Brief Notes on a February in Ecuador
 

Gottravel and I just completed three weeks exploring Colombia before flying to Quito. Our Trip Report may be found here
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...o-colombia.cfm

Our itinerary in Ecuador which is subject to change is as follows:
Quito 5 nights @ Wantara Suites
Vilcabamba 4 nights @ Madre Tierra
Cuenca 5 nights @ Casa Montalvo Bed & Breakfast
Banos 4 nights @ Aldea Real Eco Resort
Chugchilán 3 nights @ Black Sheep Inn
Latacunga 3 nights @ Villa de Tacvnha Hotel
Otavalo 3 nights @ Ali Shungu Mountaintop Ecolodge
Quito 1 night for flight home

We arrived at Wantara Suites and immediately liked it, but never realized what a haven it would become for us. Andy and Wolfgang have a fabulous place about 300 meters to La Ronda and
1.2 km to Plaza Grande in the heart of the historic district. Marcelo who oversees the suites and serves as a driver is a delight. He picked us up and delivered us to the airport. We used him for one day of sightseeing and he charged $12 an hour. We looked forward each day to returning to the quiet and beauty of Wantara Suites. The fireplace did the trick to warm up the cool Quito evenings and nights. We highly recommend Wantara Suites and Marcelo.

On our fist morning we took a free walking tour with Community Adventures. There were probably close to 30 people on the tour...far to many. the guide was good when you could hear her. The sounds of the city and the large size of the group often made it difficult to hear the guide. The 3 hour tour did give us a good overview of the city. On two other days we wandered around the city visiting the churches and 2 modernist museums, walking the side streets and generally observing life in Quito. While the churches are striking I found their custom of charging admission more than annoying.

For me, for all the cities I've been to in SA, Quito does not rate among the top.

The San Francisco church is the one exception and is free. It's up there with La Compañia for gilded baroque excess.

My best memories of Quito are: Riding the TelefériQo to a mountaintop for the fabulous views, the Casa Museo de Oswaldo Guayasamín & his Capella de Hombre, $1.20 humitas, canelazos and and live music in La Ronda, a sole unaccompanied male voice in a glorious colonial church singing a hymn that sounded for all the world like a Nick Cave song and a "ESTA NAVIDAD/COMPRA SU FELICIDAD" graffito on an overpass. It ain't all qrime and grime.

Looking forward to more new-to-me discoveries.

One approach to visiting the Quito churches is to pop in on Sundays (or during other services) In the case of La Compania, I went during a free evening opera concert. It was even possible to take photos during the latter time frame (normally prohibited).

Here's another trip report for you to enjoy from a frugal fellow traveler to Ecuador.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/07....html?referer=

LaCombańa is also free on the first Sunday of the month. It's not the money, it's the principle for me. Would have loved a concert in one, but none offered during our time here.
Hopefully we find something new for you, mlgb.

Thanks, Santa. I think we travel in the mid range. Interesting article. I like that guy and dirty he's leaving NYT.

Fun to be following you along!

Signing on for the next adventure! Quito may not have wowed you, yestravel, but be glad you're not here - a couple more inches of snow coming tonight...

Boo, YG! Sorry for you all. Hope it's not too bad.

WTB-glad to have you along.

Oh, you will definitely have "new to me" YT...especially looking forward to your reviews on Black Sheep. I went to Latacunga just for the fabulous Mama Negra and didn't have much more time to explore that area.

One thing to note, if you haven't already read about it, with the new highway bypassing Latacunga, some of the traditional eateries perhaps referred to in guide books have had to close shop.

Did you visit Vicabamba? Didn't see you mention that. I read Crellston great report on it, but not much out there. We're here four days with rain on day 1. Got a couple hikes for good weather days.

hi YT some really nice hikes around Vilcabamba. Especially the hike up to Podocarpus National Park the views from the top are amazing ( assuming its not raining of course!).

Crellston- do you recall where you started?

