ExploringRTW
Registered user
The Quilotoa Loop, as the name suggets, is a loop which takes you into rain forest/cloud country and is principally inhabited by native Ecuadorians. The whole loop is about 200km and is largely unpaved.
We get up fairly early today, take breakfast at our Hotel and head off for the Quilotoa loop. We’re on the road by 09:15 which is pretty decent and are on the loop by about 10 am. The views are staggering and we are both disappointed when the clouds come in and immerse us in rain, and deny us a view. However about an hour later, we are out of the cloud again and the views open up again.
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One of many outstanding views we saw.
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Some really lovely children we met in the hills. The boys name is Wilson.
The Ecuadorian farmers work very hard and will basically plant crops anywhere they will grow, and that includes some near vertical surfaces ! We press on and the road deteriorates to non-paved.
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These indians really know what hard work is - note how far up they have planted thier crops.
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These shots gives you a better idea of the scale of their work.
You can just see the farmers in the middle of the photo.
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We drove through this area which looked like it had an earthquake at some point as each section of land was separated from the next.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636786.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A closer look at a section.
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A bit further along and a very large split section can also be seen.
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A pot hole to outdo the Costa Ricans ! ....riding at night not a good idea....
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The remainder of another road block. These were in many many places. This was a serious protest.
We arrive at Laguna Quilotoa unintentionaly and are charged $1 for entering the area.
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Phil at the entrance to tha Laguna Quilotoa.
Shortly afterwards we stop at a Comedor for coffee and soon are the centre of attention, which results in me buying a small painting…now how did that happen again ??!!
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The two girls served us in the Comedor. I think the man is perhaps one of their Fathers.
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A local boy tries the proverb if the cap fits......still a few more years on the tricycle I think !
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....and another boy tries to embrace the Cinderalla principle....it fits !, it fits !..
We are just about to leave the area on a road we believe to be the one we want when a local points out that the laguna, which is a massive lake in a volcano crater, is right behind us, and we were just about to miss it. Further more, our road lay on the other side of town anyway. We stop the bikes and walk up to the viewing point for the crater.
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The Laguna !
It is very impressive and so is the general view we are able to appreciate.
We leave and find the road we think we need. It is pretty rough, rock and mud, and has obviously suffered from recent rains as it is split into separate sections where rains have flooded along the road line.
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Our initial departure from bumpy to rock, sand and mud.
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A few miles further in.
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We drive through mud, a stream or two and this, the final part of today’s journey, seems to be taking far longer than the map would suggest. We take some comfort in the Lonely Planets mileage estimates (and a conversation Phil had with a young farmer) and press on.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636807.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A few lads riding 3rd and 4th class-look in the back on the truck !
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Phils bashplate gets a clean-Not long before we find our destination.
Finally we arrive at the Rain Cloud Hostel and are pleased to learn that accomodation with a private bathroom and two main meals costs $10 per day !!. The hostel is very nice, and while the food is not cordon bleau, is adequate. Despite only intending to stay the one night I am taken by the solitude and remoteness of our location, and agree with Phil to stay for two.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136700182.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Rain Cloud Hostal.
My bed is rock hard and I have an awful sleep and discuss with our host that I would like a softer bed fo the following night. He agrees and it is left to be done until later in the day.
At breakfast we learn that our host is taking four French guests up to a local cheese factory and then off for a walk in the forest. We too are invited and decide to join them. We are taken by lorry and either sit on a small section on top of the drivers cab or stand on some planks of wood half way down the lorries body. You had to climb up the side of the body to get your place, by which point you discovered that you were sharing the body with a young bull.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638461.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The Taxi !
We set off and the lorry rocked considerably this way and that up these narrow mountainous roads. I don’t think any of us were that relaxed !! Especially as the lorry had to squirm its way through a number of very muddy sections and fairly steep hills necessitating a bit of a charge at the bottom of them !! Hmmmmm, nice !
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637374.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A few llamas we see along our way.
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A necessary survival technique to avoid getting garotted by over-head power cables and trees.
We get to the cheese factory which is basic as the photos show, but as is nearly everywhere in Ecuador, the people are very friendly and we enjoy seeing them in their environment.
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The cheese "factory".
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A Katadyn water filter built in the 50/60´s I guess ! - Still in use. Cheese is awful
!
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The owner of the Rain Cloud Hostals children. We were all given the opportunity for a yoghurt lolly before leaving.
Next we are off on a hike through the rain forest with a 12/13 year old for a guide. It all seemed to start off ok but soon we were re-tracing our steps at a few points and ended up walking through some boggy fields which saturated my boots and feet.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638453.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Hiking with our French comrades.
