Travel summary: Ecuador

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