Category: South America

First some statistics:

Days spent: 21
Beds slept in: 13
Hammocks slept in: 1
Places visited: 9
Night buses taken: 1
Day buses taken: 6
Items gotten rid of: 0
Items stolen: 0

Three active weeks in Ecuador

For some reason I was really excited about going to Ecuador. In every city I did research on there were so much that I wanted to do, and as I left Colombia later than planned due to falling in love with the country, I was somewhat stressed about not having enough time to do everything I wanted in Ecuador. And yet I ended up cutting my stay short and leaving Ecuador after only three weeks, even though I definitely wasn't in a rush at that point. I don't blame Ecuador for that at all, though, because my stay was really good while it lasted. It just ended with a combination of bad timing season wise and me feeling quite ready to go at that point, so why push it? I had nothing but a great time during my three weeks in Ecuador.

Lots of highlights

My stay in Ecuador was quite different than the one in Colombia. For once it was way more activity packed, which makes it a lot easier to point out the highlights. From climbing up and mountain biking down volcanoes in Quito, trekking the Quilotoa Loop and abseiling down waterfalls in Baños to snorkling with sharks and sea lions and staying in home-made houses in the Galapagos; I feel like I certainly made the most of my time there. A second big difference from Colombia was that I shared most of my experiences in Ecuador with the same group of people, and I quite enjoyed this stability after traveling on my own for a while.

Unfortunate weather conditions

What did eventually make me leave Ecuador earlier than planned, was the bad weather on the coast in the end of September/beginning of October. Without doing my research I was ready for a few weeks of sunny beaches, but people I met informed me that at that time of the year I would find no such thing. I'll admit that I was a bit upset about this, but as I craved sunshine my best bet seemed to be heading straight for Máncora and Peru, and so I did.

Read about the full week I spent in Máncora here.

Travelling in Ecuador:

After being really impressed with the buses in Colombia, the ones in Ecuador were a bit of a let down. Luckily the distances are shorter as Ecuador is a small country, so you rarely have to stay on them for long. Eventually you'll get used to buses with no a/c, the constant stream of sellers being let onto the bus and the chaotic bus terminals, and suddenly getting around isn't so bad after all. Also, a big advantage is that traveling by bus in Ecuador is incredibly cheap. That kind of makes you able to live with the occasional lack of comfort for a couple of hours.

Safety while travelling

An important point about traveling by bus in Ecuador, is that you have to watch you're belongings a lot closer than in, for example, Colombia. The good thing is that the people of Ecuador actually realise that they have a problem with theft on buses. I lost count of how many times I was instructed, either by local travellers or bus company employees, to keep my backpack on my lap and carefully hold on to it. I was fortunate enough to never have anything stolen during my time in Ecuador, but I met people who weren't as lucky. This was usually because they kept their bag on the floor or in the overhead compartment. So keep your carry-on on your lap during bus rides. A bit uncomfortable over time, but trust me, it's worth it!

Costs of travelling in Ecuador:

My first impression of the price level in Ecuador wasn't the best. After five weeks of spending next to nothing in Colombia, Quito struck me as such an expensive city. However, this was mostly because I engaged in more organised activities while in the city, which is obviously more expensive than taking advantage of local transport. You pay for the convenience. For a meal in Ecuador I usually paid 5-10 USD, and you can't really complain about that. As long as you're not a vegetarian there is also a huge variety of really cheap street food available, which my friends could definitely vouch for.

Apparently the use of USD in Ecuador upper the price level, as the Ecuadoreans are in no control of their own currency, but to be honest I still found the country really cheap. The week I spent in the Galapagos, however, is a different story, but I obviously knew this before I decided to go there. More than half of the money I spent in Ecuador was in fact spent in the Galapagos, but it was totally worth it.

Curious about travelling in Ecuador? You can find all my Ecuador posts here.

Travelling as a vegetarian in Ecuador:

My biggest struggle with being vegetarian in Ecuador turned out to traveling in a group. The hostels along the Quilotoa Loop all cater to vegetarians, and my impression is that most Ecuadorean cities have good vegetarian restaurants, if you do your research and at times are prepared to pay a little extra. One of my favourite vegetarian meals of my entire trip was in fact had in Ecuador, at Casa Hood on my birthday in Baños. Traveling with cost-oriented backpackers who preferred eating street food, on the other hand, did present me with a bit of a challenge and several meals of solely French fries were had.