We also started our trip at Wantara Suites. It's a fabulous place to stay - the owners are great, and the garden is gorgeous. We highly recommend it.

I actually enjoyed our time in Quito. We did the free walking tour with one of the hostels, which was wonderful. The guide was excellent. We had a few good meals, and overall quite enjoyed ourselves.

Glad you enjoyed Quito, SusaniT. Wantara Suites will go down as one of our fav places we have ever stayed. Truly a great escape for us. Andi and Wolfgang were wonderful and very interesting to talk with. I think we did the same free walking tour as you, Susan. The guide was good, but as I said the noises of the city combined with the sheer number of us made it difficult if not impossible to hear unless you were right up front. I know these tours are free and they live off the tips, but I do,wish they would limit them to some reasonable number. Lots of people seem to love Quito...just wasn't our cup of tea for whatever reason. Much happier now in the countryside.

We started our hike from the refuge in Podocarpus Nat Park. We got a ride there on a pick up truck from our guesthouse (http://www.izhcayluma.com/ ) - there were regular pickups to take us back to town. As I recall it was pretty steep and muddy along the way but the views from the mirador were pretty special. It was easy to organise and I imagine most hotels will have something similar. Izcayluma also had some reasonable hiking maps ( although we still managed to get lost on another hike!). A few photos @ http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...4441/tpod.html

Thanks, Crellston. Today again, it's rain, rain most of the night and on and off this am. I think we will head to Rumi Wilco Ecolodge and nature reserve. Supposedly there are some nice trails that won't require climbing on slippery rocks. We'll see!

I wonder if you are getting El Niño-ed? I think Vilcabamba is similar in climate to NW Peru which typically gets more rain than usual in an El Niño year.

I did not make it to Vilcabamba. I wanted to, but it was one of the places I had to scrub thanks to Road Scholar.

I would still like to take that route into Chachapoyas and then on to Tarapota, but not during rainy season!

Supposedly not. El Niño is effecting the coast pretty badly, but the highlands are not supposed to be impacted. But who knows? We're not getting heavy downpours, just showers and drizzle then it's fine. It has rained overnight more heavily. Folks here said "always rain at Carnaval." Still gorgeous and glad we came.

<b> Vilcabamba in the Rain with an Occasional Ray of Sunshine </b>

From Quito, we took a quick flight to the "Loja" airport in Catamayo. Given our earlier experiences with Avianca in Colombia, we felt a moment's discomfort when we saw the Catamayo airport sign. Had we boarded the wrong plane? But all was well. We picked up our checked bags and shared the spectacular ninety minute cab ride ($40) to Vilcabamba with two French Canadian women. You haven't lived to you've heard " Vilcabamba" pronounced with a French accent. It began to rain as we left the airport and rain continued on and off all the way to our destination.

Our destination was Madre Tierra, a homey lodge a kilometer or two outside Vilcabamba. We were to spend the next four nights here in a nice suite amid the gorgeous flowering grounds, assisted by friendly helpful staff. There's also a restaurant on the grounds. Because we'd arrived Sunday halfway through the long pre-Lenten Carnaval weekend, the Madre Tierra was booked to capacity and the kitchen was only offering one three-course special each night. Sunday was soup, tilapia with rice and vegetables and a dessert. Monday was soup, roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and the same vegetables (steamed green beans and carrots) and a dessert. The food was good, if bland and retro; it was reminiscent of a better version of junior high school cafeteria food.

It continued to rain on and off overnight. We awakened to clouds and mists in the verdant mountains surrounding the high valley town. After breakfast and repeated eyeing of the ever-changing skyscape, we decided to walk into Vilcabamba in the late morning. Carnaval was in full progress. Playful Ecuadorians were throwing balloons and buckets of water at each other or spraying each other with canned goop that resembled shaving cream. There was also a substantial presence of hippie/new age expats from Europe and North America. Hippies had come here for the San Pedro cactus and had stayed for the (usually) perfect climate and laid back atmosphere. They had a tent set up that sold everything from scones to (good) BBQ to craft beer. Beads, beards, gray ponytails and Indian clothing abounded. A string band played folkie standards and two middle-aged women twirled in circles. We felt like we'd been transported back in time to 1970. We wandered the town a bit, bought bus tickets for Cuenca and some duct tape for GT's damaged duffle, and suffered as collateral damage from exchanges of goo and water. Then we made our way back to Madre Tierra before an afternoon rain shower. Later that night we went to bed optimistic that Tuesday would bring sunshine.

