My Ecuador chapter came to a close a couple weeks ago. I had a completely enjoyable, oftentimes mind-blowing experience here - the Galápagos is hands-down, without a doubt, my favorite place for its above-water wildlife*. I was sad to leave this country!
I will write more detailed posts on each location, in the meantime, here are some of my quick observations about the country.
One: Ecuador is BEAUTIFUL, and Galapagos especially is a heaven. I spent three weeks in the Galápagos, Otavalo, and Quito, and I probably would’ve needed at least another three to explore other places like Baños, Quilotoa, Cotopaxi, and Cuenca.
Two: Ecuador has the perfect weather year-round, not too cold and not too hot. When I was there in September, I mostly wore a thin pair of pants, and layered up with a t-shirt, a Uniqlo down jacket, and an Under Armor jacket. If it gets too hot or too cold, it’s easy to just put on / take off my layers.
Three: Cost of living is cheap - a private room for one night at a nice hostel can cost as little as $10 in the smaller towns like Otavalo. A nice three-course meal (soup, mains, and a juice) $2.50 if you eat at the local (read: non-gringo) restaurants. (Note that this point does NOT apply to the Galápagos.)
Four: Infrastructure is awesome - even better than Indonesia I think. I can get a bus to another town two hours away for $2.50. The buses are clean and felt very safe. Roads are well-maintained; no potholes.
Five: Ecuadorians are incredibly nice and polite! More often than not people will greet me with “Buenos diaz!" / “Buenas tardes!" / “Buenas noches!" on the street, or at least smile at me. There’s the elderly cab driver who invited me to stay at his house (I had to sadly decline even though he really did look harmless). The man at the camera repair store who cleaned Bijan and my cameras for free. The men who fixed Bijan’s bike, also for free. The family who cautioned us to stay safe and keep our camera equipments away when it was getting dark at the railroad tracks.
A lot of people are generous with their help with directions or questions, and are not rushed in their interactions (in contrast with Vietnam, for example). People are also curious - there aren’t that many Asians traveling in Ecuador, so I very often get asked, “Donde paìs?” (Which country are you from?) wherever I go.
Six: Ecuadorian food includes all parts of various animals. They also eat cuy, something like an oversized hamster. (No, I have not tried eating cuy.) Interestingly, restaurants don’t sell vegetable dishes! At most, it’s a sad little salad side dish. This doesn’t mean they don’t eat vegetables, by the way, they do, at home. Just not in restaurants.
I love certain foods in Ecuador (thanks Bijan for introducing me to llapingacho), however food in Southeast Asia is a lot more varied and flavorful overall.
Seven: On the countryside, there is still a strong sense of traditional culture. For examples:
The men often wear long hair, braided
Everyone loves wearing the Ecuadorian / Panama hat
Older people and people in smaller towns still wear their traditional clothes on a daily basis
Eight: Fun fact - you can find coca tea in most places in Ecuador!
Now that you know a little about Ecuador, here’s my brief itinerary if you want to get a sense of how I split up my time:
Aug 15: Left NYC for a connecting flight to Quito via Lima
Aug 17: Fly to the Galapagos
Aug 19-26: 8-day cruise on the Galapagos aboard Yate Eden
Aug 27-30: 3 days of diving with Academy Bay Diving and 1 day trip to Bartolome Island
Aug 31: Fly out to Quito, and directly took the bus to a town called Otavalo (2 hours from Quito)
Sep 1-3: Exploring Otavalo and the surrounding area (highly recommended! I love this town)
Sep 4: Took the local bus to Quito
Sep 5-6: Exploring Quito
Sep 7: Fly out to Lima, Peru
What would I have done differently for my Ecuador trip?
I should’ve gone to the Galapagos on the last part of my trip, not the first, because it set such a high bar!!!
I wouldn’t spend a fortune doing day dives in the Galapagos. One, it was freaking cold. Two, the experience would’ve been so much better on a liveaboard (even though it’s a lot more expensive). I did see the hammerheads but I didn’t see anything else out of the ordinary. My friend who went on a liveaboard, however, saw whale sharks, crazy number of hammerheads, and sometimes mantas and molas.
I also wouldn't spend a couple hundred of dollars to go to Isla Bartolome. Pulau Padar in Indonesia is way more beautiful, and way cheaper as well.
Lastly as mentioned, I should've set aside a much longer time for Ecuador. I'll come back next time!
If you have any questions or want me to cover any topics about my Ecuador trip, let me know in the comments!
* Note: Indonesia still retains No. 1 spot for its underwater wildlife. :P