My daughter is leaving in 3 weeks on a college sponsered trip to Ecuador and Galapagos for a month. I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts/opinions on some of the places she is going and the mode of transportation they are using (I am thinking rubberband type airlines?).
Has anyone ever flown ICARO or TAME Airlines within Ecuador?
Anyone ever stayed at the Sani Lodge near Coca(and the rain forest there) and the Rio Napo?
Anyone ever hiked the Chorongo Trail,Coto Trail or Aguila Trail there?
Anyone gone to Papallacta and possibly stayed at the Termas de Papallacta?
Anyone ever used the yacht Fragata when they went to the Galapagos?
Has anyone gone to the Mindo Cloud Forest and stayed at the El Monte Lodge?
Is there any over the counter medicine that you wished that you had taken? She has all her shots and prescription medicine but wanted to know if there were other things too?(She has the usual Tylenol,Pepto bismol,etc.
Are there any special clothes that you wish you had taken?
The trip is educational but also very physically demanding with hiking,canoeing,etc.Everything must be carried on her back except they may leave their snorkel gear for the Galapagos trip in Quito.Thanks for any help that you can give.

Anyone?

I've flown TAME to/from Quito and the Galapagos. The flights we took were fine and departed on time. What's a 'rubberband type airline'? I haven't heard that expression before.

I haven't stayed at any of the lodges she'll be staying in, but do make sure she brings insect repellant for the rain and cloud forests. She won't need it for the Galapagos, we encountered few bugs there.

Sorry about the "rubberband comment" but it was referring to an airplane that is basically held together by a rubberband and whose safety maybe shoddy?Thanks for your imput on TAME.
Have you ever heard of drinking Pepto Bismol a half hour before a meal so as to not get a digestion problems down there? A pharmacist just suggested that and I had never heard that.Patty-anything that you really wish you had had down there that you should have brought from the states?

Hi

I stayed in Quito for 4 full days and toured the countryside.


I was in Bellavista Cloud forest and there was no problem there.

Flew TAME airlines to the Galapagos and it is a huge plane , and not one of these small planes.

The flight to the Galapagos is 600 miles into the Pacific Ocean.

I assume that your daughter has checked with her local board of health as to what vaccinations she might have to have,depending on what areas she is going to, and that she has received what she required.

I did not go into the Amazon so I did not required any special and specific vaccinations.

Once at the Galapagos ,she is in a great atmosphere. All the islands are nice.

She could take some Bendryl tablets with her in case of an allergy to some substance which would give her an itch.

The Bendryl tablets could serve as a sedative at bedtime.

She can also take a small tube of Bendryl cream,...should she gets a few insect bites, she could apply this cream.

Bendryl is cheap and over the counter.

She should have a great time..I was there last year.

Percy

I have heard the peto bismol thing from Doctors and lots of other folks. It doesn't agree with me, but it might work. She should start eating yogurt with live lactobaccilus a couple of times a day right now and eat it there when the opportunity presents itself. This seems to help quite a bit and is backed up by some research as far as helping with some stomach problems. I agree about taking some benadryl along.

If she gets motion sickness or has never been on a small boat, it might not be a bad idea to pack some bonine. I never leave without it. As far as the pepto goes, we never once had bad food. The boats and lodges pretty much cater their food to tourists, I wouldn't drink the water but other than that we experienced no problems.

I agree with Percy on checking the CDC, I believe parts of the amazon suggest yellow fever vaccination.

I cannot help you out on any of the places to stay, as I was on a different boat and stayed in Quito and Bellavista Cloud Forest.

Thanks for the replies! She has already received her yellow fever,typhoid and Hep A shot along with the malaria,cipro and altitude sickness pills.She has the bonine,motion sickness bands(however, she is a marine science major and has spent numerous weeks aboard boats in the Atlantic and Carribean and usually does well)along with allergy pills,first aid kit and a host of other over the counter drugs-"just in case"?
Just a quick question-does anyone recommend a specific type of walking/hiking shoe that they used down there and enjoyed? She just bought a new pair of Columbia gore-tex walking shoes but does not know if she wants to keep them as they do not feel comfortable. Her prof has asked the class not to buy hiking boots with the various terrains that they will be in but something sturdy and waterproof-she also will be taking rubber boats for the Amazon portion.How many memory cards,underwater cameras,etc.,did you all take for pictures down there?

If your daughter is in college, why is she unable to look after herself?

Just curious.

Dear Poppa-She is quite capable of taking care of herself both in and out of the classroom. She has traveled extensively throughout the USA and Europe but since she is going to 4 different types of places within Ecuador(all requiring various types of different clothing,medicines,etc.) As her mother, I was interested in making sure that she came home after a month down there without needing medical attention down the road.Perhaps it is having a history degree that makes me research everything or because I have never been to South America that has me asking these questions.Third world countries are quite different in regards to what one takes as opposed to going to Europe.I apologize for asking and will end it here.(Most college students usually are not on this forum anyway and she was busy up to two days ago with finals?)I hope that your holidays go well!