Ecuador

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Itinerary

• November 25, 2023: 2 nights in Quito at Dann Carlton Hotel
• November 27, 2023: 1 night at Hotel Cuello de Luna
  • Hiked down to Quilotoa Crater Lake
• November 28, 2023: 2 nights at La Floresta Hotel in Banos
  • Drove up to Cotopaxi Volcano
  • Rode bikes through Llanganates National Park
  • Went to Casa del Arbol to swing
  • Rode a cable car at Pedacito de Cielo.
• November 30, 2023: 1 night at a hostel
  • Hiked to El Diablo Waterfalls
  • Went canyoning in the Amazon
• December 1, 2023: 1 night at Huasquila Amazon Lodge
  • Went white water rafting in the Jatunyacu River
• December 2, 2023: 1 night at Dann Carlton in Quito
  • Went caving
• December 3, 2023: 4 nights in Mindo at Terraza de Dana Lodge
  • Spa treatment
  • Rode cable car and chair lift to see waterfalls
  • Went into Mindo

Day 1

On Saturday, November 25th we woke up at 3 am to catch our American Airlines flight out of BWI at 6 am. We had a 1 hour layover in Miami before landing in Quito, Ecuador.

The first 8 days of our trip were booked through Active Expeditions. They picked us up at the airport and drove us to the Dann Carlton Hotel where we stayed for 2 nights. The hotel is very nice. Our room had a living area and a separate bedroom. The breakfast buffet is huge (more on this later).

Day 2

After eating at the breakfast buffet we walked 5 minutes to Carolina Park. The park is large with lots of activities going on including: exercise classes, soccer, running, food vendors and lots of dog walking. We went to the Botanical Gardens inside the park for $4 per person.

Afterward we went bar hopping (slim pickings for a Sunday). The last bar we went to was the Dirty Dog where we had a nacho platter surrounded by beers spiked with hot sauce.

At 6 pm we met with our guide, Alirio, to go over the agneda for the weeks. Afterwards, we went back to the room and ordered room service.

Day 3

After eating at the breakfast buffet, Alirio picked us up at 8 am for a 3 hour drive to Quilotoa Crate Lake. We hiked 45 minutes down to the bottom, took some pictures, and started hiking back up. The hike back up is hard and all uphill. It took us about an hour and was quite strenuous. Some tourists opted to rent donkeys to take them back up. It looked like fun.

We had lunch at a local restaurant and headed off for a 2 hour drive to our Hotel Cuello De Luna. The hotel is a working ranch with alpacas, pigs, chickens, goats, and turkeys. They served us a homemade dinner which Joe opted not to eat as he was not feeling well. Turns out he had gotten food poisoning from the breakfast buffet in Quito (likely undercooked bacon).

Day 4

Joe was still sick so I had breakfast with Alirio. We left the hotel and stopped to get Joe some Pedialyte. We drove to the parking area at Cotopaxi Volcano. It was very colds and extremely windy. Due to Joe’s illness and the weather we decided not to hike it.

We drove down to the lagoon and walked around but there wasn’t much to see so we decided to go to Banos early.

We checked into Las Floresta hotel, had lunch at a sandwich shop and Joe rested for the remainder of the day. That night we ate dessert for dinner and I tried the Ecuadorian Drink called Canelazo. It was ok but not great.

Day 5

Joe was feeling better. We had breakfast at 8 am and then went to the top of a mountain and rode bikes for about 2 hours. It was mostly downhill but we had a few uphill rides where I had to get off and walk. Half way through we stopped for fresh fruit, wine for me, and beer for Joe. It was drizzling when we started the ride but cleared up as we were finishing.

We then went out to lunch at the hotel and headed to Casa del Arbol where we swung across the ravine and did a small zipline. They has my favorite plants there – hydrangeas and lots of them!

We then rode a cable car at Pedacito de Cielo where we saw a beautiful waterfall.

We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Joe and Alirio had ramen noodles and I had a chicken dish. I ordered a Saki Boom Boom cocktail which was saki dumped into beer and you had to drink it fast.

Day 6

After breakfast we drove to El Diablo waterfalls.

We then drove into the Amazon and stayed at a family run hostel. The owner took us canyoning where we climbed up three waterfalls and had an hour hike back to camp.

We had a couple beers and learned how to make chocolate from scratch. After dinner they served us chocolate fondue.

Day 7

Today was my 50th birthday! I was served a birthday pancake with a candle. The family there was really nice and went out of their way to make sure we had an enjoyable time.

In the late morning we went white water rafting for 2 hours on the Jatunyacu River. The rapids were class 2 and 3 and were a little scary but not bad at all.

We stopped for lunch in a small town on the way to our hotel, Husquila Amazon Lodge. After dinner, they presented me with a delicious chocolate birthday cake.

Day 8

We went caving in the morning then drove to Quito where we stayed at the Dann Carlton Hotel again.

Day 9

We were picked up by David, our driver, who took us to La Terraza De Dana Lodge. We just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Day 10

Monday morning we had breakfast and I went to the Lodge’s Spa to get a coffee/sugar exfoliation and reflexology. For lunch we headed into town.

For dinner we ordered in and had room service. It was quick and delicious!

Day 11

Today we decided to go look at the waterfalls. We took a cable car and chair lift to get there. It was a short walk from the hotel. Cost was $13 each. We hiked and saw five waterfalls although there was more we could have seen.

We had lunch at the hotel and relaxed in our room for the rest of the day as it rained until we went to bed.

Day 12

Today was a relaxing day. We had breakfast and lounged by the pool sipping cocktails until it started raining. We found a small bar and sat upstairs by ourselves, hooked up my phone to their speakers and drank some beers while people watching. The power frequently goes out in Ecuador and it did so while we were in town.

That night in poured all night and so we stayed in and had dinner at the hotel.

Day 13

We had breakfast, packed out stuff, and left for the airport at 9:30 am. We stopped off at the Ecuador monument on the way to the airport.