Quilotoa

Ecuador

October 10, 2013 

My Dear Mountaineers, 

The Quilotoa Loop is the scenic route west from Latacunga (pop 87,417) to the remote towns of Pujili, Tigua (pop 3000) and Zumbahua (pop 3000).  North of Zumbahua, along the Rio Toachi, lies Quilotoa (Pop 150, Elev 3914m, 12,841 ft, 2.4 miles high!!). 

The paved and curvy road is easy to navigate although my cute little Chevrolet Spark struggles to ascend from 2800m in Latacunga to Quilotoa at 3914m.  To make any headway at all, I must constantly downshift from 3^rd gear to 2^nd.