Widely believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America, Ecuador's capital (population 2 million) sits high in the Andean foothills at an altitude of 2,850 meters (9350 feet) and was constructed on the site of an ancient Incan city. It is well-known for its preserved colonial center, which was designated an UNESCO Cultural Heritage City in 1978…(along…
Day One: Sigchos to Isinlivi For those who have been following awhile, you may remember our disastrous and slippery sludge down Peru’s Salkantay Trail last March. This is when Mandy began a six-month war with her right foot. As of May 2023, we’re quite happy to say that she completed her first multi-day trek since of 36 kilometers and although…
Appropriately in a tourist town named after a…bath (or bathroom)…in Baños, you. will. get. wet. With a generally rainy climate (at least in mid-May), steamy thermal waters and pummeling waterfalls and rivers by the dozens, this village of 15,000 residents is legendary for being the adventure and hot springs capital of Ecuador. This we absolutely love. We would also like…
At an elevation of 8500 feet (2560 meters), the historic colonial and cultural center of Cuenca is the cobblestone on the cake to what is already a gorgeous and livable city. Like nearby areas in Colombia, Cuenca is tucked into a cool Andean valley and known for its eternal spring temperatures. For this, and so many other reasons, it inched into…
With rugged Scottish Highland resembling landscape and mystical forests, entering the trails of Las Cajas National Park is like penetrating another world. It has lush beds of moss and succulents, rolling green peaks, countless reflective lakes, and knobby gnarled trees that fell out of a storybook. And, at only 45-minutes from Cuenca, it’s easily accessible by any bus from the main…
Although many people head to Ecuador solely for an excursion to the Galápagos Islands, we knew that it wasn’t in the wallet cards for us…this time. Thus, we happily settled for Isla de la Plata which is known on the backpacker circuit as “Poor Man’s Galapagos.” The tour agencies say, “Here you can see a small (more like teacup-sized) sampling of…
Montañita is blanketed with cocktails ….and twenty-somethings…peacocking. This Ecuadorian beachside village is described by Lonely Planet as a party place with a surfing problem, which is probably a pretty accurate assessment. Fortunately we didn’t see party mode in full throttle, but I’m sure it’s somewhere we would have appreciated twenty years ago. The main town included heaps of tourist infrastructure…
Although we found some charm, most people don’t swoon over Guayaquil, which is Ecuador’s second largest city of 2.7 million people and the commercial heart of the country. Instead, it’s more functional with an international airport which often serves as the jumping off point for tourists heading to the Galapagos Islands. The city, which is perched on the edge of…