<b> Hiking, Hiking in the Rain </b>

Tuesday dawned gray, dismal and wet, after a night of on-and-off rain showers. Fortunately, however, the skies slowly cleared as we had a late leisurely breakfast. We'd already decided that the steep slippery trails of the cloud-shrouded Podocarous National Park were not for us. On the advice Madre Tierra staff, we instead opted for the nearby Rumi Wilco Nature Reserve & Ecolodge ("Rumi Wilco" is the teeth-grinding Anglicization of "Rumihuilco"). We took a cab ($4) cross town and into the foothills where the Ecolodge was situated.

The Nature Reserve trails were great. The landscape was lush, trees and plants had identifying signage, the trails were well-marked and the guidebook (available at the entrance) was informative. We took the Main Trail to the end and were returning on a trail by a river when the skies opened up. We hurriedly unpacked and donned our rain gear. We'd been planning to use one of the "gully trails" to ascend to higher trails, but both the guidebook and signage advised against doing this when the trails were wet. Instead, we made our way back to the entrance. By the time we arrived, the rain had ended.

We walked back through Vilcabamba on the return to Madre Tierra. By now, the Carnaval had subsided and people were leaving town. The tents around the square had been taken down and the music had fallen silent. We spent the rest of the day at Madre Tierra reading and trying to use the dodgy wifi. Periodic drenching storms passed through. We ate in again. I had a salad and some spaghetti. Both were good. YT's veggie burger wasn't. We liked our desserts.

The next day, Wednesday, had our first good weather. We got in a nice hike in the hills behind Madre Tierra. Then I wandered into town by myself to take photos and hit the ATM. It seemed deserted except for two groups of expat hippies. The younger, more serious group seemed congregated by the juice bar. An older group was seated outside a bar on plastic stools and seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

We spent the rest of the day at Madre Tierra. YT had a massage. I packed and read. We had some juice smoothies. We ate dinner - salads, lasagna and chicken wings - early. We watched the day end in spectacular colored clouds. We talked at length with another traveling couple. Vilcabamba is beautiful, incredibly scenic. But, other than hiking, there is little to do there. We were looking forward to moving on to Cuenca.

Gottravel, we were so lucky with our tour in Quito. There were only 4 of us so it was perfect!

Good to hear that Vilcamaba's hippies are alive and well! I thought we we had been transported into some parallel dimension when we arrived in the town! Shame the weather wasn't too great though. We had to miss Cotopaxi because of the weather

I am sure you will enjoy Cuenca. If there on a Friday or Saturday there are usually a few stages set up for music in the evenings.

Susan, 4 for the tour would be great-lucky you!

Crellston- yes it was definitely a time warp. Thanks for the tip on the music, we will leave today for Cuenca and will be there over the weekend. Looking forward to it.

Anyone have restaurant recs for Cuenca? Thanks!

I'm probably not much help. Raymipampa is a NO...terribly mediocre.

Don Colon on the square, was inexpensive for the fixed menu and the grilled chops, steaks etc are decent.

Tons of ice cream shops Frutilado, Tutto Freddo or Mixx .

If you want a break from typical Ecuadorian food, Cuenca is a good place for that since there are so many expats.

Re entertainment in Cuenca, stop by the tourism office in the central square. Even if not open there are probably posters up. There is a website for cultural events (although I can't find my notes). I made it to an international Charango festival at the university (with Freddy Torrealba) and a dance/music thing at an old theater near the center. The contrast between the two audiences was also interesting...the elite and the people.

