When I arrived in Ecuador 6 weeks ago, I immediately adored this country. I tried to do as much trips in the weekends as possible but after four weeks I took a couple days off to discover this beautiful country a little more. Together with my boyfriend, who came to visit me, we went to Secret Garden Hostel Cotopaxi.
A friend of me recommended me this hostel as soon as he heard I would go on an internship to Ecuador. He said it was the best hostel he has ever been in. This made me even more curious since he travels a lot.
I booked a package deal for 3 days and 2 nights, including a free trek to the waterfalls, a guided hike to the summit of the Vulcano Pasochoa, transportation to the hostel and all meals. We arrived at the Secret Garden Hostel in Quito around 9h30 but since our shuttle only left at 10h, we had some time to enjoy the wonderful view of Quito from the rooftop bar laying in a hammock. Yes, vacation had officially started.
After a two hours ride we arrived at the hostel which is situated in the middle of nowhere. You don’t have a mobile connection nor Wi-Fi which forces people to step out of their internet-cocoon and start enjoying each other’s company. We booked this wonderful ´birdhouse´ with a big window looking out to the surrounding volcanos. Of course I forgot to take pictures of the house and the moment we left it started to rain.
After a warm welcome and a delicious lunch we started our hike to the waterfalls. The first waterfall was easily accessible but the path (if you could call it a path) to the second waterfall was a little more adventurous. We had to jump from rock to rock, climbing rocks and hike through the water. Hurray for the boots we could freely use!
In the evening we all ate together at one big table and we learned a new typical Ecuadorian card game from a local.
The second day we left early for our hike to the top of Pasochoa. The summit is at 4200m with a difference in altitude of 1500m from our starting point. So I can safely tell you: ‘It isn’t an easy trek’, but totally worth the view at the top. Besides, what is better than coming home after a 6h hike going straight the hot tube to let your muscles relax? On our last day before leaving we decided to go for some horseback riding in the National Park of Cotopaxi. Although Marshmallow (the name of my horse) wasn’t really my friend, it was an amazing experience. Afterwards we took a shuttle back to Quito.
Looking back at this wonderful experience I can only be grateful for all the amazing things I got to and will discover here in Ecuador. I hope to keep on being amazed by the diversity of this country.
Hasta luego!
Hanne
Belgium based.
Life enthusiast.
Always travelling.
Curious what the future will bring.