As for the menu del dia the restaurants were usually happy to replace the meat with a vegetarian protein such as beans, lentils or an egg, but I feel like I definitely benefitted from being able to speak some Spanish in order to make this happen. When it comes to Spanish skills, conversations concerning food orders have definitely become my strong suit.

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♥ Erica

After two days of doing absolutely nothing in Cuenca and getting way too comfortable at Mi Casa Hostel, it was time for new adventures. I caught a 5 am bus heading for Guayaquil, only to catch a flight to one of my dream destinations in South America. I was treating myself to a week in the Galápagos Islands. I had been going back and forth for weeks wondering whether it be worth it spending so much money in one place over one week. Eventually I decided that I might only be in Ecuador once, and that this was something I really wanted to do. As I also decided against spending additional money on a cruise, I realised this week might not kill my budget after all.

The flight from Guayaquil to Baltra was short and sweet, but even before exiting Baltra airport the costs started adding up. In your departure airport you need to pay a 20 USD tourist fee (little tip: this has to be done before checking in your luggage. Get this right right away to avoid queing twice, like I may or may not have done) and when you arrive you're being charged an additional 100 USD as a national park fee. Bring cash as it is not possible to pay with card. Getting from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island, where a lot of people choose to stay, is easy, but also done in several legs. First you get a free airport bus from the airport to a ferry. This takes 5-10 minutes. You then get the ferry over to the island for 1 USD. Once you've made it to the other side you have the option to choose between a 25 USD taxi or a 2 USD bus to the town of Puerto Ayora. I obviously opted for the latter and it took about 45 minutes. It was already late afternoon when I finally arrived at my hostel, so for my first night in town I just wandered around, visited the Charles Darwin Research Centre and appreciated the sights of birds, iguanas, sea lions and baby sharks. They're all so chilled as if the island belongs to them, and I guess it really does.

I started my second day in Puerto Ayora by meeting up with Julia, who arrived back from Isla Isabela that morning. We had decided to visit Las Grietas, which in Spanish means "the cracks" as it literally is deep cracks in the volcanic landscape filled with crystal clear water, and also only short water taxi ride and hike away from Puerto Ayora. On our way we came across a pink, salty lake and Playa de los Alemanes, before making it to the beautiful cove. I went for a swim and spotted fish swimming underneath me as I made my way through the water. We then had a brief pit stop at the hostel, just in time to welcome more friendly faces to our dorm. Stewart and Priyanga returned from their cruise and with that four out of seven from our Quilotoa hiking group had reunited in the Galapagos. Not a bad accomplishment. We spent the afternoon in the beautiful Tortuga Bay (which didn't have any turtles), just sunbathing and enjoying, for my part, forced dips in the ocean.

The morning after Julia left for her cruise, while the rest of us caught a speed boat to Isla Isabela. We had been warned that seasickness wasn't uncommon as the ride gets very bumpy, but we all made it across the ocean alright. In Isabela we met up with our host for the next two nights, a guy Julia had randomly met on the beach and put us in touch with, and who was kindly offering us the top floor of his self-designed house. We were trading beds for hammocks and walls for, well, no walls, but couldn't help but admit that it was a pretty cool place to stay. The boys even invited two more friends to come stay with us, and apart from freezing nights we had a great time in Isabela. The first day we rented bikes, and took on the 20 km trail to Muro de las Lagrimas. Along the way there are several places you can stop, to visit miradors, caves, beaches and so on. The 100m-long wall made out of lava rocks is the only remaining evidence of the penal colony that held convicts under harsh and abusive conditions between 1945 and 1959. The wall is said to have caused thousands of deaths during its construction. On the way back we stopped by a flamingo lake and a tortoise breeding centre, before returning the bikes and meeting up with our two other roommates, our host and a few of his friends to enjoy a family style meal. Being in the company of locals is always good, and we were taken to cheap but good restaurants we definitely wouldn't have found on our own. The night ended with a few beers and a bonfire in a pit right outside the house, because why not.