There are a number of expat bars/cafes where I'm sure you can also get good tips. Probably featured in Lonely Planet, LOL>

Thanks,mlgb. Great ideas! We're on the bus-fabulous scenery.

Wait til you see Cajas! (BTW I was happy I did the guided pool tour there. We were taken to a decent roadside restaurant and also got to some sites that you really can't manage by public transport). I know crellston may disagree on this...but that's okay.

Gualaceo I would be okay with doing independently.

We really enjoyed Moliendo Cafe, a Columbian place serving arepas with various topping which were exceptional. On honorato Vasquez. Cafe Eucalyptus was a much hyped expat hangout. Nice place but the food was underwhelming. Do let us know if you find any decent places to eat as we will be passing through in June.

I agree with mlgb, Cajas is a pretty special place for hiking. As for getting there? We found it pretty straight forward using public transport (if you ignore the fact that the taxi driver tried to take us to the wrong bus station!). The bus dropped us off at the road leading to the Park HQ and the staff there were really helpful with maps and directions. I think we linked walk 1 with part of walk 2 which took around 4 hours. Hopefully you are well acclimatised by now as it is pretty high up there. Will probably take mlgb's advice this time and try a guided tour to visit somewhere different..

Thanks for the suggestions. Really looking forward to Cajas. We plan to go Sunday.

Website that the tourist office guy gave mis is www.cuyke.com. Didn't run across any music tonight, but did run into a big Zumba class in the park near us.

Crellston- I recall you cycling down a hill somewhere in Ecuador and loving it. Where was that? And did they give you a helmet? I looked on your blog but couldn't find it for some reason. GT wants to do it. Thanks

Yestravel - love the understatement! "Down a hill" it was Chimborazo which is 6300 metres :-)

Here is the link to our blog entry
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...4442/tpod.html

We used Edison at Biking Spirit who was an excellent guide.

http://bikingspirit.com/2013/index.php/en/

Well, hill, mountain, whatever:). Thanks for the link to the blog I couldn't find it. Might not happen as we rerouted and are no longer staying in Riobamba. Didn't realize that's where the bike ride happened. Darn.

You asked about restaurants in Cuenco. We haven't been seeking out Ecuadoran food since we've been having it and will again once we leave Cuenca. We did have a nice meal at el Maiz which looks fancier than it is. It's four types of Tamals and humitas we're very good. We found a Mexican place that we liked, El Pedrecal Azreca on Estevez De Toral 8-60 y Bolivar. And had a good lunch there. Going back there tonight. We may actually try a Sushi place tomorrow.

<b>Onto Charming Cuenca</b>
After 50 minutes truck/taxi ride from Vilcabamba to Loja bus terminal ($15) we were ready to head north to the highlands. We purchased 2 tickets at $7.50 each for a bus leaving in 5 minutes. We briskly walked around the corner to board our bus or so we thought. We were stopped by a turnstile that required 10 cents per person to pass thru the turnstile. We did not have any change other than one 50 cent piece. The turnstile guard was adamant that we had to have dimes and would not take the 50 cent and let us pass. He did direct GT to a place to get change. Finally we were free to figure out which of the buses to board. As it turns out the buses are color coordinated to the tickets. I jumped on the bus while GT worked to get our luggage stowed away. The bus was chaos, no seats were free and the aisle was lined with people. What to do? As I went back to the door to consult with GT as there was no way I was standing for 4-5 hours on winding mountain roads. Suddenly the bus driver appeared and those I assumed without a ticket peeled off freeing seats and the aisle. I quickly grabbed a front row behind the driver, others searched and some found seats and others didn't. After the bus assistant straightened all this out we took off for Cuenca.

