After a marathon flight (London to Quito , Ecuador via Miami and Bogota, Colombia), I arrived in Quito, the bustling capital of Ecuador. It was 11:30pm, so after checking into Hostel Huauki, I hit the sack and was in the land of nod within 10 minutes.
The following day, I jumped on a bus heading south. I have until the 25th September to work my way down to Lima, where Im meeting my parents for a Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca adventure, so timing is tight.
I planned to stop at Latacunga, a town 3 hours south of Quito. However, when I arrived, I took one look out of the window, and decided to stay put on the bus and head a bit further south. Latacunga was far from the prettiest of towns, and the locals didnt seem overly friendly either.
After a further 3 hours, and a beautiful scenic drive through the Ecuadorian mountains, I arrived in beautiful Banos. Banos is a small town in a basin, surrounded by the peaks of the central highlands, and with a token volcano to boot. I had read it was a travellers hotspot, and so, feeling a little lonely, went in search of fellow nomads. However, even after checking into the highly popular and supposedly highly social Hostal Plantas y Blanco, I still failed to find a single foreigner. I finally came across an english couple on their honeymoon, who gave me the answer. It seems the volcano erruped 3 weeks ago, and everyone was evacuated! Many travellers have understandably since been steering clear of it. The good news, so a local told me, was the boiling lava has now stopped flowing. Clearly, it would pay to read the traveller warnings before I venture into the unknown!
Despite this, Banos is a beautiful town, and Im planning to spend the day here tomorrow, and possibly take a horse-ride up the mountains to a natural hot-spring for a little dip.
Will give you an update on how it goes, and fingers crossed, the volcano isnt planning a second eruption!
