Laguna Quilatoa

Last friday my classes at Quinchicoto were cancelled for teacher training hooray! So I took advantage of the long weekend, packed up my little rucksack, and headed off for the well-known but off the beaten track Laguna Quilatoa, a crater lake up in the mountains. Distance-wise it is not too far from Ambato but it´s unpaved road half the way and there is only 1 bus a day, so it takes 5+ hours to get to! My lodging was the famous (in the eco-world) eco-hostel Black Sheep Inn, a lovely place, all vegetarian, green, very welcoming, with composting toilets with possibly the best view in the world.

Despite my guidebook saying you had to reserve as it´s very popular, the first night there were only 2 other guests, then the next day a few more turned up. The setting is fantastic, on the side of a hill overlooking a range of valleys and canyons. Completely cut-off from civilisation with the only sounds those of the farm animals on the hostel grounds and in the valley.

I had one full day there and had hoped to do the popular hike from the lake back to the hostel, mostly downhill, through a dramatic canyon, but a) didn´t fancy doing it on my own and b) to get to the lake you have to catch the one bus a day which passes the hostel at an insane 3AM! So instead I joined the other 2 guests on a more leisurely hike from the hostel to the nearby cloud forest. Cloud forest, you may say, what is that, as I had wondered also, is it not just a forest which is a bit misty at times? For there are surely many of those in the British Isles. But no, it turns out to be a super-humid forest full of orchids, vines, bromeliads, and other exciting things. My photos don´t do it proper justice as it did look like something from a fairy tale.

The next day I was returning home and visited the lake on the way... so after that being the point of my trip to the area, I only ended up spending half an hour there! Fortunately the sunday bus service was much more extensive than other days so I was able to avoid the 3am bus and catch a more civilised 9.30am instead. I got to the lake, took a few photos, bought a nice woolly hat, and caught a ride down to the next town where I would catch the first bus on the long journey back to Ambato.