to the border, received our exit stamp for Colombia, walked over the bridge to enter Ecuador, got our entry stamp for Ecuador and took another taxi to a town called Tulcan. We have heard from other travellers that this process can take up the whole day. But luckily, we were done within 30 minutes. From here we caught another bus for six hours that drove us to Quito.
The good thing about the street vendors in Latin America is that they get onto the bus to sell their snacks, so we didn’t even have to get up for food. The landscape on the way was stunning with lots of mountains and valleys in the Ecuadorian Andes.
What to expect
Quito
Made it to Quito, Ecuador
After another taxi ride to our hostel, we made it to Quito at 4 p.m. after having left the last hostel in Cali at 7 p.m. the previous night. I personally don’t mind travel days as I use them to reflect on the previous place and past experiences or to listen to podcasts. If I am really motivated, I do even listen to a Spanish lesson. Mind you, I’m only on episode 3, so there goes my motivation level…
“Local” cuisine
And where do you go first when you just got to Ecuador? Of course – to an Indian restaurant! We were both craving comfort food after the long journey. So curry and naan bread made totally sense to us 😉.
21/10/2022 Quito
Great hostel
Our hostel Terra Premium Hostal Boutique is amazing! It’s quite luxurious for our standards (I mean usually people don’t carry our backpacks to our room): the beds are comfy and we had a shower with hot water (not usual at all). Moreover, the free breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, yoghurt, fruits and granola, a cheese sandwich, a fresh fruit juice and a coffee, was amazing!
Colder than usual
Quito is located at 2850m, which makes it the second highest capital in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia). Too bad that we had only packed summer clothes, so we put on many layers to stay warm. To be fair, the weather is really unpredictable in Quito and in the morning it was still quite warm, while it usually rains in the afternoon (sounded familiar to the weather in Colombia).
Join a free walking tour
In the morning we joined a free walking tour from the Secret Garden Hostel in order to get a good overview of the city and to get to know other backpackers. (These tours always interesting, but also great for insider travel tips about the country from other travellers)
Do some chocolate tasting
The three-hour-tour was great and ended with one of my favourite activities: chocolate tasting! Ecuador produces some of the best chocolate in the world! (It is also used for a lot of European chocolate, such as Lindt.)
The tour also included an empanada stop, we tried some sweets with liquor inside (not tasty!) and saw many churches and other interesting buildings, while learning about the city, the people and the country’s economy (they are using the US dollar as their currency).
Go to the equator
After the tour we drove an hour north of Quito to see the middle of the earth: the equator.
Two equator lines
The equator line actually exists twice in Ecuador, only 200m apart from each other. The first line is the historical equator line. The second equator line is the technological one that was measured with a GPS.
Ecuador means “equal distance and time”. Since Ecuador is so close to the equator, the country does not have four seasons. Furthermore, every day looks the same, when the sun rises at 6 a.m. and goes down at 6 p.m.. Even the water doesn’t flush in one direction right on the equator whereas it flows counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Those experiments at the equator were really fascinating!
historical line 
technological line
22/10/2022 Quito
Mapping out our time in Ecuador
When we enter a new country, it can be overwhelming at first what our travel route could look like and where to go next. That’s why we like talking to other backpackers to hear about their plans. On the free walking tour as well as on the tour to the equator we met a lot of people that gave us great ideas. There is so much to see and do in Ecuador! This is why the next few weeks in Ecuador are going to be quite busy. Therefore, we had a relaxing morning in our great hostel – you appreciate a clean room with your own bathroom and a warm (!) shower and a comfy bed so much more after some time on the road.
Eat like local at the Mercado Central
For lunch we went to the “Mercado Central”, where we got two big plates for $2.50 each and a warm drink that tasted like Christmas for $0.70 The food was very delicious and the market had lots of fresh fruit and vegetables besides all the inexpensive dishes.
We also ran into two German girls at the market who we had met at the walking tour the day before. Together with them we explored the old town a bit more.
Later that day Blake and I went to a brew pub for some craft beer and to celebrate our start in a new country (and maybe also to celebrate our four-year-anniversary – but who is keeping track 😉?!).
23/10/2022 From Quito to Quilotoa
Do a day trip to Quilotoa
Quilotoa is a water-filled crater lake and the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes.”
wikipedia
Since there are so many things we would like to do in Ecuador, we have to watch our time a little bit. Normally you can do a three-day-hike to the crater of Quilotoa. But to save on time, we decided to do the day trip with an organized tour – the German efficient way 😉!
Problems with the altitude
Unfortunately, the altitude was quite hard on me. I had a massive headache and felt pretty sick on the three-hour-drive to the volcano.
On the way we also learnt more about a local tribe. You know it is a tourist trap when the local community is trying to sell souvenirs to you. It was a bit disappointing and too commercialized for our liking, but we were only here for the crater anyways.
Incredible views over the crater
The lookout of the crater was at almost 4000m. No wonder I felt light-headed. The view was stunning and together with an American girl we hiked down the slippery sandy path inside the crater.
After staying at the bottom of the crater for a bit and enjoying the view from down there (it looked more stunning from the top), it was time to hike the 400m up again.
It strongly reminded me of the “happy hour” from the Lost City Trek in Colombia, where we also hiked uphill for one hour straight. The only difference was the high altitude this time, which made the breathing and walking a lot harder.
Vegetarian options
Once we made it back to the top, we had a three-course-meal with the other internationals from our tour. It’s nice that a vegetarian option has always been offered on all of our organized tours throughout Central and South America.
Big adventure ahead
We got back to Quito at 7.30 p.m.. Normally we would be heading back to our hostel now. But for tonight we don’t have a hostel booked. We are taking a 12-hour-night-bus and making one of our big dreams come true: we are going to spend the next four days in the Amazon!
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