Postcard from Ecuador
After being in one place for a while in Colombia, it felt like I was just getting going again by the time I got to Ecuador. I almost didn't make it after the wheel literally fell off the bus on the way to the border town of Ipailes in Colombia. With only a short stop for the driver to collect the wheel again, and re-attach it to the bus, I did however get there in one piece. Just part of the normal South-American travel experience!
Northern Highlands
Despite some interesting towns and scenery on the road from Southern Colombia and Northern Ecuador, most people seem to either skip the area completely and fly straight to Quito, or overland travelers do the arduous trip from Cali to Quito in one stop. Instead I took a more leisurely pace - in Ecuador this meant stopping off in Ibarra and Otavalo.I had wanted to catch an autoferro along the old rail-line to the coast from Ibarra, but unfortunately even that was canceled. It seems that not only are trains disappearing from South America, so to are the novelty tours using their rail lines. While Ibarra was a nice enough town, there really isn't much to do there, so after my failure with the rail line, moved on to Otavallo - which supposedly hosts the largest indigenous market in South America each Saturday. Indeed it was big, bright and colourful.
The image to the left is from the Market town in Saturday - the sleepy mountain town comes to life with lots of indigenous people who come in from the surrounding villages. Although there is a large square dedicated to tourists, the interesting parts to see are in the outlying parts of the town, such as the animal and fruit markets where people go about their usual business.
Quito
Quito's old town is famous for its Spanish colonial architecture. The setting of the city is also pretty stunning - nestled amongst mountains and an active volcano. For all that, it is getting a reputation as a dangerous city. On the way to Quito, I'd met several travelers who had needed repairs to luggage that had been slashed open with razor-blades. Once I was there, I met people who had been subject to armed robberies. Thankfully nothing that dramatic happened to me while I was there, but I still didn't feel that it was a place to linger.
The image to the left is taken in the old town at night. Equador is unusual in that after dark, everything shuts down unless you're in one of the areas with lots of tourist accommodation (which doesn't include the hotel). Venturing too far from the areas patrolled by police at night-time, especially with a big camera definitely isn't recommended!
Mindo
Mindo is billed as an eco-tourism destination, and is popular with bird-watchers. Set amongst the cloud-forest, its a great place to try zip-lining - with a 10-line set-up for only $10 if you get a good deal. The area also has some decent walking trails between a series of waterfalls and cascades on the Mindo river. White water tubing is also an option, but the water is quite gentle, so its not quite enough of adrenaline rush to qualify as an extreme sport - more of a gentle ride through some nice scenery.
Guayaquil
After about 3 months away from the beach, I was happy to go back to the coast. Unfortunately in getting there I chose to go through Guayaquil and arrived at night. Staying at the hotel recommended by lonely planet puts you in one of the worst areas of the city - not somewhere you'd want to be out at night. Not that there are really any good parts of town - locals that have money seem to live in walled and gated mini-suburbs... kind of like living in a prison. If you do find yourself in Guyaquil, the most interesting thing in town is the Parque Bolivar which has huge Iguanas. Lonely Planet claims they "stare down small children for their snacks", though I suspect they put the "their" in by mistake.
Pacific Coast
For me this basically consisted of Montañita and Puerto Lopez. Montañita is a resort town with Ecuador's best surf. Great for hanging out on the beach, drinking, surfing and not much else. Dubbed the "Poor Man's Galapagos", Puerto Lopez is close to Isla de la Plata which is part of Machalilla National Park. At the right time of year its also good for whale watching. The Island has large populations of blue and red-footed boobies and no predators. Walking around the island its pretty obvious why the bird doesn't co-exist with predators (anymore). Interesting to see... but also some of the dopeyest-looking birds I've come across.
The Good..
- Stunning landscapes - everything from mountains and volcanoes that reach up to 6,267 m to the Pacific coast and the Amazon basin on the other side of the Andes
- Amazing bio-diversity - Ecuador is famous for the Galapagos, but even on the mainland it is one of the most diverse places on earth. For example it has more endemic plant species than the USA, despite being a fraction of the size.
- Prices - reasonable rooms start at $3, and set meals (soup, Rice with chicken, meat or fish and a juice) can be had for less than $1.5
The Bad...
- The change situation... if you try to pay with anything larger than a $5 bill in some places, change is going to be a problem. Don't even think about bringing $50 notes - you're not going to be able to spend them.
- Security situation in Quito: I haven't heard of this many travelers with slashed luggage or being subjected to armed holdups since Guatemala. On the upside, there are plenty of places that will repair damaged luggage.
The Ugly...
- The architecture... there is some amazing architecture in Ecuador - its just that none of it is recent. When the Spanish were booted out, along with them went the architectural standards. Most Ecuadorian settlements can probably best be described as "a blight on the landscape". I'm told that the situation is made worse by a policy where tax isn't paid on unfinished buildings. As a result a majority of buildings feature an unfinished top floor with obligatory concrete reinforcing sticking out.
Advice if traveling to Ecuador
- Budget Independent travel is often almost embarrassingly cheap - you can get by for US$15 per day. Sample costs include:
- food - $1-$2 for a set lunch "almuertzo"
- $1 per hour of travel on buses
- $5-10 per night for a budget hotel room per person (ie often a single will be $5 but the same room $10 if 2 people occupy it. A hostel dorm bed will usually cost more!
- Change: If you're coming from the USA, bring money in $5 or $10 bills - you have a hard time getting change for large notes (ie. $20 is a large note here). If you're bringing US$ from overseas don't bring $50 notes, they're almost impossible to break and definitely won't be accepted in shops.
- Get out of Quito Not that its a bad place (maybe a little dangerous), but travelers seem to get stuck there. There are plenty of places to go that are amazing and don't see that many tourists. Ecuador is all about the outdoors!
- "Poor man's Galapagos" If you can't afford to spend well over $1000 going to the Galapagos, you can still see some diverse wildlife at Puerto Lopez and Isla Plata on the Pacific Coast.
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