We are then given the opportunity to visit a waterfall and Phil and I wonder if it will be worth the effort. The waterfall turns out to be ok but the spectacle of three of our French comrades standing under it makes the visit worthwhile !! I would have joined them but was too busy taking these photos for you.
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Thomas, The first to go under the fall.
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Shortly joined by one of his friends, Florin.)
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Now why do they call this a cloud forest ?
We finally get back to the truck and return down the same bumpy track we took on the way out. I sit on top of the cab on the way back which gives me a birds-eye view of where we are going….sometimes ignornace is bliss. Finally we get to a corner which is covered in mud and the lorry gets stuck, despite a few attempts to back up and try again. A few local lads on the lorry are despatched with spades and gardening tools and soon we are underway again., and finally get back to our hostel and lunch.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637381.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Too much mud for one truck !
I have an awful sleep again that night and get up feeling as though I’ve been beaten with a baseball bat during the night. I hurt all over. I am exhausted before the day has even started, and despite the fact that Phil and I have agreed to leave today, am concerned that I will not have enough energy or concentration for the 100km bumpy road to finish the loop. I attempt breakfast which doesn’t go very well. Phil had been reading about altitude sickness in his Guide book and I wonder if this is the cause of my illness. We had climbed up to 4000m the previous day. All things weighed up I decide still to leave and we head off. The exit from our hostal onto the mud track seems perilous to me but we’re off.
I don’t think I can ever remember feeling so ill, it was as much as I could do to not think about how bad I felt and concentrate on driving. The first hour was plain awful. Ordinarily I would have enjoyed the rough track we were on, but all I could see today were accident opportunities for lapsed concentration. Finally we get back to the Pan American highway, find a café and get a snack. I still feel very rough but we decide to push onto Banos, our next venue, as there is concern that the road blocks on the Pan American may well be re-built on Friday and we would then be stuck somewhere potentially undesirable.
We get to Banos and are greeted by the sight of a road accident, shortly after we find a quiet Hostal with Cable TV(with American programs), hot water and a comfortable bed for $8 per night. Bliss. I go to bed at 18:00 and agree to consider dinner at 19:30, but when Phil pokes his head in the door, I am boiling hot and decide to stay in bed until the following morning.
Mike
We get up fairly early today, take breakfast at our Hotel and head off for the Quilotoa loop. We’re on the road by 09:15 which is pretty decent and are on the loop by about 10 am. The views are staggering and we are both disappointed when the clouds come in and immerse us in rain, and deny us a view. However about an hour later, we are out of the cloud again and the views open up again.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637406.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
One of many outstanding views we saw.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636767.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Some really lovely children we met in the hills. The boys name is Wilson.
The Ecuadorian farmers work very hard and will basically plant crops anywhere they will grow, and that includes some near vertical surfaces ! We press on and the road deteriorates to non-paved.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636788.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
These indians really know what hard work is - note how far up they have planted thier crops.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636789.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
These shots gives you a better idea of the scale of their work.
You can just see the farmers in the middle of the photo. <IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637392.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636780.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
We drove through this area which looked like it had an earthquake at some point as each section of land was separated from the next.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636786.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A closer look at a section.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636776.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A bit further along and a very large split section can also be seen.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637400.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A pot hole to outdo the Costa Ricans ! ....riding at night not a good idea....
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637398.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The remainder of another road block. These were in many many places. This was a serious protest.
We arrive at Laguna Quilotoa unintentionaly and are charged $1 for entering the area.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637396.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Phil at the entrance to tha Laguna Quilotoa.
Shortly afterwards we stop at a Comedor for coffee and soon are the centre of attention, which results in me buying a small painting…now how did that happen again ??!!
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636773.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The two girls served us in the Comedor. I think the man is perhaps one of their Fathers.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636804.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A local boy tries the proverb if the cap fits......still a few more years on the tricycle I think !
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636811.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
....and another boy tries to embrace the Cinderalla principle....it fits !, it fits !..
We are just about to leave the area on a road we believe to be the one we want when a local points out that the laguna, which is a massive lake in a volcano crater, is right behind us, and we were just about to miss it. Further more, our road lay on the other side of town anyway. We stop the bikes and walk up to the viewing point for the crater.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637371.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The Laguna !
It is very impressive and so is the general view we are able to appreciate.
We leave and find the road we think we need. It is pretty rough, rock and mud, and has obviously suffered from recent rains as it is split into separate sections where rains have flooded along the road line.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638433.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Our initial departure from bumpy to rock, sand and mud.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637404.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A few miles further in.
