Now that we have left Ecuador, I thought it might be interesting to put together a (potentially exhausting) list of random things we’ve seen. Dollars Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency. This can be a problem when the dollar is strong, as it makes Ecuador expensive for other countries. There is a massive […]
Susan, a Canadian friend from Izhcayluma, invited me to go on a bike tour with her. Ellen was delighted to have me gone, and was signed up for a massage, writing, and e-mailing. The ride was promised to be downhill all the way, with a taxi (in these parts they are all pickup trucks) hauling […]
Perhaps it’s because Izhcayluma is not on VRBO, Airbnb, or Booking.com, and that we found it through word of mouth, (Regina, our Swedish travel buddy). It seems like most of the people we met here found it the same way. In any event, it is a fantastic hotel/hostel, and we recommend it to all. We […]
One hears much about Vilcabamba when one is in Ecuador. It has a reputation of being a special place with extreme longevity of its inhabitants. I won’t get into this, but rather refer you to wikipedia for a full discussion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilcabamba,_Ecuador. This reputation has brought a slew of gringos here to visit and live, particularly of […]
Wow, I have been in Ecuador for almost three months. I have been retired for almost 7 months. In many ways I feel like it is all just beginning. We are at a beautiful lodge in Vilcabamba, Ecuador taking a vacation from our vacation. I have gone to Yoga 3 days in a row, which […]
I have never been a Hallmark holiday kind of gal, but today was a fantastic day for us! We are at the edge of the Amazon rain forest entrance. It is a town called Tena. I am not yet allowed to river raft or exert to much but we went on a small flat […]
We have now been gone about 4 months. It is about the middle of our trip so we headed to Middle Earth! Quito has a whole park and museum about the equator. We went with our Swedish friend Regina, who we first met in Spanish school in Cuenca, then had Christmas with, then again at […]
We went to the Mindo Mariposario, or butterfly farm. It is a butterfly research center that studies and breeds butterflies. At least half are released into the wild, but some stay back to help support the organization. It is extremely well run, and a beautiful facility. On the way in, we were able to see […]
There were moments in Mindo if I wondered if the “Cloud Forest” moniker was a PR gambit to try to put a good face on “Rain Forest.” In hindsight, it’s probably closer to the truth, even though we had more rain in our several days in Mindo, than in the rest of our two+ months […]
Saturday is Market Day in Otavalo. This is the largest market in Ecuador. It is actually there everyday, but on Saturday people come from afar to buy and sell their wares. This is when the tourist hype machine also comes into action, and people from all over the world show up to see what’s going […]
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