Planning for Ecuador
I'm sorry, did somebody say there was a holiday this week?
I've been very preoccupied with the spring semester; putting my syllabi together, taking care of committee work before I leave for Ecuador next week. And they tell me the Christmas is coming up, too... It's been busy!
Does anyone have any travel advice for Ecuador? I've had so little time to plan for this trip that I really haven't made any concrete plans other than buying an airplane ticket into Quito. Because I waited so long to start planning, it looks like I missed out on the opportunity to check out the Galapagos on this trip. Very well: I'll be back!
So it looks like I'll be spending most of my time in the Andean highlands, which ain't so bad. My friend Bridget recommended the South American Explorers Club as being a great organization to join for a network of fellow travelers in the country. They even have clubhouses in Quito, Buenos Aires, Cusco, and Lima...
I'd like to spend my time hiking and geologizing out in the mountainous countryside, but have a comfy roost for the evenings. Any and all advice would be welcome. Either post in the comments section below, or shoot me an e-mail at:
I've been very preoccupied with the spring semester; putting my syllabi together, taking care of committee work before I leave for Ecuador next week. And they tell me the Christmas is coming up, too... It's been busy!
Does anyone have any travel advice for Ecuador? I've had so little time to plan for this trip that I really haven't made any concrete plans other than buying an airplane ticket into Quito. Because I waited so long to start planning, it looks like I missed out on the opportunity to check out the Galapagos on this trip. Very well: I'll be back!
So it looks like I'll be spending most of my time in the Andean highlands, which ain't so bad. My friend Bridget recommended the South American Explorers Club as being a great organization to join for a network of fellow travelers in the country. They even have clubhouses in Quito, Buenos Aires, Cusco, and Lima...
I'd like to spend my time hiking and geologizing out in the mountainous countryside, but have a comfy roost for the evenings. Any and all advice would be welcome. Either post in the comments section below, or shoot me an e-mail at:
Labels: ecuador, south america, travel
1 Comments:
My experiences in Ecuador are confined to Quito and its environs, Cotopaxi, and the Galapagos. If you aren't planning on the latter, here is my mainland Ecuadorean advice:
* Although the current municipal government has "Guliani-ized" the downtown (MUCH less in the way of beggars, street vendors, and so forth in the more commonly attended parts of the Old Town), there are still parts of town in which crime (esp. against foreigners) is still pretty common. A tourism representative down there should be able to give you specific advice. That being said, there are many spots that cater to the ecotourism types.
* If you go to Cotopaxi, see ahead of time about booking a trip up to the lodge on the peak; we made the mistake in thinking that the generic trip would get us up there, but what we got was a lower elevation stop. It was a good stop, but not as impressive as up near the recently deglaciated surface (the lodge was actually built near where the glaciers were present back in the 1970s, but there has been considerable meltback since).
* We found that the places we went to were very accessible to English speakers (or more to the point, non-Spanish speakers), but using a little Spanish seems to be appreciated.
* Give yourself time to acclimatize to the Andes: it is no coincidence that Humboldt first described altitude sickness from there. Consider that Quito is nearly twice as high above sea level as Denver, and it is in a valley!
* Get to like andesite... At least the part of the Andes we were in were mostly volcanic, so not so spectacular from other forms of geology as (say) the Rockies.
* Get a birding guidebook: lots of interesting species around.
Have fun!
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