Ecuador Finis

 I flew back from Ecuador on a midnight flight (who schedules a flight at midnight on ET?) and we were diverted to Panama City as the result of a medical emergency.  Never had that happen to me before (not sure what was the cause).  Had to be the longest airport taxi when we hit the ground.  Thought we were going to taxi the length of the canal.

So, that ended my sojurn to Ecuador.  A few final observations about this fascinating country-

-Ecuador is just so inexpensive it is amazing (the Galapagos being a notable exception).  Taxi rides cost a $1.50 to go most places in a city.  Really nice boutique hotel rooms can be had for $50 including  a great breakfast.  Service at these hotels was top notch, whether arranging for tours, Covid tests or anything else. 

-  I found the food almost uniformly plentiful and good.  Fresh fruit of more types than I can count is ubiquitous, delicious and served with every breakfast.  YOu can get a cup of fresh fruit on any bus for $1.    

- The people of Ecuador seem to work very hard and be quite productive.  They all seemed to take real pride in their work and i thought most everything seemed of solid quality.  Agriculture seems everywhere in Ecuador and climbs high up the mountains.  

- The high Andes of Ecuador just seem so...high and massive.  Much higher than the Rockies or other ranges.  I really felt the altitude until I got acclimated. 

-The country is small in size, but there is really a lot to see and do.  From the market of Otavalo, to the jungle, to the volcans, to Quilota Laguna, to the Galapagos, to the equator, to the high grassland of the Andes, to the pretty city of Cuenca- just a lot of variety and natural beauty in a relatively small area.  

- The Galapagoes are truly unique and stunning.  Snorkeling felt like being in a Jacques Cousteau movie- you see so much marine life so close.  On land, I have never seen animals so close (they are obviously quite used to humans).  I cannot imagine anybody not enjoying the experience. 

-  I found the Ecuadorians a very friendly and welcoming people.   They clearly like and value tourists.  So many asked where I was from and many expressed gratitude to me for coming to their country.  They seemed to take pride in providing excellent service- the attention I got from my barber for my $3 haircut was truly impressive.

- I rarely felt like I was in a 3rd world country.  I thought it pretty clean, comfortable and most things were run surprisingly efficiently.  

So, a few final pictorial highlights-

    - Quilatoa-  

Cotapaxi (nearly 20,000 ft high)-

The unique Galapagos-

To the colorful Otavalo market-

To fun Banos-

To massive and Himalyan-like Chimborazo-

To the Amazon basin-

To the high Andean grasslands of Cajas NP-

To the beautiful churches of Cuenca-

That's all folks.  Thanks for reading. 

Churches, Roses, and Gringoland

 I forgot to mention that Cajas NP includes a portion of the old Inca road, part of which went over the mountains to the coast.  This road- dangerous because of the cold weather and fog- was actually the primary route to the city of Guayquil on the coast until the 1970s when the modern road was built.  In any case, it is cool to think of hiking on the Inca trail-

Cuenca, as mentioned, as an astonishing number of churches for a mid sized city and many are truly impressive architectures-

But the so called 'new cathedral' (built in the late 1800s) is truly in a class of its own and has to be one of the largest cathedrals in the world.  It is just massive and seems almost to compare with St. Peter's in Rome for sheer size and outward magnifence-

The doors themselves are enormous-

Walking around the city, one sees a lot of people carrying things, including what this woman was carrying on her head.  I don't blame the little kid for chasing her-

Yes, those are ice cream cones sticking out of her head.   

I am not sure what these women are doing on their balconies, but they do seem a little stiff-

Ecuador is famous for its roses, which Ecuadorians will tell you are the best in the world and one of their leading exports (in addition to oil and bananas).  From what i saw, they have claim on that title-

Things tend to be very cheap in Ecuador and it is not unusual to pay $25 for an acceptable hotel room, or $3 for lunch or a haircut (and yes, I got one on my last day- it was truly one of the best haircuts I have ever gotten which some might say is not saying too much)-

So perhaps not surprisingly, there is an significant retired set from the U.S. in Cuenca, mostly in condos alongside the pretty river running through the town.  They call that area of Cuenca "Gringoland".  Probably beats snoozing in Revolution Square in Quito with the local retired crew.  

Ok, one wrap up post and that's it from Ecuador as I return home to the land of the $12 (and rising from the news) lunch (and not as good as in Ecuador either!)

Cajas NP and the highest growing tree

 About an hour from Cuenca, there lies Cajas Nationale Parc (National Park for those not fluent in espanol).  It is unique in Ecuador in that it is composed of hundreds of glacial lakes (puddles?) set among the high grassland of the Andes.  Only 3% of the Andes in Ecuador are composed of high grassland.  

So again, I hired tour guide with another customer and set off to do a little hiking in this high grassland.  And it didn't disappoint, as it was quite different than other places I have been in Ecuador-

And there also appeared some non-spitting lamas (the guide said only lamas in Peru spit at tourists, though I am not so sure)-

We were quite lucky with the weather as the guide indicated that it is often misty here at this time of year (i am familiar with that).  He stated that the clouds build up from the Amazon basin and then also come over from the Pacific and then join to often create a cloudy misty landscape.  

This also represented the Continental Divide in this part of Ecuador (elev- 4241 meters), roughly 180 miles from the Pacific but over 3000 from the Atlantic.  We also saw the tree that grew at the highest elevation in the world-

Cuenca and Ecuadorian/Panama Hats

 I spent 6 hours on the bus to get from Riobamba to Cuenca,  a city in Southern Ecuador that is reknowned for its stately colonial architecture.  We journeyed through very green parts of the Andes-

But as good as the scenery was at times, 6 hours on the bus, even with its entertainments and refreshments was quite long-

For some reason, clear plastic wrapped potato chips are a big seller on the bus.  I should know.  

Well, got to Cuenca late in the afternoon and stumbled into the colorful city market-

Where being a bit hungry from the long trip, I found a tasty pork dish for a quite reasonable price-

I then walked around the city and enjoyed its charming, interesting and safe atmosphere-

And I had always dreamed about buying a genuine Panama Hat, which are actually made in Ecuador, rather than Panama.  Evidently, they became associated with Panama when they were imported during the construction of the Panama canal to protect workers from the sun, but they have always been made in Ecuador of fibers grown along the coast and then laboriously processed.  A super fino hat can cost anywhere from $200-2500 and can hold water without leaking.  You never know when you will need to drink from your hat-