Buying a Tigua painting, a memory from the Quilotoa Loop in vibrant colors

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Our hostel room was of course decorated with a beautiful Tigua painting

There is not much to do in Tigua. Many deserted the village over the last decades and the ones remaining are living of agriculture. But Tigua, pitoresque village of the Quilotoa Loop, made it to the international scene thanks to its art.

Today the main attraction of the village is its 3 galleries selling traditionnal “Tigua paintings”.
Indigenous artists express on sheep skin canvas traditionnal stories and daily life of the Quilotoa area. Indigenous cultivating the edges of the volcano, llamas pasturing, condor flying over snow-capped summits, they capture in vibrant colors the atmosphere of Andean rural life.

 

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Picture of the day: observing vicuñas at the Chimborazo reserve

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Observing vicuñas is one of the highlights of a visit at the Reserva de Produccion de Fauna Chimborazo.
Threatened of extinction a couple of decades ago in Ecuador, it’s now thousands of them that live around volcano Chimborazo, thanks to a ambitious program of reintroduction.
The vicuñas are camelids and belong to the family of lamas, but their wool is much thinner. Under the Inca empire, it was actually forbidden to anyone but royal family member to wear clothes made of vicuñas wool.
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The vicuñas are quite shy and will not let you approach them closely. At sunset, you will get the best shots opportunity.

 

Climbing Cotopaxi volcano under the moonlight (5000m)

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“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” W Clement Stone

You don´t have any alpinism experience nor did You ever walk on a glacier before. Still, many agencies in Quito and Latacunga offer to take you to climb Cotopaxi, the second highest peak of Ecuador (5897m/19347feet). Tempting…? Go ahead! Even if you don´t make it to the top, you will experience during a night what it is to be an alpinist, and embrace stunning views of the volcanoes.

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First timer: fishing piranhas in the Amazonas

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Known for their voracity and their sharp teeth, piranhas are among the most popular species of the Amazonas.

You need a fishing line, a hook and some meat (the bloodiest the best!), not much differs from traditional fishing. But you will be surprised by their ability to torn little pieces of meat without getting stuck on the hook!

Fishing piranhas is one of the highlights of many Amazonas trips, and most likely your guide will offer to cook your catch in big leafs, over the fire. Mmmmm.

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Piranha fishing by night in bio reserve Limoncocha, Amazonas

Well, you have to catch some first… Adnan:2, Amandine:0.

I never liked fishing.

 

7 steps to your perfect Colombian coffee

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One of the first thing that people think of when talking about Colombia is coffee. With more than 3500 coffee plantations, Colombia is the fourth exporter in the world, Brazil being number one. Colombian´s farms produce only the arabica bean, while other countries export a mix of both arabicas and robusta beans.
In this article you will learn how to prepare the perfect Colombian coffee.

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Bucket list – sitting at the back of a pick-up truck

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Our 5 days hike on the Quilotoa Loop has been rich of adventures, emotions and new discoveries (come on, I almost bought a pig!). As we wait for the bus on the side of the road in the small village of Tigua, our final stop before returning to civilization, a pick-up truck stops. Do we want a ride to Latacunga for $5? We don´t hesitate long, there is no better way to enjoy the landscape one more time, and to conclude such a unique experience!

To the top of Mount Fuya-Fuya, an accessible summit at 4263m

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The lagunas de Mojanda is one of the hidden gems of the countryside of Otavalo, in the north of Ecuador.  After 45min of slow drive on the old, bad, paved road (17km) that used to link Otavalo to Quito,  you discover the impressive laguna, sitting in the crater of a dead volcano. It´s in this majestic landscape that we climbed our first summit, Mount Fuya-Fuya, at 4263m.

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