COTOPAXI
From Banos we continued to the cityLatacunga where we went on a guided trip to Cotopaxi with a company called Tovar. We made it to the top! Well almost… we barely managed to finish our day trip to see baby Cotopaxi and other views. The weather was definitely against us. Up to a point that I could not breathe because the wind was so strong. And the fact that the summit was playing hide and seek the all way behind the clouds did not make it easier. But I'm happy we went because it was a good preparation for Chuchilan´s altitude.
From Banos we continued to the cityLatacunga where we went on a guided trip to Cotopaxi with a company called Tovar. We made it to the top! Well almost… we barely managed to finish our day trip to see baby Cotopaxi and other views. The weather was definitely against us. Up to a point that I could not breathe because the wind was so strong. And the fact that the summit was playing hide and seek the all way behind the clouds did not make it easier. But I'm happy we went because it was a good preparation for Chuchilan´s altitude.
CHUCHILAN
Upon arrival to Quilatoa we hired a guide to take us on a walk to Chuchilan. The walk was very nice specially at the start when we walked along the Quilatoa lake. The walk gos along the half of the lake and then decends into a valley and then climbs up to Chuchilan. The guide that we hired, the owner of a restaurant in Quilatoa, was very patient through the all walk and we paid him 20 dollars. Later we found out that if we had hired a guide from Chuchilan it would have cost $10. the difference in prices is because ours charged us for his trip back to Quilatoa.
IN Chuchilan we decided to go to a Hostal called Mama Hilda: http://www.hostalmamahilda.org/index.htm for some reason I felt bad about this place. Maybe because http://www.lonelyplanet.com/recommendations were starting to be more and more unreliable or just because when we booked the women on the other line was quite surprised that we were calling to book and then when we called to change our booking she didn't have any booking in our name…what a great start. So we got there after a five hour walk from Quilatoa and surprisingly again they did not have our booking, they had to call their office in Quito to get it. So yes we had a room (but not for long). The receptionist-owner showed us our room and we asked whether it is possible to have one with a view. To look for one she walked with us while knocking on different random doors to see if they are occupied or not. After finishing out little tour of the lodge we said we need five minutes to think if we want the original room or not. While discussing the different options we see the same women showing the original room to some one else. We approached her and said we want the room. Her reply was ¨Sorry… sorry…¨ but it was a very annoying sound because she kept on dragging out each word for a few seconds until u feel like your ears are dropping off. She said something like it wasn't her fault, another lady showed them the room and she did not know but it was booked... Anyway she was willing to give us another room with a hot shower. It was a room for four people but she said we could have it as a private room. Leah asked her for her GUARANTEE that no one else would be put into the room with us, and she promised not to. We had a quick look and this time we said YES! straight away. After I had a very cold shower where I felt like someone is pissing on me cold pee, afterwards I wore all my clothes and went into bed to try and recover my body's temperature. But guess what happened after 10 minutes? We hear heavy knocks on the door. And I was like ´what´s that´? Leah went and opened and it was our good friend the receptionist saying her annoying sorry´s again and repeating the same song again: the room is booked !!! and sorry...sorry ... so we have to leave to a next by hostel and tomorrow we will have our room back.
Upon arrival to Quilatoa we hired a guide to take us on a walk to Chuchilan. The walk was very nice specially at the start when we walked along the Quilatoa lake. The walk gos along the half of the lake and then decends into a valley and then climbs up to Chuchilan. The guide that we hired, the owner of a restaurant in Quilatoa, was very patient through the all walk and we paid him 20 dollars. Later we found out that if we had hired a guide from Chuchilan it would have cost $10. the difference in prices is because ours charged us for his trip back to Quilatoa.
IN Chuchilan we decided to go to a Hostal called Mama Hilda: http://www.hostalmamahilda.org/index.htm for some reason I felt bad about this place. Maybe because http://www.lonelyplanet.com/recommendations were starting to be more and more unreliable or just because when we booked the women on the other line was quite surprised that we were calling to book and then when we called to change our booking she didn't have any booking in our name…what a great start. So we got there after a five hour walk from Quilatoa and surprisingly again they did not have our booking, they had to call their office in Quito to get it. So yes we had a room (but not for long). The receptionist-owner showed us our room and we asked whether it is possible to have one with a view. To look for one she walked with us while knocking on different random doors to see if they are occupied or not. After finishing out little tour of the lodge we said we need five minutes to think if we want the original room or not. While discussing the different options we see the same women showing the original room to some one else. We approached her and said we want the room. Her reply was ¨Sorry… sorry…¨ but it was a very annoying sound because she kept on dragging out each word for a few seconds until u feel like your ears are dropping off. She said something like it wasn't her fault, another lady showed them the room and she did not know but it was booked... Anyway she was willing to give us another room with a hot shower. It was a room for four people but she said we could have it as a private room. Leah asked her for her GUARANTEE that no one else would be put into the room with us, and she promised not to. We had a quick look and this time we said YES! straight away. After I had a very cold shower where I felt like someone is pissing on me cold pee, afterwards I wore all my clothes and went into bed to try and recover my body's temperature. But guess what happened after 10 minutes? We hear heavy knocks on the door. And I was like ´what´s that´? Leah went and opened and it was our good friend the receptionist saying her annoying sorry´s again and repeating the same song again: the room is booked !!! and sorry...sorry ... so we have to leave to a next by hostel and tomorrow we will have our room back.
