So, after my summit of Cotapaxi it was time to do touristy stuff and so off I went to see the Equator with a spanish couple on their honeymoon and Andy a kiwi chap. There are two equator sites as one is in the wrong spot following a gps survey by the US government some 15 years ago but this only meant that we had to get photos of having a foot in each hemisphere at both sites. Possible a ploy to get more tourista pesetos. Anyway, in the process we saw shrunken heads, fish that swim up your bits if you pee in an Amazonian waterway and loads of guineapigs, which I must try as they are quite popular on the dinner plate over here.

There´s not much to do in Quito as a tourist and I wasted several dollars (US dollar is the currency over here) going into convents and monastaries where the best bit was a small glass of sherry made by the nuns. On the Sat night a group from the hostel ventured into the new town for a drink and some salsa and I have never seen so many bars and clubs all smack bang next to each other. Amazing. No touists either! A great night was had by all.

The next day I head off with Andy and Em to what is called the Quilotoa Loop, which is 200km of walking, hiking, busing and catching milk trucks in what is supposedly one of Ecuador´s most beautiful parts. We stayed in tiny villages where the water was cut off sometimes and a hot shower was heaven sent. We went on hikes and got lost, took the wrong directions and hence took twice the time to finish but had loads of laughs along the way seeking directions off mountain locals and saw some things that normal tourists wouldn´t.....like wee houses on mountain sides, school kids with massive smiles working the garden at lunch time, people offering a glass of their orange juice cask and girls herding cows along the trail eating Oreos. Man the people here are just so friendly and that is one thing that stands out.

The highlight of the loop was definitely the Quilotoa Crater and we managed a hike around this in 5 hours with a little getting lost along the way in the rain. In this area the fog rolls in like clockwork at 2pm and is somehting to do with oceanic winds cooling at the mountain ranges but it seriously looks like an eery scene out of the movies. Mist and fog swarm in completely blanketing the whole mountain range and fill the crater. Again, check out the pics already posted.

The food here is pretty good too and you can get two course meals for $US1.50 and dinner for a bit more if you go to the right places. These generally consist of a soup followed by a plate of stewed meat, rice and veg. Pretty good grub really. I´m now in Banos where I´ll chill for a few days after so much exercise before heading into Peru......