Ecuador Road Trip | Quilotoa & Chugchilan

The atmosphere in Ecuador has been so welcoming, it’s really very nice. The pace just seems slower and people really take the time to acknowledge each other. Rarely do you walk past anyone who does not greet you with a Buenos dias, Buenas tardes, or Buenas noches. In restaurants, strangers will wish you Buen provecho (which means bon appetite, or enjoy your meal). And, we have stopped more people than I can count on the street to get directions – the newly improved roads are not very well marked at this point. I hope I can keep this practice of greeting others when back in the states – it’s something I have loved about Ecuador.

While I’ve enjoyed all the people of Ecuador,  the beautiful countryside and the people who live in the indigenous communities  have really intrigued me.  They are obviously strong, hard working people. The women, even the very elderly, always have a baby, an animal, or something on their back as they walk up and down these mountains and hills. Quite often there would be large groups working the fields.  Even more amazing to me is how most continue to dress in their traditional clothing. Each group has their own individual style, colors, or hats which makes it easy to distinguish what region they are from. There is a peacefulness about the smooth skinned women with the shy smiles and men with long braids down their backs that is so interesting – I hope I can return someday and spend more time getting to know them. The images below are from our drive through the  villages of Pujili , Tigua  & Zumbahua.

indigenous huts

It amazed me how they farmed large pieces of ground by hand, often on steep hillsides.

We made a stop at the Quilotoa Crater Lake before starting our drive to Chugchilan for the night.

Quilotoa Crater Lake

The group below approached me as I was taking pictures of the crater. From my limited Spanish and his hand gestures, I was able to determine that the gentleman wanted me to take a picture of their group. I said something about the cute puppy (a word I do know in Spanish) and he said it was his son which brought many giggles from the women. I’m not sure what else was said, but they could not stop giggling – loved them!

From there we started our drive to Chugchilan through windy dirt roads butted right up to the edge of some scary drop offs.

David & I were both relieved to reach the Mama Hilda Lodge after the tense drive through rain, blowing dirt, and landslides across the road. A sweet elderly man greeted us as we drove the large vehicle into the narrow entrance of the lodge and directed David to drive right down the narrow stone path and into the back yard to park amongst the chickens and laundry hanging to dry.

Mama Hilda Lodge

This lodge was more of a hostel than the other places I had been staying. I still had a private room, but we all gathered for dinner & breakfast served family style in the common room at a long table. I loved the people I met here – a group of four around my age from Poland; a couple of young girls (one from Austria, one from New Zealand); a sweet young couple from Colorado and most interesting a couple of young guys from France. It was awesome to listen to their stories driving the entire Pan American Highway. They had started up north 5 months prior and hoped to make it to the end of South America by May. My favorite part was they were driving an old GMC Ventura conversion van, much like what we had when all the kids were young. They spoke French & English, but no Spanish, and knew nothing about auto repairs which made for some interesting stories of how they had made it this far.

I spent most of the evening reorganizing my luggage so I could leave most of it with David before my flight to Lago Agrio – narrowing it down to only what I would absolutely need for the next four days in the jungle.