Politically, Colombia and Ecuador have a lot of issues dividing them. But this is a travel blog, and therefore we're looking at the situation through a traveler's eyes. From this perspective, both countries have many similarities: friendly people, fantastic and diverse landscapes (from beaches to high Andes to the Amazon), and a lot to offer to the adventurous tourist.
Ecuador has one advantage over Colombia through: you can roam the remoter areas without having to constantly look over your shoulder for guerillas or narcos. Outside of the capital Quito, where you do have to be a little careful where you go and are advised to stay indoors at night, the country seems "tranquillo", which suits us just fine.
For the SnailTrails team, Ecuador was also the first encounter with serious altitudes, having spent considerable time above 3000m, sometimes as high as 4000m. Land-Rover Archie lost power, started emitting embarrassing amounts of black fumes and coughed a bit at start-up after a cold night, but otherwise carried us reliably over often very degraded mountain "roads" (= gravel and mud).
Our moose mascot complained about the Lamas not being friendly (nor very smart), but otherwise appreciated the colder climate. Connie and I were mostly spared by the effects of altitude sickness, but never felt really at ease over 3500. Short hikes at this altitude left us breathless and exhausted... Peru and Bolivia will be even more challenging in that regard!
Our route took us from the Colombian border at Ipiales along the Panamericana upwards to Quito, a very scenic drive on a good road. I should mention that we broke all records at the border, finishing all proceedings (leaving Colombia and entering Ecuador) in less than an hour - a welcome change from Central America!
We spent our time in Quito in the old centre. Visiting the Jesuit and Franciscan churches as a sample of the more than 26 in the neighbourhood, is sufficient to witness the cultural and material wealth of colonial times. Despite stern warnings about safety, we rambled the streets for days (with empty pockets) without ever being bothered.
After the buzz of the traffic- and exhaust -choked city, we retired to the Cotopaxi National Park, some two hours South of Quito. The volcano likes to hide in the clouds, but our patience was rewarded by - brief - glimpses at its summit. The peace up here is deafening at first, then you get used to the quiet, the crisp cold air, and the vast expanses.
Banos was nowhere near the fantastic spot described by the Lonely Planet, the baths are not all that impressive, but the town has tons of "activities" to offer: river rafting, quad off-road driving, Swiss fondues, etc. A good pit-stop for us, a welcome meeting with our Dutch friends, and we were on our way again towards the Chimborazo volcano and Cuenca.
We stopped over at the Ingapirca Inca ruins: not overly impressive, but our first encounter with the remains of the Inca culture: we will follow them South into Peru very soon!
