The official slogan of Ecuador is: “All you need is Ecuador.” How fitting.
Ecuador is one of the smaller countries on the globe, but boy does it pack a big punch. It has everything from jungle to volcanoes to tropical islands with white sand, and even has some pretty amazing towns to accompany all the natural beauty.
Our first couple of days in Ecuador were spent in the thick Amazon jungle. Thanks to a special tip from some friends, we managed to secure a great lodge in the Cuyabeno region. The lodge was pretty rustic and the doors had no lock (only slightly disturbing when there are over 17 different types of highly venomous snakes in the amazon) but the food was great and our guide was phenomenal. Every day was packed with walks, boat rides and activities. My favorite activity was visiting the equator late at night in the middle of a thick jungled area of Cuyabeno. We all turned off all of our headlamps and just listened to the noises of nature. It was so cool! We could hear monkeys howling, birds chirping and bugs buzzing (it sounded just like the jungle setting on the white noise app!). Every evening we boated out to the middle of the lake and swam and watched the sunset. Our group was awesome. We had five French students (my parents were thrilled that we now had an opportunity to speak some French) and they were all very friendly and fun.
Our next little box on the bucket list was a town called Otavalo. Now, Otavalo is not your average town. It is home to the biggest Indigenous market in South America. The market runs every day and spread across the entire town. We visited it. Obviously.
The minute we got there, we all went into spending mode. My parents both bought a classic sweater and a throw blanket, I bought a classic poncho and some shoes, Jonah also bought a classic poncho and a panama hat (who woulda thunk it, they make panama hats in Ecuador) and Elias bought a sweater and a double hammock with Jonah.
My dad reckons that we boosted Ecuador's economy by 3% that day.
Our campsite there was also very homey. It had a very nice common house where we ate dinner every night and we even attended the smallest church service I have ever been to (5 people not including us.) Jonah, Elias and I spent around three hours every day playing hide and seek on the huge property (not too many casualties, only five skinned knees, two major cuts and one fainting spell).
After Otavalo, it was high time for a hike. My parents decided on the famed Cotopaxi volcano. Now, before you go thinking “oh that sounds pleasant” or “what a fun hike” - take into consideration that Cotopaxi volcano is 5,897 meters. Yes, meters. You literally get a stamp on your passport saying that you are closer to the moon than anywhere else in the world. Also, take into consideration that Cotopaxi has incredible wind speeds and occasional hail storms.
Remember how I said that Ecuador could really pack a punch? Well Cotopaxi KOed us, slammed us against the mat and threw us into the stands. Head first.
If I could describe it in one word? Excruciating.
The hike itself is not very long, maybe three hours. But that's without taking into consideration altitude, wind and the cold. Adding all those factors it took us about six hours. The hike is also very steep and the path is loose rock. All these factors combined for an exhausting and brutal hike. But, we made it.
Barely.
After scratching and clawing our way up and down Cotopaxi it turned out that my birthday was coming up! And boy did we have a party. We planned it so that I could have my birthday in Quito, Ecuador’s capital (remember the poll at the end of the last post?). What was the main activity? Paintball. Oh yes.
Let me explain something to you. When you are living with your family for 5 months straight in a camper, sleeping on a twin bed with your little brother and just generally not having ANY space whatsoever, paintballing is the best way to release all that pent up rage. It’s impossible to describe the feeling of immense satisfaction that I received shooting my loving father right in the chest or sniping Jonah right on the butt. It was the PERFECT bday present.
After paintballing we did almost everything I would have wanted in a day. That means playing basketball, getting a fresh haircut, eating dinner at Pizza Hut (I had a craving OK?) and finishing it off with a night in the fanciest Holiday Inn I have ever seen watching Jason Bourne. One word to describe it?
Ahhhhhhhhhh.
After Quito we toured two cities in two different ways; Baños, biking along a very famous highway-side waterfall tour (biking beside huge semi- trucks flying by at 80+ km? That’s some next level fear.)
And then Cuenca, the most beautiful city in Ecuador, hands down, by a double-decked tour bus.
Ecuador is mind-blowing. I still can’t wrap my head around how much God was able to fit into one tiny country! And we experienced all of it. You want the real South American experience?
Book a one-way ticket to Ecuador.
-Nathaniel Fast
Ecuador sounds amazing!
What is the biggest snake you have seen and have you seen any deadly animals? Do you have pictures of them? From Silas
We love reading your descriptive narrative of your experiences. The running around and getting a few scrapes reminds us of family gatherings. We miss you all a lot.
Now that it’s September- are any of you taking any courses by correspondence? Is your educational focus on geography, history, outdoor education, and social studies (aka sociology)?
Ha, I saw some show where they talked about Panama hats being made there. How much was it? Apparently the really nice ones take 100 hours to make and can be very pricey.