My Experience Traveling in Ecuador

This past April, I flew to Ecuador.

Why?

For a woman I had met and fallen in love with online.

But that wasn’t all I fell in love with.

Ecuador is an interesting experience for someone from the American Midwest. Let me describe my experiences and give you some advice along the way. Just in case you get bit by the travel bug.

I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on an evening flight from Miami. It took about 4 hours from one port to the other. The flight wasn’t bad. And I discovered that American Airlines was one of the better options for getting there, as Guayaquil’s international airport isn’t serviced by just any airline.

Going through customs and migration was relatively quick and painless. And before I knew it, I was being hugged and kissed by the woman of my dreams.

Guayaquil is a city of nearly three million people. It’s only barely smaller than the capital Quito.

Folks in Guayaquil seemed quite open to foreigners. Hospitality was never a problem. All restaurants and businesses I encountered were more than pleasant.

The Ecuadorian economy uses the American dollar everywhere. It makes travel very convenient for Americans since you don’t have to worry about exchange rates and whether that sale is a good deal or a ripoff.

Strangely though, every business had security guards at the entrance. Even going to a supermarket, you walked in past security. They never gave me any trouble. Their purpose was to keep the businesses free of panhandlers and loiterers. I actually appreciated that gesture as it made all these businesses seem more relaxed and accommodating.

And because a lot of the smaller businesses were situated on busy roads where parallel parking was the rule and not the exception, every smaller business hired a parking assistant, someone who would steer you expertly into the tightest of spaces. And they generally kept an eye on your parked vehicle while you were shopping. Tips were appreciated but not mandatory.

Traffic in Guayaquil is definitely not for the faint of heart. It seemed that all drivers only obeyed two traffic laws: the speed limits and the stop lights. Beyond that it was nearly a free for all. Painted lanes meant next to nothing. You could be stopped at a light, squarely within your lane, while another car squeezed in between you and the car in the next lane over. It was amazing that in the two weeks I was there I saw no traffic accidents, no fender benders, no road rage.

The streets and roads of Guayaquil are apparently random. True north, south, east, west roads are extremely rare. Rather, roads curve around, loop over other roads in quick succession, and the number of lanes would increase and decrease without warning, making for quick merges.

If you rent a car, use Google Maps or Waze. Both apps were relatively reliable for navigation around the city but Waze was a little more user friendly and intuitive.

Otherwise there are plenty of cabs and Uber drivers. Most Ubers were modern and clean vehicles and fares were very inexpensive. Crossing the entire city in a 30 minute roundabout trip cost about $5 in an Uber. I’d actually recommend using Ubers and cabs. Although car rental is very affordable, the white knuckled traffic and navigation headaches aren’t worth it.

Food was great! Ecuadorian food has several staples. One is the encebollado. It looks like fish soup with onions, but the fish is plentiful and very fresh. The taste was delightful.

The roadside grilled pork restaurants are incredible. A fully smoked and roasted pig is slow cooked to a tender, fall off the bone onto your fork goodness. Yum!

Plantains are common. Mashed plantain with fried eggs is called bolón and is very customary for breakfast. Starchy and with protein. It gets your day started. Tea is common at breakfast as well.

American restaurants are relatively easy to find. McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, even Carl’s Jr., in case you were missing the fast American cuisine.

The downtown boardwalk or Malecón is really scenic with all the nicest businesses and attractions. It’s a must see if you’re in Guayaquil.

Now for the travel section:

We traveled to Cuenca, a remarkably well preserved colonial city in the mountains east of Guayaquil. The roads to get there are slow and winding, but the destination was easily worth it. At over 8,000 feet of elevation and with close to half a million inhabitants, Cuenca is a city that embraces the modern, global future, while keeping a very solid foot in old world charm. I managed to get a hand ground organic hot chocolate while visiting the old cathedrals and converted colonial mansions which became upscale shopping and dining areas with large courtyards. The architecture is stunningly well preserved. You’ll feel like you’re in old world Spain or Italy with the cramped cobblestone streets.

We stayed in a very budget friendly Airbnb. It cost about $50 per night and comfortably slept 4 of us. There’s quite a large inventory of modern Airbnb’s to choose from. And the hosts are generally happy to see you, friendly to work with, and very respectable.

My favorite part of my trip was the Pacific Ocean. We stayed in Punta Blanca, not far from Salinas. The Pacific is warm here with very comfortable water temperatures. There are a lot of public beaches with all the attractions and amenities, with hotels abutting the sand like what you’d expect in Rio de Janeiro or Acapulco. The weather was a very constant high of 78° with lows around 70° at night. Perfect! Watching the sun set over the ocean every evening was the most tranquil highlight of it all. It was especially enjoyable for a Wisconsin boy who had never spent time on the ocean before.

Would I recommend Ecuador to you for a travel adventure? Absolutely! And I’m planning on returning again very soon.

I already know where I’m going to retire someday. Maybe I’ll see you there?