Arrived at the square wrapped up in our winter woolies in time to catch the 4am bus, the only one of the day, to Quilotoa. Arriving shortly after 5am and in the dark we guessed at which hill looked like it might have a crater lake lurking behind it and headed off in that direction. Wrong guess, confirmed by a quick chat with the only other person up in the town, and we trudged off in the other direction. Reached the edge of the crater, with the spectacular view o...

8.00 bus from Banos to Latacunga. Bit of a wait for bus to Chugchilan, during which Rob got chatted up: question 1 - which country are you from? question 2 - are you married? 4 hours, many winding mountain roads, a few minor diversions around landslides, and a few villages later, arrived in Chugchilan. Popped to the square and bought some street food, which we ate watching some youngsters kick a football around near the church. Given the lack of information and o...

Picked up some mountain bikes and set off down the ruta las cascadas (touristy waterfall route - full of ecuadorean tourists on a Saturday!). After having to stop 3 or 4 times in the first few kms to fix my bike chain, thought our little cycle may turn in to a bit of a disaster. Fortunately though we bumped in to the bloke who rented us the bikes - he pointed out that one of the cog spokes was missing. Instructed not to use the bottom gear, we continued on our wa...

Jumped in a little action jeep with the guide and a Swiss girl to head off for our canyoning experience (canyoning being a bit like abseiling, but with the added novelty of it being down waterfalls and therefore rather slippery rock). Climbed upwards for about 15mins sampling a fruit similar to a passion fruit and whiffing plants used for herbal remedies. Negotiated 5 cascadas, some backwards, some forwards, some jumping, some slipping, some sliding (literally, o...

Lovely breakfast at Hostel Chimenea before picking up our guide and our horses, Cocalisa and Poppy. After gingerly jumping on, the horses gingerly shuffled up the mountain path. Uphill was tricky, but it was nothing on coming down - some parts were very steep! The risk of broken bones and the sore bums afterwards was justified by the amazing views of Tungurahua volcano, the town and the surrounding valleys ..... oh and the cool treehouse and swing at the top. Wen...