The following morning we were up around 7 am as we had booked a guided tour to Volcán Sierra Negra and Volcán Chico, where we were hiking about 10 km each way. Compared to the hikes I've taken recently the terrain was fairly easy, but the long walk in the burning sun was tiring nonetheless. Walking on top of volcanoes is really cool and we were rewarded with some pretty decent views. After the tour we were all shattered, and ended up trading beaches for hammocks for the next few hours. We then had to break in to our host's friend's house to shower, as our house lacked water that day (the struggles of staying in home-made houses), before having yet another good dinner.

Another cold night in the hammock was followed by yet another early rise. We had booked a snorkling tour to Los Tuneles, and were picked up at 7:30 am. Los Tuneles is known to offer the best snorkling in Isla Isabela, and it was quickly confirmed that lots of different species awaited us that day. As I hadn't done much animal sightings yet, it is safe to say that I was excited. Unfortunately it was a cold day, so we had to dress properly for the boat ride and wear wet suits for snorkelling. The cold water made me enjoy the snorkelling a bit less than I would otherwise, but it was still pretty amazing to swim amongst turtles, sharks, sea horses, stingrays and other types of fish. Our guide was knowledgeable and seemed to know where all the different species were hiding. We also had a quick guided tour by land, where we were introduced to the blue footed boobie that is very typical for Galapagos. Despite the chilling temperatures it was a great tour.

When the tour finished we headed back to the house to collect our stuff, as we were catching the afternoon ferry back to Puerto Ayora. Our return to Puerto Ayora called for another interesting living arrangement. The other four had booked a room for four people in advance, before knowing that I would be there as well. We decided that I'd go with them anyway, to see if we could trade their room for one that would fit five people. We quickly learned that they had no such room, but in my poor Spanish I still managed to convince the receptionist to let us stay five people in the four bed room. We just figured we’d sleep three people in the double bed. In theory a good plan, only the double bed turned out to be tiny even for two people. In the end the boys literally picked apart the two single beds and laid the mattresses on the floor so the three of them could sleep there while Katie and I, being the two smallest out of the five of us, slept in the double bed. Definitely not the easiest solution, but I appreciated them making such an effort to have me staying with them. It was also quite interesting having to deal with getting electric shocks from our shower as we couldn't notify the staff about its broken condition when we had turned our entire room upside down. It definitely gave us a few laughs and luckily we all survived.

We woke up to what was going to be my last full day in the Galapagos, while the others were all catching a flight that day. I waved them off and set out on a day trip to Santa Fe, where I was hoping I’d get to snorkel with sea lions. I got slightly stressed when I turned up to the travel agency that I’d booked the tour with and it was closed, but after waiting for about 15 minutes a guide turned up to get me. For once it was a warm and sunny day and the time spent on the boat was truly enjoyable. I was eager to work on my tan, so I spent the entire day on the sunny parts of the boat while the rest of the group for some reason remained hiding under the roof.

When it was finally time to get in the water the guide asked the group which ones who considered themselves decent swimmers. To my surprise it was only myself and a Dutch couple who raised our hands, while the remaining seven were wrapped up in life vests and got handed floating equipment. It definitely wasn’t an ideal situation. Us three decent swimmers were told to stay together and basically went off on our own, as the guide had to help the others into the water. Snorkelling wise the conditions was so much better than the day before. The water was amazingly clear and there were fish and turtles to be seen everywhere. That the water was also a lot warmer didn’t hurt and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. I am usually not the biggest fan of snorkelling, but the first hour in the water flew by and suddenly we were called in for coffee and snacks. We were then taken to a different part of the island for more snorkelling. The sea lions were waiting. Unfortunately most of them were too lazy to come out and play, but we got to swim around with a few and it was amazing. They are so cute and playful, and definitely not afraid of humans. We even spotted the Alfa male; an angry, barking guy that was probably bigger than me. We were told to be careful around him as he gets protective of the kids and females, and I was perfectly fine with just watching him from a distance.

We ended the day at the beautiful Playa Escondida, and even though I at first didn’t see why we would bother to spend time watching iguanas on a beach, I understood once we got there. It is probably one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visited. We spent a good hour strolling around, watching the spitting iguanas and taking in the scenery before returning to the boat and heading back to Puerto Ayora. The sun was with us the entire day, for the first time during my stay in the Galapagos, and I’m pretty sure this was my favourite day there. Even though I wished for more time to explore, I spent the evening getting ready for an early departure and a long day of travelling the following morning, a trip that didn’t exactly turn out the way I’d imagined.

