Anybody visited Ecuador? I'd like to visit this country in a few months and flights will be pretty cheap.
What are your overall thoughts on this country? Good? Bad? Any places that I should absolutely visit?
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One of their presidential candidates just got assassinated by the cartels, think I'll be skipping it for now
i am planning a 6 month bike tour from equador going south on dirt roads but this kinda puts me off. i know northwestern region is real bad atm but it seems the whole country is in a downward spiral. trip is in a year so things can change but still..
yea you should cancel those plans. biking through south america is like swimming through a toilet, you're going to run into lots of shit.
I stood there some years ago. Good times. Just don't go up there at night not the safest area.
Is it just me or is that looking like a dark and twisted reality?
It's just the sun peeking out in the background while everything is in shadow. The Andes are very cloudy; sunbeams like OP's "Instagram" pic do happen regularly, but full blue skies are very rare.
>Any places that I should absolutely visit?
Quito is beautiful. Check out the churches in the old part of town and take the cable car up the volcano. It's incredible.
Bring your SPF
I was in Quito for a month and then Baños and Puerto Misahuallí for a few weeks.
First of all, they are in a state of emergency right now since their leading left wing candidate got killed three days ago.
Before that, actually on the day that I had to run away from the country, there was a general strike and the entire country was shut down. Criminals ruled the streets and people couldn't work.
Guayaquil is a complete no-go even before that.
And you are warned not to leave your apartment after 6pm even when you're in Quito.
All that said, it's a beautiful country filled with very welcoming people. It's just a very bad situation.
I recommend you check out the Capillo del Hombre which is an amazing museum in Quito. You should do an Amazon trek in some area like Puerto Misahuallí. And Baños is a really chill place to party.
I highly recommend this country, maybe in about two years after shit stabilizes.
The dangers of traveling Ecuador at the moment are being over exaggerated. While it's worth keeping an eye on things the issues plaguing the country would have very little impact on a backpacker in the country. In Guayaquil and Quito you would take the same reasonable precautions you would anywhere in Latin America and beyond that any tourist destination like the Galapagos, Amazon, Cuenca, Banos, Montanita, Cotopaxi, Otavalo, etc are all going to be completely fine.
As long you evade the coast it's a pretty nice destination
I went last December and enjoyed quito. The world cup was on and Ecuador qualified so the nightlife was lively while I was there, but for sure lots of shady folks around after dark. Not like cartel shady, but I met a few crackheads and prostitutes just doing their thing openly in the street.
We also did a bus trip to tena to see the rainforest but that was honestly more trouble than it was worth. Long drive just to get bitten by mosquitoes and admire the flora. Most animals stayed well away from where we stayed, but I did see some wild monkeys.
Highlight of the trip was a few days on the Galapagos islands, specifically San Cristobal. Obviously it's a tourist trap and also an island so the prices of everything are jacked up 2-5x but even at that rate it's less expensive than in the US. In contrast to the Amazon, the wildlife were abundant and curious to the point of being friendly. Sea lions, birds and tortoises would all walk right up to you without much fear. Snorkeling was fun, did that three days in a row. Ecuador got knocked out of the group stage on my third day there, so the town was collectively bummed out after that but at least I got to watch the live game at a bar.
Guayaquil was the last stop before my flight home. The downtown and Santa Ana Hill area were perfectly safe but at night you could hear shooting from across the river in duran. Curfew was in effect from I think 8pm onward, so you couldn't be out after dark. Not sure if they're still doing that. I still had fun visiting a couple churches and museums along the embarcadero, never personally felt in danger. Police and military presence was significantly greater than in quito.
Overall it is a very nice country with pleasant people and beautiful nature. The outbreaks of violence seemed mostly limited to cartels targeting each other, but idk how it is now. I fricking loved the strawberry milk that they sell there (picrel) and the empanadas with the sugar on top. Bring small bills and lots of coins.
>Bring small bills and lots of coins.
That's a good point. They circulate a lot of old dollar coins down there. Never seen anything like that anywhere else. THey would probably appreciate it if you bring some shiny new coins for them.