Cuenca was a hard to leave. With beautiful historic streets to walk, shops to peak in and delicious food to eat, this tranquil city offers so much. However, travel requires I keep moving. Along with six others, my new travel group, I hopped into a van and headed four hours south to the town of Vilcabamba, my last stop in Ecuador.
Read MoreI'm a sucker for a beautiful cafe. In a new city I really enjoy finding a chill space to write or read for a couple, accompanied by a good old iced americano of course. Welcome to a new series called Café Collection where I share some of the best cafes I've come across while traveling.
Read MoreBack in Chimborazo's National Park, while waiting for the bus to take us back to Riobamba, the two other people also waiting for the bus had mentioned Cajas National Park.
Read MoreI had no idea how far Cuenca is from Riobamba. I thought the bus ride would be four hours, we would arrive at 11 and crash after a very long day in our new hostel beds. However, the bus ride was not four hours or five or even six.
Read MoreNorthwest of the city lies Chimborazo, the highest volcano in Ecuador and to the Northeast, El Altar with many multi-colored lakes surrounding it.
Read MoreIn the early hours of November 8th, 2017 I summited Cotopaxi. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I woke up the day before our summit bid at 5:30am to watch the sunrise over the idyllic, perfectly coned volcano.
Read MoreAfter the Quilotoa Loop, Janis and I headed back to Quito to lay low for the weekend and figure out how we were going to get to the summit of Cotopaxi. We stayed in the Secret Garden Hostel, the place we first met, and from there decided to take advantage of a package deal they had with their sister hostel located just outside of Cotopaxi National Park.
Read MoreI read that some type of running shoe would suffice for this trek, and for the most part they did. However, if you are considering walking around the Quilotoa Laguna then I would recommend hiking boots. Perhaps due only to a lack of rain, the steep declines around the lake were extremely slippery.
Read MoreThe Quilotoa Loop: A three day trek through the Ecuadorian Andes and country side, hiking from hostel to hostel along a loosely defined route that concludes at the Quilotoa Laguna, an insane crater lake.
Read MoreThis hike was no joke. Once at the base of Ruku Pichiucha, we hiked around the jagged rock top towards the back of the ridge where a path leads to the top.
Read MoreThe sprawl of Quito, way to the north and far to the south of a valley, was unexpected. It is so long that there are two main bus stations that bookend the city.
Read MoreThree days on a bus will make you appreciate any destination. I was beyond happy to finally arrive in Otavalo, Ecuador. Though I had little interest in this small city just north of Quito, I couldn't bare another two horribly three hours to the capital city.
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