Final Thoughts on Ecuador

Hiking to the volcano in Banos
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(Matt)

It´s wonderful, more than I thought it would be really, to return to Ecuador and see some of the same sights that I saw as a 23 year old. This country is great. I love it. The people are extremely warm and kind. I can´t say enough about how helpful perfect strangers are to us when we are lost or needing advice about something. I have had a warm spot in my heart for Ecuador for ten years, and the basis for that feeling has been confirmed. Culturally, the country is as rich as any that I have visited. And, as you can see from our pictures, this is a gorgeous country. The natural scenery is tremendous, and the colonial architecture in Quito and Cuenca is as fine as you will find anywhere...anywhere that has been colonized, that is (Not Thailand!!!).

Knee bone soup
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For me, the best part is that there is plenty left to see in Ecuador. I have yet to see the Galapagos, and I would like to climb most of the volcanoes (I didn´t go very high on Cotopaxi ten years ago). We probably would not have even come to Ecuador had Airtreks not offered a free layover here. I´m proud of how much we were able to see in a short two weeks. I look forward to starting our whirlwind visit to Peru tomorrow morning. I´m sure it will be as exciting to see Manchu Piccu again as it was to see Quito, Baños, and Otavolo.

Child in the market
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(Amber)

It´s difficult to sum up how much I will always love this country and its people. While Matt and I agreed on every country on our itinerary, Ecuador was not at the top of my list.

The last two weeks have proven that that was my mistake. Ecuador is amazing. It´s a tiny country with far more than its share of problems...too many people have to worry about where their next meal is coming from... water, electricity, education, and waste services, etc..are problems outside of the cities...a handful of thugs force tourists to stay on their toes in an otherwise pretty safe country....government officials and police have a history of major corruption which occurs at the expense of the vast majority of Ecuadorians....and the environment (rich in natural resources) is being ravaged by American companies taking advantage of the problems listed above. But even with all of this, the people are overwhelmingly open, happy, and proud of their country.

And Ecuador is stunningly beautiful. So much is packed into a country the size of the state of Colorado. Mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, beaches, jungles...and more volcanoes than you can imagine.

The people seem strong, family oriented, resilient, dedicated to their country, and proud to show it off to two Gringos from Texas.

I will never forget the bumpy roads, amazing mountain hikes, pigs on spits, beautifully dressed indigenous children, knee bone soup, or the jam session in Otavalo that proved that the world is very small and mostly pretty great.

I love this place.