The best of...Ecuador

Though Ecuador is such a small country (272,045sqm, one of the smallest in South America), I spent 70days here. Thanks for the reasons of studying espanol, I could explored many parts of the country.

Ecuador's landscape is very diverse, from the Amazon jungle in the East (the Oriente), Andes in the central trough (the Sierra) and the coast in the west (the Costa). In addition, the Galapagos Island, where Charles Darwin was inspired and then gave birth to the theory of evoluation.

As I have already planned to go to the jungle in Peru, and there are so many beaches in Hong Kong (though they are different), so I didn't explore the Oriente and Costa of Ecuador. For Galapagos, orginally, I planned to go there, but after calculating the budget and after told by other backpackers that,'With the same amount of money you spend in Galapagos, you can live half year in India!' So I decided not to go, though everybody who had gone that said the 1000 to 1500USD spent(for around 5 to 8days) was totally worthwhile.

Therefore, I just concentrated exploring the central highlands where I were fascinated by the high mountains and the concentrations of indigenous people.

Among all those places I have visted, my No. 1 is Chimborazo where I had a wonderful encounter with the world No. 1 peak.

No. 2 is Quilotoa where the beauty of the emerald blue and green crater lake I can never forget. Besides, the dense concentration of the beautiful dressed indigenous people and the little indigenous girl who saved us from the risk of dog bite are also unforgettable.

As it is hard to choose, so there are 2 No.3, they are Cuenca and Mandango Peak in Vilcabamba. The impressive old colonial architectures in Cuenca really made me feel like I was walking on the street in 16th century. And the dangerous Mandango Peak which made my legs shake a lot can never be erased from my memory.

Besides impressive mountains and cities, the food in Ecuador is also not bad, sometimes even very good. When I first arrived Ecuador, I didn't expect that rice is their main food.

So every time in the lunch or dinner set, there must be rice with chicken, beef of pork. And just like European culture, Ecuadorean lunch or dinner set must have three course, 1st Soup, 2nd Rice and 3rd Juice and sometimes with desserts also. Usually, it only costs 1.3USD to 2.5USD, which is really a bargain and delicious.

Among all those restaurants I have tried in Ecuador, my favourite is still the cooking of my home stay family in Quito. Nelly is really a good chef, among the 21 days I lived there, the lunch sets had never been repeated! And every day was a really big meal for me, sometimes rice, sometimes noodles. When later Mel,a vegetarian arrived, Nelly's cooking was more fantastic, she could turn every vegetable into an incredibly delicious meal.

My home stay mother, Nelly and her splendid cooking.

Though I loved eating in local restaurant in Ecuador, sometimes I really encountered bad food, like the tasteless beef in Cayambe, hard rice in Ibarra and rubber like chicken in Banos. But everytime I still grateful for the bad food, because if there was no bad taste, how could I enjoy and feel that I was lucky to have other delicious food.

For accomondation, Ecuador is really cheap to living in. My costs of living (dorm or private or shared room) ranges from 4USD to 10USD. Of course, there are many high ranked hostels, but to me, a budget traveller, the price is really good (even though it is still more expensive than in the hostels in China). And the quality is not bad, for the cheapest hostal I had lived in was in Banos, where I have my own toilet and I could take hot shower(usually it is a very important criteria).

My first home stay in Quito.

And the most expensive one is in Vilcabamba, I chose it because I arrived at night and the cheap dorm was full at the moment. But the quality of this room is really 'luxury' to me, where I have a big bathroom with hot water and I also had my own hammock at the front of my room. The hostal also has a big and beautiful garden, and I could get lots of travel information(including maps of trekking) from the discussion board and the owner (a french).

What a relaxing life!


However, my favourite accomondation is still my home stay in Macro family in Otavalo, where I had a big, pretty and comfortable room. And I also had the real feeling of being included as a member of the family.

My home stay in Marco's family.