Journey with Christina

If you are thinking about going to Ecuador, don’t hesitate. Go! This was a last minute add on for us and I am so grateful. Ecuador has everything to offer, outstanding wildlife, beaches, lush cloud forest, volcanoes and the Andes. We found the Ecuadorians to be warm and we were treated like family upon meeting.

The lost items have slowed down thankfully before we had nothing in our packs. After arriving in Quito I realized that I never received my hooded SPF lightweight shirt back from the laundry service. Total bummer as it would have come in handy in the Galapagos. My replacement sunglasses broke so I had to replace those and Jon replaced his sunhat after a bad burn on his head.

At this point everything else in our packs including the rain items have been used. Most useful items have been the collapsible water bottles, travel towel and our convertible coats still. Having the packing cubes has been essential for keeping things organized when you constantly on the move. Also, for being able to pack and unpack our bags quickly. So far there has been nothing that I wished I had. Of course choices are nice but not worth throwing my back out for. I have worn my hiking boots a lot more however, my trusty Birkenstock’s are still my first choice. And to think they almost did not make it into my bag.

So Ecuador was a budget killer for us. We knew Ecuador would be a lot more expensive due to us going to the Galapagos but we still significantly underestimated costs. For our 16 days in Ecuador, including the cruise, entrance to the Galapagos ($240), accommodations, transportation, tours, food, miscellaneous items, etc., we spent approximately $4,200 for the both of us, which is a lot higher than the original $3,200 we budgeted for. In addition, our flights (Iquitos, Peru to Quito, Quito to Galapagos, Galapagos back to Peru), which we booked and paid for before we left were $510 each.

The most significant expense was the cruise which cost us $2,000 for 5 days, however, this was a once in a lifetime experience for us and we felt that it was worth it. Other factors that added to the overrun was that Ecuador uses the American dollar, therefore we were not getting as good of deals on the exchange rate. In addition, because it was pre-planned we only had two weeks we were in more touristy areas which tend to be more expensive.

Food and Drinks Summary:

• The fresh fruit juices continue to be abundant and amazing!!
• They have great set menus for lunch and sometimes dinner for around $10 which includes soup and a main. Princess Jon would only eat these if I pressured him.
• Banos had tons of stalls selling sugar cane juice, a quince paste, and candy similar to taffy. We bought some and it melted all in my bag.
• The lobsters here are like in the Caribbean they don’t have claws.
• More than 4,000 varieties of native potatoes grow in the Andean highlands of Peru, Boliva, and Ecuador
• Cuy (guinea pig) and whole roasted pigs are very popular although we did not try either. Something about seeing the poor little things all crisped up.