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Ecuador
and the Galapagos Islands by Richard Baldwin Let me start off by saying that I have tremendous admiration for other members who seem to be much more adventurous in their route planning, and the way in which they conduct their holidays. Janet and I come straight from the point of view of the traveller who has to do things the easy way, both for comfort and because work commitments mean that delays are simply unacceptable. Our holidays are based on the "if it's Tuesday this must be Quito" principle, getting in as much as we possibly can in a short period of time. Our most recent venture was to travel to Ecuador, fitting in tours of Quito and of the surrounding area, the Amazonian Basin, the southern part of Ecuador and, of course, the Galapagos - all in the space of about three weeks, including travel. I think this is becoming an increasingly popular tour so I will offer you some of the lessons we learnt in the form of our mistakes and those things that we got right. What we got right: A major success was booking with Journeys in South America and using Metropolitan Touring. Our arrangements in the UK were made through Journeys South America, and I think they use Metropolitan for a lot of their work. I say this not as a free plug, but because whilst Metropolitan are probably expensive, their systems are first rate. We had over a dozen individually arranged transfers where we could not really afford to make a mistake because of all the other linked bits of travel. They all went like a dream Whilst in Quito, we visited the Folklore Ballet Show called Jacchigua by the Ballet Folclalico Ecuatariauo. This is not widely advertised, nor does it appear to be on the standard tourist circuit, but it is absolutely first rate. When we went, it was being shown in a school hall because the theatre in the old town of Quito is in the course of renovation, as is much of Quito as it is a UN heritage site. Take your video cameras - it is a very colourful show and there are no restrictions at all on what you record. If anyone does make a visit I should be very grateful if they would buy an extra copy of the tape or CD of the music, for which I would happily reimburse them Unfortunately, when we went, both were sold out. Our travel to Quito and back was with American Airlines routed through Miami. I can recommend this as a route and air] 'te. There seems to be a little extra leg room even in economy class, and the transit arrangements worked like a dream. On the way back we had a five hour anticipated wait in Miami so we cleared immigration. That in itself was an amazing new experience because we came across a witty immigration man who even cracked a few jokes with the people in line. For those who remember American immigration from five years ago - this is a very worrying occurrence! A useful tip is that if you have a long wait in Miami, there is a first rate restaurant with very reasonable prices on the top floor of the Hotel in the Airport Shopping Mall. They are well used to people taking their time over meals and then drinking at the bar, or around the pool, while they wait for their connection. It's much more fun than the transit lounge. For our trip to the Galapagos we had been warned by friends who had been before that it is essential to take the full seven day trip. That is the only way to see a cross section of all the islands. That was very good advice. We went on the Santa Cruz Ship, which again is one of the more luxurious ways to travel. We had been warned that sailing ships sounded romantic and fun, but did restrict the distances which it was possible to travel and therefore made it more difficult to get to the islands further away from the airport, and had distinct disadvantages when the sea got rough. We went in October which judging by the prices is low season, but in fact many of the birds are either mating or have just given birth, so there is a lot to see. When you are on the Amazon, get up early because there is lots to see before the weather gets warmer. You may also find that you have to travel back at 3 10am or 4.00am, which sounds ghastly, but the views of the stars, particularly the Milky Way, for someone from the Northern Hemisphere, make it all worthwhile. From Quito we made a visit to the north to Ottavalo. All the Guide Books will tell you in advance about the first rate handicrafts which can be bought there. They are all right. One warning, as with so many places like this, it is so good that you must buy while you are there. We did not see anything of the same quality, or same range of choices, anywhere else in the country. We also travelled down to the south of Ecuador, partially on the train. The best part of that ride is the Devil's Nose which comes on the trip from Rio Bamba to Quenca. You need to do the longer trip if you are going to travel the Devil's Nose. This is far and away the most spectacular part of the journey, and whilst it may also mean that you get stuck with some fairly boring additional sight-seeing, you have to include that part, so cheek when booking. What we got wrong: We undoubtedly spent too long in Quito. You can do the City tour and the museums in a very long single day, or a more gentle two days. It is more difficult to fit in the Folk Lore Show because you have to be lucky, as it tends to be on only two days a week. However, you will find yourself coming in and out of Quito on several occasion as you fit in the various tours, and you will find yourself with quite a lot of spare time. If you do not want a restful holiday, then a couple of days planned in Quito is quite enough. Beware closing times. Museums and the Equatorial Exhibition north of the City close on Mondays which can be a pain. Churches are erratic and you can never quite be sure when they are going to close. You may be better off doing these with an official Guide who seems to know the way in around the back. As always, we failed to read up enough about what we were doing in advance, and more pre-planning would have helped. Other tips: Our time in Quito was spent in the Cafe Cultura Hotel. Whilst not up to the standards of luxury of the modern tourist hotels, this is an attractive colonial house which has rather more character. However, if you are staying there, do try to get them to book you in to one of the rooms in the main house, which tend to be bigger and have better views. If you are staying in a hotel, you are likely to be in the area near Avenue Amazonos. You may find some trouble identifying a good place to eat, which is not part of the hotel or a tourist restaurant, because the better and more fun restaurants are mostly clustered together. Walk down Avenue Amazonos, for about half a mile north of the main hotels, and take a turning on the right. There you will find 5 or 10 different restaurants, with a wide range of cuisine. It is a perfectly safe area in which to walk but the restaurant opening times can be erratic. If you are going on the Galapagos cruise, do not underestimate the importance of the underwater life. If you can scuba dive, then take your gear because it is an important part of the trip, which we certainly had not realised when we started. Finally,
a tip for other would-be authors for TravelSlG. We met up on several occasions
with an American couple Fran and David, David always seemed to be working
away on his little computer. Every spare moment in airport lounges was
spent tapping away on the keyboard. We discovered why when about a fortnight
after we got back, a well produced and extremely comprehensive 50 page
booklet complete with photographs arrived. recording all of their experiences
on their tour, which had been very similar to our own - well worth the
effort and very useful for all those friends that you meet on the tour
and to whom you can send copies. First
published in VISA issue 25 (summer 1997). |