The ride would probably rate in my top ten drives. The route was on the PanAmerican Highway taking us through physically spectacular landscape. Surprisingly the road was excellent with not a lot of traffic. Sometimes you were looking down 1000 ft into a valley. One couldn't help but flashback to the stories about buses in SA plunging over the side of the road. Other than that it was pleasant trip with the worst of it being as we approached Cuenca with its traffic and the bus stopping periodically to discharge passengers.

Close to five hours after departure we reached the Cuenca bus terminal.catching a taxi was catch as catch can. There was no line and people approached a taxi at random sometimes getting accepted and others being turned away. After a couple attempts we finally got a driver to take us to Casa Montalvo B&B in the historic district for the princely. sum of $3.00. We were greeted by Valentino, a friend of the owner and a Panama hat wholesaler. We were to meet Sonja, the owner later. The BnB was opened less than 2 years ago. It is a beautifully restored colonial house with charming antiques throughout. Sonja doesn't speak English, but is nice and as helpful as she can be.

Our first evening we walked through the beautiful colonial city on Calle Largo above the rushing Tomebamba to restaurant El Maiz. The restaurant appeared more high end then it was. We had excellent service as there was just us and another couple there. The standout was the starter of four local tamales. Not sure of the safety of the now deserted area we took a taxi back.

At this point my back was screaming out in pain, no doubt a result of the long bus ride. We started to reconsider our next planned bus trip to Banos which was 7-8 hours long. We spent several hours researching possibilities and ended up renting a car for 8 days when we leave Cuenca. This will take us to Banos in the comfort of a car and save us the hassle of getting to Black Sheep Inn and back to Latacugna. It will also give us the freedom to stop where we please even if only to take photos of what we expect to be more spectacular scenery.

We spent the next 2 days exploring Cuenca wandering around the historic district. We especially liked the new cathedral. Against my better judgement we did the Red Bus tour which goes through the north side of town. It was a waste. First of all, it was difficult to understand the guide in either Spanish or English and secondly they took us to the mirador De Turi and left us there for 30 minutes which is a long time to stare at any view. We never did use the 2nd half of the ticket which goes to the Southern part of Cuenca. Together the 2 routes cost $8. We visited 2 museums, MAMM and the Musuem of the City of Cuenca. They were either having a.) an exhibit of post modern conceptualists art or b.) were between shows with nothing but empty rooms. We think the later. Both did have lovely courtyards and fortunately did not charge.

Valentine Day is huge in Cuenca. All kinds of stuffed animals, balloons, toys and hearts in every conceivable fabrication were on display across from the plaza de Los Flores. The Plaza itself featured floral displays for valentines Day as well as immense banks of flowers being brought in from the countryside. It was all very festive.

I want a Panama hat. The gentleman staying at out BnB, Valentino, gave us a fascinating and informative lesson in what to look for. This probably didn't help me in my endless pursuit for the perfect hat. It's one of those situations when a little knowledge can hurt you. To date no new hat despite visits to numerous shops.

We also spent time exploring options to get out to el Cajas National Park. Mlgb did a tour and our BnB recommended a tour company that we talked with. The tour was $80 per person for a full day including lunch which struck us as somewhat overpriced. A half day tour was $60 per person, so no bargain there. I was also apprehensive about another bus ride and at being at the mercy of the group tour. Crellston had taken the regular bus on his own. This would have been a good possibility if not for my new found aversion to buses. I remember that aprillacs in her TR had used a driver and we tracked him down. Miguel turned out to be the solution. He speaks excellent English, is from Cuenca and best of all has a very comfortable SUV that didn't further exacerbate my back.

Our day at the park began with a beautiful. hike around a lake in the cloud forest. As we started we had the trail to ourselves. As the morning wore on more people showed up. Miguel told us that recent rules required groups of more than 5 people to have a guide and they could not go on their own anymore.

We had a delicious trout lunch at Dos Chorreras. Later Miguel drove us through stunning scenery to the highest overlook. It was cold, windy and beautiful. We turned around at that point, but the relatively new road continues on to the coastal city of Guayaquil. Miguel mentioned many foreigners fly to Guayaquil and take the 3 hour ride to Cuenca rather than going through Quito. We had a nice day with Miguel who is knowledgeable about the area, it's history. He also shared his life and journey to the US. We enjoyed the day with Miguel so we planned to go with him to the local villages tomorrow and hopefully find me a hat.

