eenusa

We returned July 17 from two weeks in Ecuador (7-day cruise + time in Quito). I've started posting about our trip. Here's the first post in the series -- http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...footsteps.html. All of the posts will be in the July 2012 archive in the sidebar. Bear with me as work often interferes with processing photos to get the blog posted.

Feel free to comment

colduphere

Great timing. Very helpful to a friend of mine.

kenav

Leaving for similar trip in 4 weeks. Can't wait to hear abut yours.

eenusa

I'll try to keep up the pace and get to the Galapagos portion soon; but mainland Ecuador is equally fascinating IMHO. Our first day exploring the highlands outside Quito is posted in two parts:

Part I: http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...-of-world.html

Part II: http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...en-better.html

kenav

eenusa - I have just read your Part 1 and 1 blogs and they're wonderful. Don't worry about hurrying to the Galapagos yet!

We will be in Quito for 3 nights, Bellavista Cloud Forest for 3 days and then Galapagos cruise for 6 days. So, I'm interested in ALL that you did when you were there.

Did you get to Papallacta?

eenusa

No, we didn't get to Papallacta. It was on our 'perhaps' list for our first day, but our flight was delayed and we didn't get into Quito until 1:30a and didn't get to bed until 3:00a ... so we opted to stay in town and do the hop-on hop-off bus instead. There are so many places we wanted to go to, or spend more time, that we definitely have to plan a mainland-only trip back to Ecuador.

kenav

How was the "Hop on HOp Off" bus? Worth it? Any trouble figuring out where you were?

Another question - What was the cost of the private guide and did you just tell him where you wanted to go ? Did you set this up before you got to Ecuador?

eenusa

The hop on-hop off bus was nice -- as long as you consider it a means for getting your bearings and don't expect it to be an in-depth tour. We didn't hop off as many times as we might have done because we got a late start due to the travel delays getting into Quito. We had no problems figuring out where we were and the narration on the bus was good. (If you haven't seen them ... I do have several postings from our HO-HO day in the blog -- one is general experience; the rest focus on our hop-offs. All are in the July 2012 archive.)

The guide was $120/day, but the price depends on what you want to do, distances covered, etc. I contacted him about 6 mos. in advance -- I'm an early planner. I had an idea of what we wanted to do, but asked for suggestions and then tweaked the itineraries on his list to meet our needs/wants/interests. As this was our first trip to Ecuador, we left the itineraries a bit more general to cover more ground, rather than focus on just one thing -- like a hike at a specific location.

eenusa

Part I of Day 2 -- http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...-cotopaxi.html

eenusa

Part II of Day 2 concludes our time on our own before our Celebrity Xpedition package. We would love to go back and spend more time on the mainland of Ecuador; we had a fantastic time.

http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...d-roses_6.html

kenav

eenusa - Keep up the good work. Your pictures are wonderful and your writing informative and funny.

Could you please tell me how to get in touch with your guide?

kenav

eenusa - Keep up the good work. Your pictures are wonderful and your writing informative and funny.

Could you please tell me how to get in touch with your guide?

Oh yes, and how did you deal with the altitude? Any problems?

eenusa

You can reach Lincoln at lincolnjabra at hotmail dotcom. Bear in mind that he might be out with clients and may not be able to respond immediately. Say hi from Erin & Mui.

Altitude did not present a problem and I'm glad that we didn't have to use Diamox this time (although we did use it in Peru). The hotel did not have coca tea, so didn't use that this time either. Essentially, we took our first couple of days easy, slowed our walking pace down, ate light, abstained from alcoholic drinks, and drank plenty of water. We took our Camelbaks and used those everywhere for hydration (except the Old City). We filled the Camelbaks with bottled water and dropped a couple of Gatorade-like tablets for flavor and to replenish electrolytes.

eenusa

Part I of the Celebrity tour is up on the blog -- http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...celebrity.html

atravelynn

Great details for those who might wish to follow in your footsteps. Lovely waterfall so close to Otavalo.

Will be interested in your cruise with the new rules in place.

eenusa

atravelynn ... a couple more posts from Quito, and then I promise to get onto the Galapagos.

I imagine that for those who have been, there might have been a noticeable difference, but for us it was a really great trip. 7 days is short, though ... wish it had been 10 days.

Here's part 2 of our Celebrity City Tour -- http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...acio-de_7.html

kenav

eenusa - Wondering how the weather was when you went into the countryside outside of Quito. Was it raining at all, or misty? If so, how did that impact what you could do or see?

eenusa

We were very lucky with the weather; mostly comfortable temps and plenty of sunshine and usually a light breeze to keep the sun's heating effect at bay. Had clouds threaten rain a few times, but only really had some sprinkles at Lake Cuicocho (a little impact on photography). Temps were downright cold at Cotopaxi at 4500 m - wind coming off the glacier, but we were prepared with our layers. It was brutally hot at the Mitad del Mundo; mostly because there was no breeze to cool things off; and no shade unless you go into the buildings. And if you go up the TeleferiQo in Quito, it can be cold up there.

Layers is key; and always carry plenty of water.

eenusa

This brings the Celebrity City tour to a close .. http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2012/0...or-or-not.html

schlegal1

Thanks for the report--and your pics are beautiful. I am planning a December trip and found your report on activities around Quito informative!