Travelling to Ecuador

Well, those were more or less the reactions of the people around me, when I told them I’ll be going abroad for a while again. This time to the other side of the ocean, to the continent that’s really dangerous and where I’ll certainly be robbed. To the continent where everybody is happy and drinking cocktails and dance salsa. To the country where bananas come from. Among the ponchos, volcanoes, llamas and Indians.

 

Well, that’s the stereotypical image of South America (at least twice the size of Europe). It doesn’t matter where you’re going – the north, the south, the east or the west. It also doesn’t matter if you’re going to the mountains of Andes or the tropical natural park Yasuní. And just where is Ecuador and whit kind of country it is?

 

Ecuador is to the north-west of the continent, bordering with Columbia and Peru. It is also the country through which the equator passes and the Galapagos Islands are a part of the country – yes, the one with giant turtles. It’s among the smaller Southern American countries, but very interesting, as it comprises of three very different parts. One is the western coastal area (la costa), along the ocean, with many places to go surfing, diving, fishing, etc. The people are open and smiling and the food is really good, but mostly sea based. The other area is the central mountain range (la sierra), which is also the beginning of the Andes. This is where the Quechua (or Kichwa) Indians and their descendants live. Due to the history they’ve had and experience with strangers, they are more closed and less trusting. Usually they wear ponchos and hats with peacock feathers. And the third area is the western part (el oriente), where you’ll find many tropical rain forests and the Amazon rainforest. This is where numerous tribes live in perfect harmony with the nature. These parts are not so visited by tourists and are maybe best suited for travellers with the adrenalin spirit or biology lovers who can explore the biodiversity of the forests for years. Among the larger and more familiar tribes are the Shuar, Waorani, Secoya, Achuar and Cofan. But us white folks rarely leave them alone and constantly fight over their land, rich with resources.

 

Ecuador has many interesting parts well worth a visit. Among them are two trails – the volcano trail and the sun trail.

 

If you chose the first one – Ruta de los Volcanes, you need to be in good shape and a great lover of mountains and climbing… and hiking in general. During the ascent to the volcano we can enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna which is visibly changing before your very eyes. Their typical mountain growth is called páramo (tall dry grass, some lonely shrubs and rocks). The trail includes 27 volcanoes, but you don’t have to go to all of them, you can select which ones to visit. The trail starts at the Chiles volcano (still on the Columbian site of the border) and ends with the volcano Sangay. Among better known are the volcanos El Cotopaxi (tallest active volcano on Earth), El Chimborazo (its peak is believed to be the point closest to the Sun), El Cayambe (the only volcano with the equator line passing it) and Quilotoa (it collapsed some 800 years ago and its crater now features a beautiful emerald green lake). We have to be careful climbing, as the air if rare as many volcanos reach up to 5000m elevation.

 

An easier trail is the sun trail, where you go down and up along the western Ecuadorian coast along the Pacific Ocean. There are many interesting small places to visit along the way and miles of endless sand beaches. Towns like Montañita and Salinas are also tourist destinations where you can unwind in the evening with a good cocktail and dance mosuing going long into the night. The sea food is also superb – fish and sea fruit in any imaginable way possible, with typical dishes being: ceviche, encebollado, camarones,… We started on the way to the tow of Salinas (in Santa Elena province) and made our way up the coast pass the towns of Montañita, Ayampe, Puerto Lopez (part of the Machalilla national park), Manta and concluded in Canoi. Ruta del Sol originally concludes in Puerto Cayo (in Manabí province), but if have the time I recommend you go on all the way to the city of Esmeraldas.

 

As I want to present this beautiful and distant land as best as possible to the crowd of travellers seeking new adventures, I’ll keep publishing my personal experience in the Globetrotter – from the work in the micro-brewery, up to the economic and political reality of the land and the position of the native population.