Hiking Quilotoa Crater Lake in Ecuador: Part II

I have often said that when you travel it’s all about timing and meeting the right people.  When we got to Quilotoa we hadn’t booked any accommodation before our arrival and thought we would just find a place when we got there.  Sometimes this doesn’t work out at all and you end up in some dump (and I have stayed in 4-5 star dumps before…so just because it’s got a lot of stars doesn’t make it better) but other times it’s the best thing you could have done.  This time was a MAJOR positive for not booking ahead of time as we got an awesome place right in the middle of the small village at a hostel called “Hostal Pacha Mama.”

We got lucky as there are about 8 different hostels in the small village and I don’t think we could have found a better place.  When we got off the bus a guy approached us and asked if we had a place to stay.  This always turns me off and I almost always say “No thank you.”  To me they are fishing and every once in a while you get a good deal out of this but 8/10 you’re just paying the guy a commission.  Walking into a place and haggling on your own is almost always better.  So I sent Lucy into a place to ask how much.  The guy at the street wanted $10 pp per night and this place wanted $8 pp.  So after knowing there was a price difference I said let’s check a few other places.

Lucy went into another hostel and asked about a room there.  She came out and said they wanted only $6 pp and that the room came with a fireplace, hot water (you never know about this) and included breakfast.  SOLD!!!  Maybe we could have gotten something for $5 if we really really bartered hard but I didn’t want to waste all day haggling…I wanted to go hike.  We checked in, found the room simple but cozy and got ready to go out and explore the lake.

This is when we met the Chileans and they hadn’t found a room yet, so we told them about the deal we got and they decided to stay there as well.  Though they paid $8 pp for a night.  We did the hike and got back to the hostel at around 4pm, starving, dirty and tired.  We took a shower, hoping the water was warm.  Lucy fired the shower up but after 2 min it was still freezing cold…ahh well it’s expected most times.  No sooner then we gave up hope we seen steam coming from the bathroom…hot doesn’t even describe the temperature of the water, it was scolding!  Loved it and took one of the longest showers ever in it, as it’s rare to find a shower like this in Ecuador.

After cleaning up, we both were starving and decided to go find a place to eat.  We found a couple little spots that had dinner menus for cheap but they all had either pork or beef in the main dish, which Lucy doesn’t eat (“Because pigs and cows are cute and I don’t eat cute animals” ~ Lucy telling many times to me).  So we were having a hard time finding something to eat when we seen the little girl from the hostel we were staying at, that works there, walking down the road.  We asked her if the hostel had a dinner special and she said happy “Si!”  We asked her how much the dinner was and she looked at us funny and said it was included with the room!  Fireplace, the best damn shower in all of Ecuador, breakfast and it included dinner…all for only $6 pp!!!  God I love this country at times!  We asked what time they would be serving it and she said at 7pm.  So to hold us over till then we went and got some papas fritas (french fries which you find everywhere in Ecuador, more than even the US believe it or not).

We hung out at the hostel sipping a beer till dinner time when other backpackers started to drift in.  In total there was a couple from Argentina who were backpacking their way north to Colombia, a couple from Spain who was backing south towards Argentina and Brazil, and the Chileans who one was working in Ecuador and his cousin was just visiting for a few weeks.  We all sat around the stove and talked about what we had seen in South America, what we liked, didn’t like exc exc.  The Argentineans had just came from Peru and hike Machu Picchu and gave us all some great info on where to stay and what tours to book.

The ladies finally served the meal and it was nothing short of  spectacular.  First course was an asparagus soup served with popcorn as a filler.  This is typical in Ecuador as they love their corn and serve popcorn at most meals.  Then they served us the main dish of rice, chicken, salad and potatoes.  For desert they served us a boiled fruit, tomate de arbol (translation: tree tomato) that had a sweet taste to it with a little hint of a sour kick.  Was a great meal and would have been happy to have paid $6 just for the meal.

We all sat around the dinner table at the hostel talking until finally Lucy and I both said we were beat, said good night to everyone and hit the sack.  The lady at the hostel had already made a fire for us to warm the room up and when we got into the room it was as cozy as a log cabin in Alaska.  I woke up a few times in the night to stoke the fire but with the 10 blankets they had on the bed we were actually a little hot.  I think this was one of the bets hostel’s I have ever stayed at.  The price couldn’t have been beaten for what you got, the people were as welcoming as family and it was great knowing that you were helping a local indigenous family by staying there, than some hotel chain that didn’t give back to the community as directly.  If you’re ever in Quilotoa “Hostel Pacha Mama” is a must stay as you won’t regret it.

Our simple yet cozy room at the hostel

Michel playing the flute while we hiked down to the lake

Since everyone liked the sheep picture before... here is another one