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We drive through mud, a stream or two and this, the final part of today’s journey, seems to be taking far longer than the map would suggest. We take some comfort in the Lonely Planets mileage estimates (and a conversation Phil had with a young farmer) and press on.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636807.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A few lads riding 3rd and 4th class-look in the back on the truck !
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637402.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Phils bashplate gets a clean-Not long before we find our destination.
Finally we arrive at the Rain Cloud Hostel and are pleased to learn that accomodation with a private bathroom and two main meals costs $10 per day !!. The hostel is very nice, and while the food is not cordon bleau, is adequate. Despite only intending to stay the one night I am taken by the solitude and remoteness of our location, and agree with Phil to stay for two.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136700182.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Rain Cloud Hostal.
My bed is rock hard and I have an awful sleep and discuss with our host that I would like a softer bed fo the following night. He agrees and it is left to be done until later in the day.
At breakfast we learn that our host is taking four French guests up to a local cheese factory and then off for a walk in the forest. We too are invited and decide to join them. We are taken by lorry and either sit on a small section on top of the drivers cab or stand on some planks of wood half way down the lorries body. You had to climb up the side of the body to get your place, by which point you discovered that you were sharing the body with a young bull.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638461.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The Taxi !
We set off and the lorry rocked considerably this way and that up these narrow mountainous roads. I don’t think any of us were that relaxed !! Especially as the lorry had to squirm its way through a number of very muddy sections and fairly steep hills necessitating a bit of a charge at the bottom of them !! Hmmmmm, nice !
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637374.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A few llamas we see along our way.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637405.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A necessary survival technique to avoid getting garotted by over-head power cables and trees.
We get to the cheese factory which is basic as the photos show, but as is nearly everywhere in Ecuador, the people are very friendly and we enjoy seeing them in their environment.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636764.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The cheese "factory".
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<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636797.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
A Katadyn water filter built in the 50/60´s I guess ! - Still in use. Cheese is awful
! <IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637384.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
The owner of the Rain Cloud Hostals children. We were all given the opportunity for a yoghurt lolly before leaving.
Next we are off on a hike through the rain forest with a 12/13 year old for a guide. It all seemed to start off ok but soon we were re-tracing our steps at a few points and ended up walking through some boggy fields which saturated my boots and feet.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638453.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Hiking with our French comrades.
We are then given the opportunity to visit a waterfall and Phil and I wonder if it will be worth the effort. The waterfall turns out to be ok but the spectacle of three of our French comrades standing under it makes the visit worthwhile !! I would have joined them but was too busy taking these photos for you.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638466.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Thomas, The first to go under the fall.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136638448.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Shortly joined by one of his friends, Florin.)
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136636766.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Now why do they call this a cloud forest ?
We finally get back to the truck and return down the same bumpy track we took on the way out. I sit on top of the cab on the way back which gives me a birds-eye view of where we are going….sometimes ignornace is bliss. Finally we get to a corner which is covered in mud and the lorry gets stuck, despite a few attempts to back up and try again. A few local lads on the lorry are despatched with spades and gardening tools and soon we are underway again., and finally get back to our hostel and lunch.
<IMG SRC="http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL784/4062504/8448420/136637381.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
Too much mud for one truck !
I have an awful sleep again that night and get up feeling as though I’ve been beaten with a baseball bat during the night. I hurt all over. I am exhausted before the day has even started, and despite the fact that Phil and I have agreed to leave today, am concerned that I will not have enough energy or concentration for the 100km bumpy road to finish the loop. I attempt breakfast which doesn’t go very well. Phil had been reading about altitude sickness in his Guide book and I wonder if this is the cause of my illness. We had climbed up to 4000m the previous day. All things weighed up I decide still to leave and we head off. The exit from our hostal onto the mud track seems perilous to me but we’re off.
I don’t think I can ever remember feeling so ill, it was as much as I could do to not think about how bad I felt and concentrate on driving. The first hour was plain awful. Ordinarily I would have enjoyed the rough track we were on, but all I could see today were accident opportunities for lapsed concentration. Finally we get back to the Pan American highway, find a café and get a snack. I still feel very rough but we decide to push onto Banos, our next venue, as there is concern that the road blocks on the Pan American may well be re-built on Friday and we would then be stuck somewhere potentially undesirable.
We get to Banos and are greeted by the sight of a road accident, shortly after we find a quiet Hostal with Cable TV(with American programs), hot water and a comfortable bed for $8 per night. Bliss. I go to bed at 18:00 and agree to consider dinner at 19:30, but when Phil pokes his head in the door, I am boiling hot and decide to stay in bed until the following morning.
Mike