AS WE say in Hebrew what ¨A Chutspa¨ this women has - I just could not believe it. The next day we moved to a much nicer, prettier place called http://www.blacksheepinn.com/ . The owners Andy and Michelle arrived to Chuchilan about 15 years ago, fell for the place and decided to move from the US to build an ecological lodge. The place is very expensive, 25 dollars per person for a dorm bed but it provides excellent service (on a trust basis) and great vegetarian food. It has a spa, internet access, great cookies and its main feature is toilets with big windows overlooking the valley. After their arrival the whole of Chuchilan started to get involved in tourism (previously there had been none).
FOR ME the whole experience was still a bit hard. Although I had good experiences sleeping in India in dormitories, at this one people had to wake in the middle of the night because the public buses were leaving at that time and while packing their stuff and leaving they would often make unavoidable noise. The worst was with this European couple who left at four am while talking to each other like it was mid day. The other thing that was hard for me was the toilet, although I loved the idea of toilets with a view (and in one of them there is even a book about the history of toilets) the whole ecological business was a bit difficult. The toilets were what u call dry ones so u do ur thing into a toilet that u cant see what's happening in it and then u throw all kind of bits of leaves and other staff when u finish.
THE OTHER walk that we did in Chuchilan is called the Cloud Forest walk. In the hostel they have this amazing service where they ask everyone during dinner what are the activities they want to do the next day, and then organise what u need for the next day. That allows you to join a group and overall pay less. Our Cloud forest walk was organised like that and we asked for a truck to take us to the forest and a guide. Lets say it was a very nice experience. It wasn't the best walk that I ever did and the guide (16 years old) knew some stuff about the different plants and it was well organised but that's it.
BUT I THINK the best thing that happen to us there was the people. So many nice people were staying there which made the dinners, that are served to all the guests together, a great experience. When checking out there were two things I did not quite understand. First the hostel gives discounts to students with international student cards so when we checked out we asked for a discount but I didn't have my actual student card with me as I had left it in Latacunga with most of our luggage. The owner said that they have to see the card and they can't give a discount. I thought it is very weird that a place that is run on the idea of trust does not trust its customers. The other thing was that after paying we have discovered that we were not credited with our initial deposit of $20US. We got the money back, but to our surprise another couple that left with us said that they had the same problem with a bigger amount 150US that they gave as a deposit and was not included in the final bill (more info and pics about the Quilota loop u can find at http://www.pbase.com/nikonesque/quilotoa_loop, pictures of the Quilota lake at http://www.ecuador-images.net/lake.quilotoa.htm ).
FOR ME the whole experience was still a bit hard. Although I had good experiences sleeping in India in dormitories, at this one people had to wake in the middle of the night because the public buses were leaving at that time and while packing their stuff and leaving they would often make unavoidable noise. The worst was with this European couple who left at four am while talking to each other like it was mid day. The other thing that was hard for me was the toilet, although I loved the idea of toilets with a view (and in one of them there is even a book about the history of toilets) the whole ecological business was a bit difficult. The toilets were what u call dry ones so u do ur thing into a toilet that u cant see what's happening in it and then u throw all kind of bits of leaves and other staff when u finish.
THE OTHER walk that we did in Chuchilan is called the Cloud Forest walk. In the hostel they have this amazing service where they ask everyone during dinner what are the activities they want to do the next day, and then organise what u need for the next day. That allows you to join a group and overall pay less. Our Cloud forest walk was organised like that and we asked for a truck to take us to the forest and a guide. Lets say it was a very nice experience. It wasn't the best walk that I ever did and the guide (16 years old) knew some stuff about the different plants and it was well organised but that's it.
BUT I THINK the best thing that happen to us there was the people. So many nice people were staying there which made the dinners, that are served to all the guests together, a great experience. When checking out there were two things I did not quite understand. First the hostel gives discounts to students with international student cards so when we checked out we asked for a discount but I didn't have my actual student card with me as I had left it in Latacunga with most of our luggage. The owner said that they have to see the card and they can't give a discount. I thought it is very weird that a place that is run on the idea of trust does not trust its customers. The other thing was that after paying we have discovered that we were not credited with our initial deposit of $20US. We got the money back, but to our surprise another couple that left with us said that they had the same problem with a bigger amount 150US that they gave as a deposit and was not included in the final bill (more info and pics about the Quilota loop u can find at http://www.pbase.com/nikonesque/quilotoa_loop, pictures of the Quilota lake at http://www.ecuador-images.net/lake.quilotoa.htm ).
THE PICTURES: first line Laguna Quilatoa, the walk from Quilatoa to Chuchilan. Second line The blacksheepinn and a flower in the cloud forest.
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