Nothing's more exciting than a road trip. Packing a couple of snacks, letting your adventurous side take over as you wander through foreign lands with good friends and great music. Isn't this the perfect definition of a memorable trip?

During my time in Ecuador I went on a road trip to the north of Quito with my best friend and our Ecuadorian friends. We hit the road early and had breakfast at a gas station somewhere outside the city. After leaving the outskirts of Quito, all the landscapes that appeared through the car window seemed so out of this world to me. Mountains and green valleys and snow-covered peaks in the distance shone so bright on that clear day and looked like jewels of someone's most precious treasure chest.

The first place we visited was the small town of Tabacundo. This wasn't actually part of the plan, but one of the persons of the group needed medicine for altitude sickness. During this brief stop on our route I walked around gazing at the so many different angles of the Cayambe volcano, which can be seen from everywhere in the town.  It has been by far one of the most magical moments of the entire trip: to be in front of that massive mountain, feeling incredibly humbled by the sheer beauty of nature.

Road trip!

Cayambe volcano with its permanent snow cap can be seen from everywhere in the small town of Tabacundo, northern Quito.

Food is a big part of any road trip, so we didn't wait long until we made our next snack pause. This was a road side restaurant in the Imbabura province, which is very popular for a kind of cheese called "leaf cheese" (queso de hoja in Spanish), basically soft white cheese wrapped in a plant leaf. We had our leaf cheese with coffee and hot cocoa paired with other tasty Ecuadorian delicacies while listening to Ecuadorian folk music played by a man inside the eatery. Lucky us!

On our way to Otavalo, we stopped another time to take pictures of the Imbabura volcano in San Pablo, a small town located by a lake. It was incredibly windy that day, so we basically just made the photo pause and carried on with our journey. I must say San Pablo del Lago was my favourite place, just because it was there where I realised how beautiful Latin America is and how happy I am to have been born in this pretty part of the world.

Taita Imbabura.  In Ecuador volcanos not only have names, they also have gender and personality. Imbabura is Taita, a Quichua word for dad.

Breathtaking views in the small town San Pablo del lago, Imbabura province.

Laguna de San Pablo.

Ecuador, you're so pretty!

Next on our road trip was Otavalo, a city approx. 91 km north of Quito (about an hour and a half drive if you don't make any stops along the way). This is a largely indigenous town very famous for the Saturday Market. Mercado de la Plaza de los Ponchos is the Spanish name and you can find so many handcrafted souvenirs to take home with you.

Even one hour will not be enough to take a look at everything that's displayed in the ninety mushroom-shaped concrete benches. Particularly beautiful are the woollen textiles woven by Otavaleños. You can also find fine tagua jewellery, fake shrunken heads, indigenous costumes, musical instruments, t-shirts and much more.

The nicest part for me was definitely having conversations with the vendors and just hearing their stories. They speak Quichua and Spanish, the language of the indigenous population of Ecuador. I really loved their costumes. Women wear beautifully embroidered white blouses with black skirts and gold beads around their necks and men wear their ponchos.

Otavaleños at the Saturday Market.

Faviola.

Mercado de los Ponchos.

Conversations at the market.

Colourful Ecuador.

Colourful Ecuador.

Saturdays in Otavalo, Tuesdays in Guayaquil.

After a day spent at the market, we continued our journey to Cotacachi, the leather capital of Ecuador. Located between the volcanos of Imbabura and Cotacachi, this town also has a large indigenous population like Otavalo. As I already mentioned, here you'll find mostly leather goods and souvenirs. Cotacachi not only holds a UNESCO medal for being free of illiteracy, it was also named the first ecological county of South America. My best friend bought herself a leather bag and we ate helado de paila ice cream to recharge our batteries.

The next town we visited was Atuntaqui, where we made our last snack stop. Here we ate a Fritada, which consists of fried pork meat with a side of mote (generic name for several types of corn grain) and choclo (corn), potatoes, tomato salad and fried plantains. It was so good! Fritada is a typical dish in Ecuador, so make sure you try it if you come here!

Our last stop before heading back to Quito was somewhere on the road with the most epic view of Cayambe volcano. It was the perfect way of ending an amazing day exploring the towns to the north of Quito. The beauty of this region is so indescribable that you'll have to come and see it for yourself one day. South America is and will always be the continent for those who crave adventure. As Calle 13 says in his song "Latinoamerica": "Tengo a mis pulmones respirando azul clarito" (My lungs breathe clear blue skies). Here in Ecuador you not only breathe the freshest air, you take in the impressive scenery and the kindness of its people.

Nevado Cayambe <3

No words to describe so much beauty! Cayambe volcano from somewhere along the road back to Quito.