Our trip to Ecuador which included visiting two of its regions will undoubtedly remain as one of our most memorable vacations. We visited the capital city of Quito located in the Highlands and the Galapagos Islands which is covered in a separate blog.
Getting to Quito
We set out on this journey from New York along with 7 others, 9 in all!! Out of the nine, four including ourselves were from our native Sri Lanka and the others were from the USA.
Given the size of our group we used the services of a Travel Agent in Sri Lanka, Qwest Travels. Usually I tend to do all the research and book everything on-line in conjunction with my travel companion/s, which most of the time happens to be my dear wife, Romanie and me. We were extremely satisfied with all of the arrangements made by the travel agent throughout our trip, which I am sure you would agree goes a long way in making any trip memorable!
Some Interesting Facts about Ecuador
- The Capital is Quito located 9,400 feet above sea level and is highest official capital city of the world!!
- It is named after the Equator which runs through the country.
- Charles Darwin based is theory of evolution based primarily on the discoveries he made when he visited in 1835.
- The Panama Hat is actually from Ecuador!!
- They are the largest exporters of bananas in the world.
- Spanish is the official language. 13 indigenous languages are also recognized.
- 95% of Ecuadorians are Roman Catholic.
- It consists of 4 regions; Highlands, Coastal, Amazonian and Galapagos.
- Ecuador and Kenya are the only two countries where one could see snow at the equator!!
Cotopaxi Volcano
The day after we got to Quito, we traveled south making a brief stop at an elevated spot in the outskirts of the city to take pictures of Quito – it was magnificent!! We then stopped at the very picturesque Lake Limpiopungo where we did a short hike along the banks of the lake. We then continued towards The Cotopaxi National Park and viewed the Cotopaxi Volcano from a restaurant where we had a sumptuous lunch at an elevation of 14,000 feet. The elevation at the summit of Cotopaxi is about 19,000 feet. It was a cloudy day and the visibility was quite poor, preventing us from seeing the beautiful snow capped summit. The clouds cleared for a very short time, and low and behold, the magnificent peak was there for all to behold!!
We spent the night at a great hotel which was a converted mansion called Hosteria La Cienega, quite close to the Cotopaxi National Park. The hotel was like a museum with an old chapel and plenty of antique furniture. Our room even had a fireplace. It was great to fall asleep to the soothing sounds of a crackling fireplace!!
Quilotoa Crater
The next morning we visited an indigenous marketplace. It was so colorful with all the many fruits and vegetables on display. We saw some fruits that we have never seen in our lives.
The next stop was a local crafts place. There we saw a local delicacy, guinea pig, being sold on the roadside nearby. I tasted guinea pig for the first time in my life – it was a great experience although it was not quite to my liking! Another great experience that day was a visit to an indigenous family household and seeing how they lived in small huts, farming the land and rearing animals, including guinea pigs.
We then saw one of the most beautiful sights anyone could hope to see, when we visited the Quilotoa Crater, an extinct volcano, which has now become a lake at an altitude of 12,000 feet. It was stunningly beautiful! We had a hearty lunch at a restaurant by the crater.
Back to Quito
We returned to the same hotel we stayed at before, in Quito that evening. After a good chat and a few drinks in one of our rooms, we had a great Italian meal at a restaurant close by.
We left for Galapagos the next morning. After 5 days in the Galapagos Islands, we returned to Quito and stayed two more days at the same hotel.
The evening we got back, we saw Quito by night. We were taken out by a colleague of one of our friends, a really nice Ecuadorian lady, who is a professor at one of the local universities. After visiting a few magnificent churches and strolling by the main square of the city past many historic and important buildings such as a President’s house and the main courthouse, we were treated to a delectable dinner at our new local friend’s house. We all had a great evening where we had a first-hand experience of local living, the friendly Ecuadorian people and their warm hospitality.
We took it easy the next day, being that it was the last day of our great holiday. I went for a long leisurely walk at a nearby park in the morning. It was great to see so many people out and about, getting in their daily exercise. All of us parted in Quito, taking different flights. Romanie and I went back to New York to continue our vacation!!
Love your photos! Looks like a fantastic trip.
It was a great trip!! Thanks very much!!
I felt like I was actually there while reading this post. What an excellent re-telling of what sounds like a truly inspiring trip. A room with a fireplace? That’s quite a score for a traveler.. thanks for sharing this:)
Thanks for your kind words of encouragement!! It really was a great trip!!
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