After our unplanned but well-used stay in Loja, we’re heading north again on the Panamericana. The landscape is green and we constantly go up and down between 2000 and 2500 meters in altitude. I drive the car very carefully so as not to risk overheating again.

In some places, the needle of the temperature gauge may deviate fractions of a millimeter up, after which I just creep up the mountain.

Day 6 Without a Breakdown

But there is a lot to see at the snail’s pace. Majestic mountains and deep gorges and valleys. We buy delicious freshly baked corn cakes in a village for lunch. The people here in the mountains of Ecuador resemble those we know from the mountains of Peru and Bolivia.

The older women wear the fashion of the cholitas with a wide skirt and a round hat. So many men wear long hair.

Later we stop at a restaurant that has good reviews on Google, but does not meet our expectations despite the high price. But the landscape around it is beautiful

I find the mix particularly bizarre. Green meadows, green forests, black and white dairy cows. So far, so European.

However, coconut palms also grow between the trees in the forest and the cows stand in the meadows between huge agaves. Accordingly, the landscape looks familiar and yet again exotic.

Then I see a note that there are supposed to be Inca baths here. We’re curious about that. Especially since Leon needs a wash.