I have traveled on soo many south american buses i couldnt even how many but the one i took a couple of days ago was epic. Ok so i was going to do the quilota loop outside quito. The quilota loop is a bus ride thru the highlands of equador and it´s tough but rewarding. So we, Me and a girl i met named malliddy, which without would have made it even harder, but we took a bus from quito to latacunga and then took a bus, if u call it that, it was more like an extended van. Mallidy and i were the first one, so i got the seat in the front with some more leg room. Unfortunately for me the bus filled up before we left and then we took off they kept picking up people from the roadside. It only took 30 mins and there the bus was sooo full that the people standing in the aisles had backed up to the front where i was sitting and now there was an old man with a giant pick-axe standing right in front of me, and this bus wasn´t driving on a smooth interstate. We were driving in andean highlands and i was a bit on edge that this massive pick-axe would come crashing down on me. Also all the people on this bus were indigenous, which means they are mountain people, really dark skin, indigenous looking, like bolivians, and they speak quechua, not spanish soo much, and mallidy and i were the only ones who were indigenous, so the stares were frequent and intense.
After that bus ride we finally got to the city where we would do a ¨little¨hike down to the beautiful crater lake. A lake formed on the top of a dead volcano. It was incredibly beautiful and when we started the hike we were approached by some kids and asked if we wanted to rent some donkeys for the hike, only 5 bucks each, we said no thinking we could handle it easily. We hiked down fairly easy, taking a couple pics at the bottom and then we looked up, wowww that is pretty high up there. And then the pain began. Climbing up this massive crater is tough enough, but it didnt help that the altitude doesn´t let you breathe. Also there have been reports of frequent robberies on this hike, and it was getting close to dark, and we had to push ourselves to the brink to get to the top before it was dark.
We made it and paid for a truck taxi to take us to the next town to get a decent hostel with hot water. We stayed there the night, i almost forgot my passport in one of the drawers there, and took another bus. We actually hopped on this bus, and so the bus was already full. GREAT!! I got the privedlge of sitting on this crappy seat right behind the driver with absolutely no legroom and no backrest. And this was for 3 hours, wow lucky me. The drive had amazing scenery though, the villages here are literally in the clouds and we were continually driving through cloud mists.
We ended up in Banos, equador which was one of the best cities i have visited yet. Surrounded by mountains, a tropic climate of around 75 degrees, and waterfalls everywhere. The town is only 10,000 people so it has a small town feel, great nightlife scene, and is absolutely breathtaking scenery. Unfortunately we only could stay there for 1 day and so we walked around, took some pics, bought some souvenirs, and then headed back to quito, on a half decent bus, thank god! Now it´s time for valentine´s day so i am looking forward to the experience!
