Arriving at Loja’s airport in Catamayo was quite an adventure.  I had toyed with the idea of renting a car but there are no car rental companies there.  You simply walk from the plane across the tarmac, through the tiny arrival hall where bags are delivered and straight out to the parking lot where LOTS of taxi drivers are competing for your attention.

The battle of the yellow vs the white taxis!  I didn’t know which one to go for.  Prices are pretty much fixed as the owner of Copalinga Lodge had told us at around $35-38 USD.  Ecuador uses the USD as their own currency. 

Finally we were off!  It was a smooth trip from the airport at Catamayo to Loja city, just under an hour away.

The road from Loja to Zamora is beautiful and scenic but it does have problems with mudslides.  We were delayed about 2 hours stuck in traffic while one mudslide was cleared and the two lanes of traffic (inbound and outbound) took turns passing through. 

The distance in kilometers isn’t far, it’s the mudslides that get you!  It was well after dark by the time we arrived at Copalinga.  This is something to consider if you have bus connections onwards.  Theoretically a taxi should get you from Copalinga to the Loja bus station in 2-2.5 hours but the mudslides can push you way back so if you have an early flight or bus it’s best to spend the last night in Loja.