Since the Galapagos I've spent a lot of time in and around Quito. I was here for the Easter celebrations which were interesting. On Good Friday there were lots of processions through the town with people wearing purple robes with pointy hats covering everything but the eyes. There were also men carrying incredibly heavy wooden crosses with other people beating them as they walked along. I even saw a man with a cross on his back made of cacti which was causing him to bleed.

I took a day trip to Cotopaxi where I climbed some of it (I would have liked to climb to the top but the weather at the moment isn't good enough) and then ran and cycled down it which was great fun!!! This was quite surprising given my usual hate-hate relationship with bikes!

I've also done a lot of walking around the Quilatoa Loop which included lots of getting lost!! In one hike I managed to add a couple of hours to the trip by taking a slight detour!! Good sightseeing along the way though!!

The lake in the volcanic crater at Quilatoa is amazing! I walked down to the lake and then back up again before walking around the whole crater. This pretty much took the whole day!

I also managed to befriend one of the dogs at the hostel where I was staying and he decided to accompany me on one of my walks. Little did he know that I was walking to the next village 5 hours away and not coming back! After about 3 hours of walking he was looking a bit weary so I managed to flag down a passing truck and get the driver to deliver the dog back to the hostel!