ECUADOR

Quito lays at 2800 mt above sea level, in a beautiful valley surrounded by peaks and volcanos. We decided to stay in the old historic town, which is beautiful preserved and has the wonderful charm of its rich colonial past. The two main squares, Plaza San Francisco and Plaza de la Indipendencia, also known as Plaza Grande, rival in beauty and character, even though they're very different. The two churches (San Francisco and La Compañia) are a must see, and so is the little but beautiful Casa dell'Alabado, a museum filled with many pre-colombian artifacts. Nearby is the cobbled street of La Ronda, recently restored and full of restaurants. We also went by taxi to the little hill of El Panecillo where a huge statue of Mary is overlooking the old town. 

Going around Old Quito during the day is very safe (the city is full of stores, markets and of local street vendors selling vegetables and clothes), at night it could be a little more quiet but some areas, like La Ronda, have many nice restaurants where to see some nightlife.

The new Quito extends for many kilometers and has very modern and beautiful neighborhoods, like La Mariscál (very touristy, where most of the hostels and  restaurants are) next to the huge Parque El Ejdo where la Casa de la Cultura is - and where you should absolutely visit the fantastic new Museo Nacionál. We also walked near La Floresta, where Ecuadorean street food is famous and we went to the Basilica del Voto Nacionál, the main catholic cathedral of Quito with a wonderful view from the top roof. We took the TeleferiQO on the side of the Pichincha volcano, and the view from above is spectacular! Highly recommended. 

You can go around Quito easily by taxi: they're everywhere and  very cheap -just make sure they are the official license and bargain the price for where you have to go in advance (usually between $1.5 and $5).

GETTING TO THE AMAZON

We had to book our trip to the Cuyabeno Reserve with a local agency called "Happy Gringo", based in Quito.   They are specialized in the Amazon (but cover pretty much all Ecuador) and  have a wonderful service and a large range of options for hotels and transportation. Unlikely other Amazon regions such as Yasuní and the Napo river, it's impossible to go to Cuyabeno by yourself.  We chose to take the night bus from Quito arranged by a private company hired by Happy Gringo, that takes 7 hours to reach Lago Agrio (it leaves around 11 pm and arrives around 6:30 am). Another option would be to fly to Lago Agrio, but it is slightly more expensive and it doesn't save you that much time because they do only one pick up in Lago Agrio a day. From there another small bus picked us up to take us (after an one hour and 45 minutes) to the park's river port where we got on a small motorized canoe that after another two-hour boat ride on beautiful canals reached our lodge (Siona), located less than an hour away from the Colombian border. The transfer was pretty exhausting but happily adventurous and absolutely worthy the long hours. On the way back we left around 9 in the morning and arrived in Quito before 10 pm, where we stayed at Carpe DM hostel that was the starting point of the bus ride, which happened to have really nice, clean rooms for just $25 a night, breakfast included and a very nice view on Old Quito from the upper dining floor! 

In Cuyabeno we stayed at the lovely Siona lodge (owned by a private company but run by the local community) which has only 6 bungalows and a fantastic and warm staff. Our guide Neisser was unbelievably prepared (spotting animals and birds only by the sound they make, and telling all kinds of facts on the fauna and flora) and helpful and we did all the nature boat rides and jungle walks with him, along with another family from Germany and a couple from Switzerland. While we were there there was also a group of Americans and Costarican entomologists studying the very special dragonflies of the region, which are considered among the most beautiful in the world. The lodge is facing the Laguna Grande and it's completely surrounded by the water except from one side, where the jungle and the animals are literally coming straight to your door. The rooms were spacious, clean and with a very cute local décor and being an eco-resort the electricity was available only from 6 pm to 10 pm, which made it even more peaceful and idyllic. The second day we visited the main village of the local Siona community, where we spent a day learning about the local people's everyday life, had a demonstration on healing with plants by the shaman and made yucca bread with a very nice woman called Gladys. We also did a night walk in the jungle where we saw tarantulas, snakes and all kinds of insects, and we swam into the lagoon where moments before we saw pink dolphins swimming. We had and mazing experience for the four days in total we were there and we would go back tomorrow if we could!

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We started our Andean trip from la "Mitiad del mundo" (a little north of Quito, very touristy and tacky except the interesting Museo Intiñan, which actually lays and the exact equator line and explains a lot of science phenomenons related to the equator) to Latacunga the first day, where we stayed at the incredible "La Cienega": this splendid hacienda, with its mansion and beautiful park, is one of the oldest in Ecuador and is located right in front of the Cotopaxi. The rooms are all huge and provided with a fireplace, and there is also a nice restaurant that serves a typical Ecuadorian menu. From there we drove up to 3880 mt the amazing Laguna Quilotoa. The road to get there is simply stunning and passes many picturesque Andean villages and markets. The crater and the lake are gorgeous -we hiked to the bottom and then rented donkeys for the way up, for only $10 a person (you can arrange that in the little village overlooking the crater).  

