South America welcomed us this fall. It is our first trip to the other half of the Americas and it began with Colombia and Ecuador.The national language in both countries is Spanish, a legacy left by the Spaniards after many centuries of colonial rule.
Both countries have Uber and taxis, which we relied on heavily. The rides were fairly cheap in Ecuador (between $2-4), but a little more expensive in Colombia, because the taxis are protesting against Uber. From each airport, the rides to the city were about $20.
Colombia uses the peso, with the conversion rate of 3,400:1 USD. Ecuador uses the dollar (since their nation-wide conversion in the 1990s).
Columbia
We found our cheap flights into Colombia from Miami operated by Viva Air.
Medellin
The first city we visited was Medellin, commonly known for its drug-related history. However, it has come a long way from being the world’s murder capital to a prosperous and well-maintained site. The city lies high in the mountains enveloped by a lush forest.
We were fascinated by how friendly and happy the Colombians seemed. They always had a smile on their faces and were curious to learn about the tourists.
We also enjoyed learning about the city and its history by joining a free walking tour around the downtown area. We especially liked the Fernando Botero’s disproportionate statues of men and women spread around the town.
Cartagena
Leaving the mountains of Medellin behind, we flew to the carribbean port of Cartagena. This city quickly became a favorite of ours with a perfect mix of the Miami-beach-like part of town and the more historic Pirates-of-the-Carribbean part of town.
On the strip of land that reminded us of Miami Beach, we enjoyed swimming in both the sea and the pools at the hotel, walking along the shoreline where locals offered many options from jet skiing, to diving, to massages, and so on, and sweating it out in the locals steam rooms and saunas.
The old town had a completely different feel to it as we walked the 500-year-old streets surrounded by an 8-kilometer historic wall. The whole town was very walkable and Instagram-able:)
Our final stop in Cartagena was at the La Popa monastery which offered a spectacular view of the entire city.
Ecuador
This part of the trip almost did not happen... In light of the ongoing often-time violent protests going on in the two cities that we wanted to visit, we had to closely monitor the news and the status of our flights. Luckily, just 3 days prior to our flight, a temporary cease fire agreement was established in Ecuador, so we continued on with a big sigh of relief.
Guayaquil
The first city in our itinerary was Guayaquil, a port town on the Pacific ocean and the second largest city in Ecuador. It had a lot of free attractions for tourists to enjoy.
The downtown area was quiet and peaceful with no visible signs of protests from just a week earlier! We went into Iglesias Cathedral. Next to it was our favorite attraction - the Iguana Park, which was filled with live iguanas. It was our first time seeing them outside of a zoo and they were quite relaxed and approachable. One even walked all over Julia’s foot!
Just two blocks away was the Guayaquil’s riverfront called Malecon 2000 which stretches for 5 plus miles. We strolled along, seeing many local artistic sculptures, landmarks, and artwork.
At the north end of the boardwalk was the free Museum of Anthropology and Contemporary Art.
After enjoying the museum, we climbed a hill covered with colorful houses and buildings known as ‘the 444.’ As you guessed, the name of the hike refers to the 444 steps one must climb to the very top of the hill where there is an old lighthouse and a church.
Our time in Guayaquil was not complete without visiting the free historic park. The park offered three sections to wander through including the wildlife section detailing the forests and animals of the country, the colonial section displaying the colonial buildings of the original Malecon boardwalk, and the indigenous section showcasing the native foods, customs, and dresses.
Quito
The second city on our agenda was the Ecuadorian capital Quito; and also the highest capital city in the world sitting at almost 3,000 meters above the sea level in the Andes. Similar to Medellin, the city sits high in the mountain valley, sprawling out every which way. We met my family and a family friend there for a few days.
We wanted to go even higher. So, we took a gondola up the side of a mountain above the clouds at 4,000 meters to look over the spectacular city in every direction.
We also rode around the city on the top level of the Hop-On-Ho-Off bus. In between the stops, we managed to join a free walking tour, which ended up being one of our favorite walking tours yet. The old town was charming and flaunted the architecture from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Surprisingly, there were no signs of protests!
