Seven Days in Ecuador

On By Renata & Ted

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 After leaving surf rich Peru, we headed north to Ecuador. Since there was zero surf in Ecuador’s forecast, we made our way to Quito, the world’s highest capital city at 9,350 feet. Quito was founded by a Spanish conquistador 500 years ago, and many of the city’s oldest buildings and churches reflect a Spanish feel in their architecture. We spent the first day or two getting around on the city’s extremely popular public bus system (it literally took us three stops of squeezing by people just to exit the bus), and visited some of Quito’s amazing cathedrals. We also visited the Water Museum, which sits on a hillside above the city and provides some breathtaking views.

Ecuador’s landscape is dotted with  towering active volcanoes and crater lakes. We took a four bus ride out of Quito and hiked one of Ecuador’s most visually dramatic lakes, Cuicocha. It’s an up-and-down 8 mile hike along a rocky ridge, and about half way through the sky opened up and pelted us with heavy rain and pebble sized hale. We decided to turn around, and although we were both drenched, the incredible scenery made it an unforgettable hike.

We also hiked the much flatter and sunnier Lake Yahuarcocha near the town of Ibarra. It was more like a three mile stroll along the shore, including a stop to ride a swan shaped pedal boat around the lake.

No trip to Ecuador would be complete without a visit to one of South America’s most famous markets, the Saturday Market in Otavalo.  About a third of the town’s roadways are closed to motor traffic, and hundreds of vendor booths line both sides of the streets. This overwhelming array of colorful fabrics, cool handicrafts, and beautiful clothing was a true test of our will power and luggage space.

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