This is part 1 of our motorcycle adventure through Ecuador.
The weather the first day as we set out from Quito was pretty nice actually. Until about an hour or so in when it started to slightly drizzle and then began to rain in earnest. To escape the rain, and also because it had been recommended to us by both the rental company and a friend who had lived in Ecuador, we stopped at a small café in Machachi that was painted like a cow. True to its reputation, the food was delicious, with some of the freshest ingredients we would taste on the entire trip.
After lunch it was still raining, but we had a schedule to keep so we set out on our soggy bikes anyways. Soon enough we found our turn off from the main road, set out on the Quilotoa Loop and began ascending into the mountains. It was beautiful but harrowing with hairpin turns, plenty of gravel, and wandering llamas and livestock relaxing in the road around every corner. It became even more perilous at some point between Lasso and Sigchos, as we found ourselves travelling these same looping roads but now with 11 km of thick, viscous fog which reduced our visibility to about a foot in front of us. Giant trucks heading in the opposite direction would frequently be in our lane as they came around corners and I heard Josh honk as aggressively as he could so we could avoid them.
Eventually we made it through the fog, but it slowed us down measurably and by the time we reached Sigchos we were hours behind schedule and dark was falling. We thought for a moment about staying there for the night, but we decided against that since we had already paid for our stay in Tigua as part of our tour. We assumed we could make it before the sun set. Little did we realize, the sun sets around 5 pm in Ecuador. As we pressed on the paved road suddenly ran out and we found ourselves traveling on a dicey dirt road in the dark. And then the fog came back. This reduced our speed yet again, and we were quickly becoming concerned about the cold, and where we would be sleeping tonight.
After about 20 km of this type of riding we came to the small town of Chugchilan, freezing and filthy, and we had a decision to make. Should we keep going and try to make our reservation in Tigua? Or should we find a place to stay in Chugchilan? Also, we were supposed to visit the Laguna Quilotoa on the first day, how would we see it in the dark if we pressed on?
While Josh and I debated the issue, our friend Lauren went off to investigate a hostel she had seen that we had passed when we first entered town. After about five minutes, Josh and I decided that it would be safest to stay in Chugchilan in any case and followed. We found Lauren, and as we rode into the gated hostel, they closed the doors behind us and locked them. Lucky us. They had rooms for $15 per person which included dinner and breakfast. We took it, not that we had a lot of other options.
Part2 tomorrow...
