Ecuador

My friend Lindsay and I recently returned from an awesome adventure to Ecuador, where we were constantly in awe of two things: 

1) How short the bus rides were - Ecuador, like Peru, is a country that pretty much has it all: beaches, mountains, and jungles. The difference is that Peru is enormous, while Ecuador is a nice small-sized ball of a country where our average intercity trip length was around two hours. 

2) How much more developed Ecuador is, compared to Peru. I'd been told beforehand that Ecuador was a step up the development scale, but I didn't think the two countries could really be that different, given the extent of their geographical and historical similarities. I was wrong: the roads, even in rural areas, are well-paved; people actually drive within the lanes on the road; campo farmhouses are made of brick or cement (not adobe) and are outfitted with sprinkler systems; throwing litter out the car window is not a socially acceptable practice; there are public bathrooms everywhere, and they are somewhat clean; bus terminals are so organized they feel like airports... I could go on, but you get the idea. These seemingly small differences add up to an overall environment that felt significantly different than Peru - I can only begin to imagine the constant state of awe I'll be in when I get back to America in December haha. But I also wonder how my experience of Ecuador would've been different if I wasn't seeing it through that Peru-comparative lens.

Anyway, I'll try to share some of the highlights of our trip with you here. First up: the capital of Quito. Lindsay and I both really liked Quito, because although it's a sprawling (51km long!) city, the central historic district is walkable and full of character. The city's beautiful sierra setting doesn't hurt either, as you're surrounded by mountains on all sides, and on clear days can see multiple snow-capped volcanic peaks looming majestically in the background.

Overlooking old town Quito from our hostel roof

Plaza San Blas in the centro histórico - you can see the typical style of building on the right

The Notre Dame-esque Basilica - you can climb rickety ladders to the top of the bell towers

View from the top of the teleferiqo (a.k.a. Quito's glorified ski gondola)

Just outside of Quito is the "Mitad del Mundo" - the equator line

At the equator you can do cool things like balance a non-boiled egg on a nail

Also near Quito is Otavalo, which claims to have the largest outdoor crafts market in S. America... it definitely seemed to have the world's largest collection of these Ecuadorian hats

Our next stop was the volcano Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, and a near-perfect example of the classic volcanic conical peak. At over 19,300 feet, Cotopaxi looms over the nearby countryside like Rainier does over Seattle - in both cases, on clear days it's hard to look away from its snow-capped beauty. On Cotopaxi, you can drive up to about 13,400ft (I know, crazy), and then hike up to the edge of the glacier at 16,400ft. Even midway through the drive up, when we got out to walk around a small laguna, there were the strongest winds I've ever experienced. By the time we were hiking higher up, it was a constant fight to remain standing - such intense wind gusts! The clouds racing by overhead were a visual confirmation of the strength of that high-altitude wind. We were walking along on a combination of ashy gravel and red volcanic rock, and it was awesome to be able to get so high and see the glacier up close.

Another highlight of the trip was hiking to crater lake Quilotoa, whose brilliant teal waters are hidden by the perfect bowl shape of the mountains around it.

For a small country, Ecuador was definitely chock-full of fun and of amazing outdoor places to explore. Hopefully I'll be able to go back some day, and with enough time and $ to include the Galápagos!