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06.01.2020: Laguna de Yambo via Cañon Río Toachi to Laguna Quilotoa
We managed to get back up the steep hill the next morning although Kirsten wanted me to stop for photos!! Ha! No way!! It was too steep!
Our next stop was Laguna Quilatoa to see the crater of an extinct volcano. The road up to it had innumerable bends and curves as we snaked our way up to 3863m. We got stuck in a procession and needed to pay $2-50 to get through. Unfortunately there were a lot of drunks even though it was only 1pm!!
Then we missed a turn and it was impossible to turn around. The road was too narrow and there is a deep V shaped concrete gulley running alongside the road for water run off during the rainy season which meant we had to drive uphill 4km before we found a driveway we could use.
After stopping at the Cañon Río Toachi viewpoint for coffee we got up to Laguna Quilotoa at 4pm. We paid an entrance fee of $3 and went for quite a strenuous walk along the crater rim for 2 hours. The crater laguna seemed 300 to 400m below us but there was a path down to it where canoes were available to rent.
Laguna Quilotoa - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
We stayed up on the crater rim and when we got back to the village we bought 2 hats and a neck ring that were really soft and warm. It was freezing cold!! We only wore them that evening so it probably wasn't worth it!!
07. - 08.01.2020: Laguna Quilotoa to Cotopaxi volcano (5.897m)
After another walk along the rim in the other direction the following morning we drove along a loop road with more bends that dropped from 3900m to 2300m and then went back up to 3600m.
The road eventually descended back down to the Panamerican Highway and we parked next to a sports field with a great view of Cotopaxi - Ecuador's second highest peak at 5,897m. It's extremely active and a large part of the flank came down in the last eruption in 2015!!
A heavy storm came over in the evening with lots of rain, thunder and lightning. We decided to take another day off the following day to work on our website because we're too far behind but I also cut Kirsten's hair and she trimmed mine. At least the weather cleared enough so we could see the top of the volcano. Plus there was no eruption - always a bonus!!
09.01.2020: Cotopaxi volcano via Saquisilí to Quito
We headed north to Quito the capital of Ecuador where we planned to get various repairs done. It was 130km away so we did some sightseeing en route.
Our first stop was Saquisilí where Kirsten jumped out in the dustiest place on Earth to go and see some pigs being sold!! Well, it was supposed to be an interesting animal market and we'd got up early and driven there before even having a cup of tea or breakfast to see it!
At least our banana pancakes were worth the wait! In the town, we picked up some fruit and veg before getting back onto the dual carriageway to Quito. (We had a detour because we took the wrong road and then couldn't turn left, north, onto the main road. So it meant going south for 5km so we could turn around.
Quito is situated in a valley and surrounded by high mountains. It's quite a scenic drive coming in but there was a lot of traffic. We stopped at a supermarket for supplies and then made our way to the garage. We tried to turn left at a traffic light junction and other drivers were honking their horns. A police officer came and tapped on my window and told me to pull over to the side of the road. He told me we weren't allowed to turn left. I told him that there was only a sign saying no U turn but no sign saying no left turn. He told me that on main roads there is no left turn in Quito! Hmm. How are we supposed to know that if there aren't any signs???
I asked him a few questions to make sure I understood and he let us go. Thank goodness the police in Ecuador are decent. Sadly that's not always the case in South America. So we ended up doing a few extra right turns around various blocks whenever we needed to turn left and we didn't get to Autoexpert until 5-20pm, only 10 minutes before they were due to close!
We'd found Autoexpert on iOverlander, a truly invaluable website for travellers. It had been highly recommended by several people. We spoke to Diego and Marcello who both speak good English and explained the knocking noises every time we turned sharp left or right.
There were several other things we needed doing aswell so they told us they'd take a look at 8-30am the next day (Friday) and said we could stay overnight. They even let us plug in for electricity, and there's an outdoor toilet and water we could use. Super!
Great detour from the Pan-American Highway.