Even though I didn’t do a cruise, I am pleased with my stay in the Galapagos. I ended up seeing almost all the same animals as the people that I’ve spoken with who did do a cruise, and as I only had five full days on the islands I definitely got the most out my stay by doing it this way instead of spending time searching for last minute deals, travelling back and forth to the cruise and so on. A five day cruise, which is what I would have had to take, does in fact only include three days of activities, as the first day is only spent on the boat and you get back very early on the fifth day. Spending 1000 USD on that just didn’t seem worth it to me. The people I know that did five day cruises did however seem happy about that, so I guess it’s a matter of personal preference.

If I were to do anything differently, I would rather make sure that I’d stay for at least ten days. Five days simply wasn’t enough. If I was to return to the Galapagos I would probably also choose a different month than September, where the weather is more stable and the temperatures slightly higher. Then again, I’ll most likely never go back. I feel like the Galapagos is the kind of place that I’ll only visit once, but I sure am glad that I did.

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♥ Erica

The day I was gonna make my way from Latacunga to Baños started with a relaxed breakfast. We were a group of five heading for Baños that day, and we were all equally convinced that direct buses ran quite frequently. It's only a two hour ride so they should be, right? At the bus terminal we were told otherwise. After some confusion were sent of on a bus to Ambato where we were told that we would find a connecting bus. That didn't quite happen. After being told different things by a numerous amount of people and having run all around the terminal, it appeared that there were no buses leaving for Baños anytime soon. Only moments later we were suddenly shoved into a fully booked bus headed for Baños, after paying 0,20 USD for a ticket we didn't really understand. Apparently this is what they do around here when there are no available buses; they charge a small fee for taking people a part of the way, to somewhere where they'll be able to catch local buses to their final destinations. We were therefore soon thrown out on the street, with a promise that a bus to Baños would appear within the next fifteen minutes. Luckily it did. Altogether the trip from Latacunga to Baños took about three hours, which isn't at all that bad, but this still makes for my most interesting bus journey thus far.

When finally in Baños we found a hostel and went off to explore. My number one priority in Baños was to get my picture taken on the swing at the the end of the world, and we decided to get this done sooner rather than later. After discovering that the buses up to the swing stopped running at 4pm we squeezed five people into a taxi, for which we paid 20 USD. This covered a return ride plus the driver waiting for an hour while we swung. I don't know what I expected from Casa del Arbol, but it certainly wasn't what actually met me. After paying 1 USD to enter, we walked into a park with lots of swings and lots and lots of people. I've seen dozens of idyllic pictures taken from Casa del Arbol, and although I wasn't surprised it was still a bit disappointing that the site looks nothing like that in real life. Oh well, I got some cool photos which was kind of the purpose all along.

I'd been wondering where I'd wake up on my 26th birthday, and Baños ended up being the place. Although I don't care much about my birthday, it was still nice having people that I knew to spend the day with. My friends bought me a birthday cake, sang for me and forced me to have a better meal in a restaurant as "you can't only eat fries for your birthday". It was very much appreciated.

For the day we rented bikes and set off on a 20 km ride to the waterfalls in the area. Although the rain was pouring for most of the ride, it was still an enjoyable day. As we were already soaking wet, there were also no reasons not to explore the waterfalls up close. I believe my shoes were wet for a week afterwards. After reaching the end of the trail we decided to pay a truck to take us back to town. I was glad to escape all that uphill biking.

Baños is known for its wide range of activities upon offer, so on our last day we decided it was time to be adventurous. At 9am we went off to go canyoning; an activity I wanted to try in San Gil, Colombia where I ended up going paragliding instead. Now it was finally time to abseil down some waterfalls. After driving for about 45 minutes, we got changed into wetsuits, appropriate shoes, put on our harnesses and got a quick round of instructions. I briefly had time to ask myself what the hell I was getting myself into, before we started walking towards the first waterfall. Fortunately it ended up being lots of fun. We abseiled down three waterfalls, the tallest being 30 meters, went sliding down others and even ended up doing a bit of zip lining. When we reached the bottom of the trail I just wanted to keep going. "Off course you do, but that's why we're going rafting this afternoon", was the response I got, and so we did. While the group we went canyoning was huge, it ended up only being the three of us going rafting. According to our instructor that meant we were in for some extra exercise, but I was quite happy about having an upper body workout after all the hiking I'd done since arriving in Ecuador. As we got our basic instructions, however, I suddenly realised that I was terrified of ending up in the water. I spent about a quarter of the time in the boat being terrified, before finally learning to trust the boat and our guide. Eventually I ended up having a great time rafting as well. We returned to our hostel exhausted, but very excited about the day we had just had.

