We leave Ecuador tonight for Peru. It’s been just about 2 weeks here and I think I’ve enjoyed it here more than Colombia. We’ve done a lot. Our step counts on our phones have doubled from last month. 

Ecuador started out in Otavalo for me. I came across the border solo and awaited Carl’s arrival. 

Although I missed Carl, traveling alone for a short period felt really good. There is a freedom in it. You don’t need to consider other people’s wants or needs. You move at a different pace and interact with others differently. When I was younger I felt like it was hard to find people to travel with, now it’s a bit sad that I will probably never travel alone for a long period again. 

Once Carl arrived we headed into the mountains to stay on a farm with Edwardo and Patrica. 

Carl heard about Edwardo from a friend in the States who had visited him. Originally he is from the UK but has lived in Ecuador for more than 10 years. He is married to a lovely local woman named Patrica. Patrica is not only an amazing cook but a expert basket weaver. We hiked and helped heard cows and got to learn a bit about the land but by far the food was my favorite part. So good! Soups, pasta, homemade breads and this chocolate cake steamed in banana leaves!  She also taught us basket weaving. Clearly I out-weaved Carl. 

After several days with Edwardo and Patricia and a failed fishing trip with Edwardo’s extended family we headed back to Otavalo for the big weekly market. Before shopping we checked out a big laguna (lake- are you impressed with my Spanish?), Laguna de Miranda. After buying a blanket, necklace and Carl eating a chunk of pig flesh we were off to our next destination- Quito. 

We did our first free (for tips) tour around Quito. It was pretty good and we got some good historical context. Quito like most colonial cities is very church centric. I admire the architecture but you can get churched out. 

After just a couple days in Quito we headed to Latacunga- the departing point for my favorite bit of Equador, the Quilotoa loop. This 3 day hike brought us through mountains and valleys and more mountains and valleys and to one really beautiful lake filled volcano. 

Once we finished the hike we had some hard choices to make- where to next.   There were volcanoes to attempt to climb and hot springs and glaciers. The issues is of course time. If we had six months in South America we’d still miss a lot, 3 means your constantly running. In the end we decided to head south to Banos- waterfalls and hot spring. 

Banos was a town filled with the comforts of a heavily touristed place. Good food, plenty of activities and lots of places to stay. We had the best arepas I’ve ever had. Like so good. We went back 3 times in total. The hot springs were neat- several big pools open to the public for just a couple dollars. There was a waterfall right next to them. 

We also did a bike ride down the main road in the area that went by a half dozen or so pretty epic waterfalls. 

Our final stop in Ecuador was Cuenca.  It’s was a pretty city with lots of churches and home to the Panama hat, incorrectly named as its got nothing to do with Panama. We went to several smaller towns in search of handcrafts but it ended up being a bit of a bust. Most days we win, this day not so much. We did get some snazzy hats in Cuenca though. 

Ecuador felt like there was so much more that I wanted to do and see. The food was incredible (although I think that may have partially been due to some home cooking from Patrica). 

If you’re familiar with Ecuador and thinking what about the Galapagos?!  Yes, I agree. We missed it. It was hard. It has 2 things working against it, time and money. I think for both of us it is a trip we want to take once we’ve finished this one and have income again. Gotta keep on planning for the future.