Ecuador

Now the trips are getting more interesting. The girls are older and more involved in the planning. Ecuador won the presentation competition (mostly because while they were presenting, I was looking up which had the cheapest flights). Tip: Check the internet to see what shots you need WELL before travel. The CDC has a good travelers health section and even AI can give you information. To save money, I booked us to Florida and we spent the night. The next day we got our flight to Ecuador via Venezuela. Tip: If you have flexibility in your time, this is a good way to save money. It was significantly cheaper for 5 tickets from our town to Ft Lauderdale. Then we took and Uber to Miami and spent the night in a hotel. The next morning we went to Miami airport and flew out to Ecuador. All of that was cheaper than 5 flights from our town to Ecuador.

This trip made me nervous all around since it was the first time I was planning a trip to a country I hadn’t been to first. Venezuela airport in and of itself escalated my nerves. People were taking videos of the girls (because they had blond hair) and everyone from the flight was kept in a room with armed guards. And I’m talking big guns, not in a holster. I insisted that we were not camping, but staying in hotels. This was not only for safety but also avoid mosquitoes. We did however, rent a car. Through a friend we actually were connected with a family that lived there to get travel advice. This family went above and beyond actually meeting us at the airport and going over our itinerary.

We landed in Guayaquil and met with the family, so we stayed the night there in a hotel. This allowed us to meet with them and also to get groceries. Another instance that had me questioning this trip were armed guards on platforms in the grocery store parking lot which was enclosed with 8 foot high fencing. I was quite happy when the van was loaded and we left the big city.

Our first stop was Banos. This was my favorite place in Ecuador. It has a great small town vibe with lush tropical surroundings. People were very friendly. I highly recommend the Swing at the End of the World. I am afraid of heights so I might not have gone as high as Andy, but I can say that I did it! We then moved on to Quito. It is another big city that. I could not wait to get out of as soon as possible. We spent the night so that we could go to Otavala and it’s market. This was the request of our oldest (its fun when they start helping with the planning). She was most excited to purchase 2 dozen roses for $2. A great deal, but a lot of scent for a small van! It was also a great place to get souvenirs. Then it was on to Mindu. When we first got there we were concerned that there would not be anything to do. We couldn’t be more wrong. We ended up zip lining and having a chocolate making lesson. Perhaps what we all remember the most is the pizza place. We went to El Tigrillo a wood fired pizza restaurant. Andy began asking them questions because he likes other make pizza at home. The next thing we knew, the guy had Andy behind the counter making pizza with him!

Now it was on to the coast. Our first stop, Canoa is Andy’s favorite place in the world. I did love the hotel. We had the entire top floor (an attic) with a kitchenette. It was amazing with a fantastic view. Tip: Developing countries do not always take credit cards. How ever much cash you think you need, take more. At this point in the trip we are beginning to get low on cash. There are no ATMs to get more from. So when we left Canoa, finding a hotel that took credit was essential as I wanted to go whale watching. We found a hotel in Porta Lopez that not only took credit cards but was run by an English speaking woman. She told us all about how she can to be in Ecuador and that her food was safe to eat as she had filtered water. Tip: Even if they wash the fruits and veggies in water they are NOT safe to eat. I learned that the hard way. We did go whale watching and had a great time. We saw whales and even heard them in the water when we went snorkeling off the boat. Our last stop before Guayaquil was Salinas. It was a bigger coastal town so we were able to use our credit card for the hotel and restaurant. My family still remembers the “cold tub” which was there hot tub (but it was off season so they were not heating it). Finally we went back to Guayaquil and the family that helped us met up with us to show us around. It was a much better time in the city this time, thanks to them.