Baños ended up being a lot of fun, which was also why I went there. I could easily have filled up a few more days there, but it was also fine leaving after three days. I've found three days to be an ideal amount of time to spend in almost any city, as you get to experience the essentials without getting restless. On the way back to the hostel on the last night we stopped at the bus station to get our tickets for the following morning, but this time for different destinations. As I headed for Cuenca I was once again on my own, although it turned out it wouldn't be for long.

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♥ Erica

Hiking the Quilotoa Loop has definitely been one of the highlights of my trip so far. Beautiful hikes during the days and cozy evenings with great food and good company in the evenings; it doesn't get much better than that. Most people I have talked to in Ecuador seemed to be visiting the Quilotoa lake on a daytrip, but for anyone who has the time and a certain appreciation for hiking I would definitely recommend doing the whole loop. The loop can be done in different ways, so this is a guide to how I ended up doing it. I definitely recommend doing the loop in this direction as you are really saving the best for last. The only reason I can imagine for going the other way is to escape the awfully steep hills you will encounter when having the Quilotoa Lake as you're last stop, but they do make for a great workout and they'll make you feel even more proud of yourself once you've completed the loop. 

I enjoyed a chilled morning in Quito as I had no rush in getting to Latacunga. The town itself is quite uninteresting, but it is the most obvious starting point for anyone doing the loop. The bus from Quito leaves from Terminal Quitumbe, costs 2,35 USD and takes about two hours. Once in Latacunga I made my way through town to Hostal Tiana, which seems to this be the most popular choice for backpackers heading towards Quilotoa. The hostel was nice; it has a great view from the rooftop, comfortable dorms and a basic, but good breakfast. They also offer safe storage of your big bag, as it is best to only bring a daypack on the trail, for 1 USD per night. I was initially planning on doing the trek by myself, as I hadn't met anyone who was doing it at the same time as me. That changed within an hour at Hostal Tiana, and suddenly we were a group of five doing the trek together. I was happy to have company.

Although we woke up quite early we weren't able to leave the hostel until about 10 am. As the Quilotoa loop is a circuit it can be done in both directions. We had decided to finish the trek at the lake rather than starting with it, as the lake is the most spectacular part of the trek. Therefore we started by taking the bus to Sigchos, and then hike from there to Isinlivi, a 14 km hike that's supposed to take 3 - 4 hours.

At 10.30 we got on the bus. The ride takes 2 hours, but offers pretty decent views, and costs 2,30 USD. The hike from Sigchos was scenic and went downhill for the first part, but ended with a pretty steep hill, taking us to about 3000 meter above sea level. We finished the hike in about 3 hours and then checked into Llullu Llama Hostel, which is probably the most recommended hostel in town. It certainly lived up to its reputation. This was the only hostel we had actually reserved in advance, as it does occasionally fill up. We were therefore able to settle into a cozy dorm and then jump in our swimming suits to relax in the jacuzzi. Usually the "spa" costs about 8 USD, but we were happy to learn that around this time of the year it is free to use. Afterwards we played board games and enjoyed the happy hour with two cocktails for 6 USD and a delicious three course dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed the vegetarian option. Llullu Llama had no wifi, which was actually really nice. Instead we socialised with other travellers until bed time.

We woke up just before 8 am to enjoy a deliciously filling family style breakfast at 8 am sharp. The hostel served lots of fruit, cereal and scrambled eggs with bread, which made us ready for the hike we had ahead of us. At 9.20 we left the hostel and started walking towards Chugchilan. The hike of the day was about 12 km and was supposed to take 4-6 hours. Just like the day before the hike started with a descent for the first few kilometres and ended with a steep hill on very uneven ground, which lasted for about 750 meters. The reward for making it to the top was a mirador with amazing views, where we had a quick lunch. At 13.10 we walked into the town of Chugchilan and got ourselves a dorm at the Cloud Forest Hostel for 15 USD per person including dinner and breakfast. The hostel certainly wasn't as nice as Llullu Llama, but still pretty alright. As we had the whole afternoon to spend there we checked out the game room, where there were ping pong and a pool table, before playing card games until dinner. Dinner was alright, although still a let down after last nights amazing meal. We ended the evening with even more card games, before calling it a night.

