The Quilotoa Loop

After about a week at the beach in Canoa, Ecuador, we managed to pull ourselves out of the hammocks and away from body-boarding. We forsook our diet of pizza, ceviche, and banana-coladas, and decided that we should once again do something with our lives besides slowly turning into beach bums. The remedy? Grab our hiking shoes and head up into the mountains.

One of the main things we have been looking forward to in Ecuador is hiking and experiencing rural culture around the Quilotoa loop. The loop is comprised of several small mountain villages connected by trails, the most noted village being that of Quilotoa which is situated at the top of a spectacular volcanic crater lake.

We chose to hike from north to south, slowly rising in elevation and ending our last day at the crater lake. We found that the experience did not disappoint us. We hiked a total of about 15 hours in three days, staying in local hostels each night. Sandwiched in the middle was a recovery-from-food-poisoning (Rich) and relaxation (Kendra) day. The hikes ranged from walking on dirt roads, along a river, through grassy fields, and on rocky ledge paths. Some of the areas we passed through were lush and green, but most were surprisingly dry and hot. The final day was the hardest hike as we descended 500 meters (that's 1640 feet Americanos) down into a canyon and then climbed 1000 meters back up out of the canyon, through a town, and then to the top of the volcano. Afterward we bundled up into every layer we own and camped ourselves next to the hostel's wood burning stove as the elevation changed had dropped the temperature dramatically.

As absolutely beautiful as the vistas were, and they were spectacular, one of the more interesting parts of the route is visiting some of the small mountain villages. While some of the villages seemed very used to tourists, we did travel through a few that are newer to the loop that hikers pass through. As we hiked through and near these villages, people stopped to talk with us, shake our hands, and help point us out in the right direction. We got a few “where are you going” as we can assume that they assumed we were a little lost to be in that area.

It happened that we passed through one of these towns on November 2nd, Dia De Los Muertos. In Ecuador, as in many Latin American countries, Dia De Los Muertos is a time to remember your loved ones who have passed away. In the streets people sell flowers, cards, and bread baked in the shape of a baby or child (how this relates to dead relatives we are a little unsure...). Families then spend the day in the cemetery where priests conduct mass. Food is sold outside the walls of the cemetery and then brought in to enjoy and "share" with their deceased relatives. It was a pleasant experience to stumble upon this celebration in such a small and intimate setting.

Overall the hike resembled and surpassed the Sierra Norte hike we did in Mexico. It was also a great way for Rich to acclimatize for his upcoming mountaineering adventure and it provided a great excuse for Kendra to hit the spa for some pampering.