Our favorite section of the walking tour was going through the local market, where we learned
everything about the local fruits and vegetables.
The next day, we drove out of the town to visit the Monument Mitad del Mundo, where we were able to place one foot in the Southern Hemisphere and the other in the Northern Hemisphere. The entrance fee was $5 and well worth it. In addition to the equator line designated by the yellow line on the ground, the sire offered a variety of exhibits on the science of the equator, the poles, and the solar system.
We also went to Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, which is an old volcano high in the mountains that has become a fertile farming home to the local people. The views were amazing as we hiked a few trails along the mountains before settling into a nice afternoon tea overlooking the valley.
Galapagos
This is a tough section for us as travelers. We want to share the good, the bad, and the ugly about our experience in the Galapagos. As to not paint a false picture.
Because the Galapagos is an archipelago, we were only able to visit a few islands. They were Santa Cruz, Pinzon, Isabella, and the Nameless Rock. The wildlife was unparalleled as many of the species we saw could only be seen on these islands.
Santa Cruz offered a variety of activities including:
- The Darwin Research Institute which focused on the scientist’s journey to the islands and the development of the Theory of Evolution;
- Tortuga Bay, which was a nice 3-kilometer walk to a white sandy beach beaming with wildlife;
- The El Chito ranch which allowed us to walk around the amazing landscape filled with wild tortoises and lava tunnels;
- And a final enjoyment of ours on the island was walking down to the local fishing dock to see the fishermen scale their morning catch with the sea lions, blue herons, pelicans, iguanas, and red breasted frigates queueing up for the leftovers.
Pinzon Island and the Nameless Rock included:
- Scouring the coastline for the nesting spots of blue footed boobies and Galapagos penguins;
- Snorkeling in the turquoise waters watching the various colorful fish, sea turtles, sea lions, and even 10 sleeping black and white tipped sharks;
- Bonding with the sea lions and iguanas in a small mangrove beach.
The Isabella Island also had a lot to offer including:
- Snorkeling in the peaceful lagoon with the swimming iguanas;
- Watching various exotic birds such as flamingos;
- And playing with the baby sea lions.
The landscape was just as amazing going from arid lands, to dry forests, to mangroves, to rainforest, to cactus growing on volcanic rock, all within our eyesight.
Now for the downsides:
Cash is king in the Galapagos. 99% of all businesses do not accept any other form of payment other than cash. The other 1% charge a 12% surcharge on credit card purchases.
There is a lot of hidden fees and costs to Galapagos we want to make people aware of:
- Normally the RT airfare from Quito/Guayaquil to the Galapagos is $350-500 pp;
- $20 immigration fee at the Quito/Guayaquil airports;
- $100 national park fee at the Galapagos airports;
- $10 additional fee for the Isabela Island;
- $5 bus, $1 ferry, $5 bus or $25 taxi from the Galapagos Airport to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz;
- At least $30 one-way ferries between islands;
- Day tours range between $90-$400 pp;
- ATM’s on the islands sometimes don’t work and have limits of $500 for withdrawls;
- And all of this does not include lodging.
These are the minimum costs that you will encounter. In addition, local travel agencies, park rangers, and locals try to extort additional funds from you. We like to think of ourselves as well-traveled people who are fully aware of the need for the countries to make money off of tourism and are fully ready to support local economies. The Galapagos went above and beyond any of the other 70 countries we have visited between Julia and I. We had guides lie about the boat size, the boat captains throw in hidden fees while out in the sea, park rangers tell us we had to have a guide for a cost in a free park, among other things.
Lastly, what the locals call ‘ferries’ bear no resemblance to the ferries anywhere else we have been. For every inter-island transportation, we had to endure many hours of choppy rides on crammed speedboats, getting splashed by sea water, and people getting seasick next to you.
We bring this up to make people aware of the ugly side to visiting the archipelago. While we had a miserable time dealing with logistics, bookings, and fees; we had an absolutely amazing time experiencing the wildlife. Perhaps, opting for a larger cruise boat would be a better option for visiting the Galapagos rather than DYI.
Hasta luego, Ecuador and Colombia.
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