Ecuador - Northern Highlands

Jun 13, 2018
1 min read

On 17th May we drove a little north from Quito to a monument marking the Equator - Mitad del Mundo. After a few pics, we headed to a camp-site near Cayambe, where the owners invited us in for a coffee - little did we realise that meant four hours making a zillion pancakes. Great fun and very sociable. The following day it took us an age to get away - more food was blocking our exit.....

We moved on to Otavalo and spent a Saturday wandering around its livestock and artesan markets. It was strange seeing fat little guinea pigs being produced from sacks for inspection - a last few prods before their final journey to someone's oven.

Our next stop was at Cuicocha Crater Lake, free camping and a fun evening by a campfire with travelling bikers, Josh & Louise.

21st May we enjoyed a fantastic cross-country drive to Mindo, a town famed for bird watching, mountain biking and forest hikes. Our bikes were dusted off and we set off - 15 kilometers cycle (half up a steep mountain) and a cable car ride across a valley, followed by a trek to numerous waterfalls. The cycle back was a little easier and included a break to photograph a variety of colourful birds. Honestly, we're not really Twitchers.

Mindo was great, but the beach was calling...