Our dinner this evening will be at El Pedrecal Atzeca, a small Mexican restaurant recommended by our BnB. We had lunch there our first afternoon and it was very good. Particularly outstanding was GT's chile en nogada which he said rivaled those he has had in Mexico. Tonight they are celebrating Valentine's Day with live music. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!















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Still following along and continuing to enjoy your report very much. What an adventure!

Enjoyed the report on Cuenca, since we will be there in a few months. Can I get contact information on your driver, Miguel? Do you know if he does other tours? Thanks!

Tp-glad you're still with us.

Jacqueline- I was just going to post the drivers contact info.
Miguel Arias
Phone 0995510856
[email protected]

I think you could talk with him and tell him what you are interested in. He seemed very flexible to us. He is a really nice guy and very cautious driver. We enjoyed both yesterday and today with him. He charged us $12 an hour. We ate lunch with his both days and bought him lunch. Pls tell him we are the people from DC that he picked up at Casa Montalvo.
Enjoy Cuenca

This all sounds wonderful, yes! So much great detail on places we've not been in Colombia or Ecuador. Definitely filing away for future. Can imagine that stunning Colombian scenery from bus, however uncomfortable. Sorry about your back, but sounds like you came up with some excellent bus alternatives. We haven't had many bus experiences here in Central America, but have climbed in and out of a lot of basic boats with 2 pieces of small luggage each...... And sat in small frozen positions for hours. Reminding us once again that these are the trips we all gotta take while still able bodied (well mas o menos).

Keep it coming!

Just catching up on your adventures which we're enjoying. Do hope your back feels better and glad to hear you're enjoying some nice hiking and have rented a car for the next section.

<They were either having a.) an exhibit of post modern conceptualists art or b.) were between shows with nothing but empty rooms. We think the later.> LOL

Hi! wtb! Thanks for continuing to follow along. Ecuador is just spectacular. As beautiful as I thought Colombia was, Ecuador tops it.

<b>Final Day in Cuenca & Hats, Hats, & More Hats</b>
We spent our last day in Cuenca with Miguel going out to the villages. Given my desire for a Panama hat we started at the women's hat cooperative factory in Sigsig. I was like a kid in a candy store...so many choices and all delectable. Miguel was funny, joining in our critiquing the hats and making potential selections for me. The whole process was informative and interesting. Finally after close to an hour of looking, fitting and designing I bought 2 hats which I love.

After Sigsig we drove to the Chordeleg new market building for lunch. Miguel guided us through the many stalls upstairs to the stall of Mama Suca who had won a national award for her roasted pork. Mama displays a picture of the Ecuadoran President, Correra, giving her the trophy. She is half his height and he has to hilariously scrunch down to share the scene. Her award was well deserved as the pork was tender, succulent and tasty. It was served with a medley of corn and other veggies. The cost was $3.

Next up was a quick stop at the Ikat Fabric workshop which was in Chordeleg in the owners home. It's been a family business for several generations. There were some nice textiles, but we refrained from buying anything.

We were anxious to get back to Cuenca to spend our final hours walking around the lovely city. GT decided to shell out the $2 to climb the 155 steps to the roof of the New Cathedral. He thought the views of the city were worth every step.

That evening we went to dinner at the Palace Hotel with Sonja, the proprietor of our BNB and Valentiń. The food got mixed reviews, but the company was delightful. We enjoyed a stroll home through the historic city back to Casa Montalvo. Our time in Cuenca was ending and we were sorry to see it end, although we were excited for our road trip the next morning through the Andes to Banos.

You two never disappoint - your adventures are made so real and present to those us reading about them. GRACIAS ! And continue to explore, to enjoy and to enlighten us.