On day 4 our group had grown with two more people so there were seven of us setting out on the last day of the trek at 9.30 am. This part is supposed to be the toughest, but also the most beautiful, and we knew that by the end of the day we would end up at the Quilotoa Lake, which was sufficient as motivation. The trail started downhill for about 2 km, but after that it was all uphill, on some sandy and challenging paths. Luckily we were surrounded by beautiful nature and the occasional cute kid or animal, which made it all worth it. At 14.00 we finally reached the crater of the lake and it was beautifully placed in a valley with mountains all around it. Upon reaching the crater you can choose to do a long or a short hike around the lake and into the city of Quilotoa. The long way takes 3-4 hours, but allows you to reach the highest point in the crater at 3930 meters above sea level, while the short way takes about an hour. Our group decided to split up, and I joined three of the others in taking the long hike. When you've already been hiking for 4,5 hours you'd want to add another 4 hours to that amount, right? To be fair the last part was amazing and probably my favourite part of the entire trek, so it was definitely worth it, but I could also feel my body aching as we reached the hostel. In Quilotoa we stayed at Chukirawa Hostel, where we paid 16,88 USD each for a seven person dorm with dinner and breakfast included. The hostel was freezing, but otherwise alright. It was a good feeling going to bed that night, knowing that I'd accomplished a trek of about 46 km in about 15 hours over three days.

It was quite a nice feeling waking up on the fifth day, knowing that I didn't have to rush off to anywhere. We enjoyed a long breakfast and then decided to take a closer look at the lake. The village of Quilotoa is located on top of the crater rim, so it took about 20 minutes of steep downhill walking to get down there. Down by the lake we rented kayaks for 3 USD per 30 minutes, which was an enjoyable experience. After relaxing on the dock for a while we started the much less enjoyable uphill hike. Steep, sandy hills are definitely not a favourite of mine. At 3 pm we caught the bus back to Latacunga for 2 USD. With that we were back to where we started and had officially completed the circuit. While most of us had vague plans of making it to our next destinations that afternoon, we all ended up staying in Latacunga for one more night. It was quite nice ending a chilled day with an equally chilled evening before setting off on new adventures.

No. It really isn't. I've seen quite aggressively priced guided tours of the loop, but I honestly don't understand why a guided tour would be necessary. The hostels provide good directions, so finding the way around isn't difficult. We paid between 15 and 19 USD per night per person in a shared dorm, but this included both a three course dinner and a decent breakfast. Lunch boxes were available for purchase. I only got the one at Cloud Forest Hostel for 3 USD, and it was well worth the money.

In total I ended up spending 92,50 USD (726 NOK) over five days. This includes all meals, snacks, water refills, celebratory drinks, hostel beds, bus rides and so on that I've had, from the moment I got on the bus to Latacunga on day 1 until I returned five days later. With an average of 18,50 USD per day this will probably stand out as one of the cheapest highlights of my trip.

I think every blog I've read about the Quilotoa Loop points out how important it is to bring warm clothes, so I did that. My experience after hiking the loop in the middle of September is that it is in fact quite warm. I've been wearing t-shirt and tights for hiking, but could easily have worn shorts if I had brought some. A long sleeved shirt and sweat pants have been sufficient for the evenings, while gloves and head band have not once left my backpack. A wind proof jacket ended up being nice when we finally reached the lake, as it was quite windy around there. I did however expect the temperatures to be at the same level as Cotopaxi, but they really aren't. I guess you never really know what the temperatures will be like, but would still point out that it won't necessarily be cold.

Also, pack as lightly as you can. I brought my 18L daypack and was happy about the choice. Wearing the same trekking outfit five days in a row is just a part of the experience, right? Hiking boots that provides a good grip will definitely be an advantage, but I've also witnessed first hand that the trek can be completed in flip flops, although I don't think I would recommend it.

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♥ Erica