From Quilotoa we drove down again to Baños, which is located in a valley that descends towards the Amazon, on the bottom -at 1800 mt- of the very active volcano Tungurahua. In Baños we spent two days, exploring the (very -it's often rainy and foggy) cloud forest on the two sides of the river Pastaza. The famous waterfalls of "Paillon del Diablo" is the main attraction there and it's absolutely worthy a visit. We also did a fun ziplining tour over the gorges at Puntzan, and drove up to the "La casa del arbol", where you can hop on a giant swing perched on the hilltop of the vulcano, with the best view of the valley. The town is a crowded spot for locals and backpackers and it's not particularly pretty if it weren't for the location in that beautiful canyon and the wide range of outdoor/nature activities you can do around it.  
From Baños we drove up again to see the Chimborazo volcano (that we completely circumnavigated: the road is amazing!) and after stopping at the entrance of the park at 4450 mt we went down to the lively Riobamba and stayed at the turismo comunitario community (a way to visit the local communities that is becoming increasingly popular in Ecuador and it's very well organized) of Pucara Tambo. Meeting the indigenous people there, visiting the farm and the lamas and alpacas, eating in the community kitchen (where also we got to see a "Cine andino" movie) and sleeping in their typical huts was a lovely experience but very cold (it's at 3200 mt)!

From Pucara Tambo we drove 4 hours between steep valleys and peeks, passing through the colorful village of Alausí (where the famous train track of La Nariz del Diablo starts) and then through the Incas ruins of Ingapirca to reach Cuenca by night (2100 mt). 

In Cuenca we stayed at the beautiful Posada dell'Aguila for two nights. The town has a wonderful colonial centre and a very relaxed and cultural atmosphere (with plenty to see, including the main cathedral in the Parque Calderón plaza, next to the flower market and the Museo de la Cathedral Vieja) and it was a very pleasant stop. We also got to visit the Panama hat museum (most Panama hats are manufactured in Ecuador), which was interesting. We then left it to go up again on the Andes to the marvelous Parque Cajas and its small lakes (which resembles like the Scotland highlands, but at 4000 mt!) and then down to Guayaquill (0 mt, on the sea) where we slept at the lovely Hostal Macaw, while we got ready to fly out for the Galápagos the next day. Guayaquill, despite being famous some years ago for the high crime rate, has a new, lively malecón by the river/bay and a pretty historic part at the bottom of the colorful Las peñas neighborhood, next to another new area renovated around the Wyndham hotel, where we had dinner.

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It took us several months of researching before deciding what to do on the Galápagos and especially how to visit them. In the end, we opted for a self organized island-hopping trip rather than a cruise, which is very expensive and doesn't allow you to really experience the islands, apart from the animals and the nature. After the trip ended, we were so happy about our decision -also because the ocean is very rough in the summer, and even if you normally sail by night, the sea motion for 6 days would have been quite challenging. Furthermore, we got to seize a little bit of the island life with its people and we feel we learned so much more about the culture and the history of the -very diverse- community that settled there over last century.

Despite of what the common misconception is, planning an independent trip to the Galápagos is absolutely possibile, although you need to take into consideration various factors and start organizing well in advance, as the park rules are pretty strict and only few sites are completely free to visit without booking a "recorrido" with a naturalist guide.

We started our trip from Baltra, a tiny island north of Santa Cruz where there is only the airport (the greenest in the world), a small cruise boat harbor and a military base. The island is connected to the main island through a small road, a channel (these first two legs of the transfer are part of the same ticket that you pay at the airport) and a longer ride to Puerto Ahora (on the other side of Santa Cruz -around 1 hour away) by bus, or preferably by taxi.

However, since we wanted to begin our Galápagos adventure from Isabela (the easternmost and biggest island of the archipelago) and we wanted to save time in order to see the most islands in the time we had, we decided to take a small 8-seat plane, that in 25 minutes flew us to the little village of Puerto Villamil. Unfortunately that day it was a little cloudy, otherwise the view of the islands and the volcanoes from the plane would have been amazing! 

Before boarding your flight to the Galápagos either from Quito, or more commonly from Guayaquill, you have to pay a $20 transit tax/each passenger to the Government of the Galápagos (TCT-Ingala -the office is right next to the check-in counter) while when you arrive in Baltra there is another $100 ($50 for kids) fee to pay to the Galápagos National Park (and at the time we went they accepted only cash).