Ecuador
One day, I plan to backpack across Ecuador and find everything I've been missing. It surprises me how big places really are. I've been to a couple of small towns in Ecuador and there's not much to tell about them since it's mostly family reasons and you won't find white sand, blue sea beaches here. It's very different though so I will explain that. The places where you're born will often have a different perception to those who visit. So while people will think it's great for their own reasons, the people who live there will think it's great for completely different things. For example, people like Korea because of K-pop and K-dramas but an inhabitant will say it smells like piss yet it's great in its own way.
Ecuador's kinda like that except not many like it. I'm just listing my personal experiences after this. :)
The driving is horrendous and there are these roads that twist and turns. Some roads are not well built but soon undergo construction. In one of the towns I frequented, there were large mounds of dirt and rocks that I'm not even sure from where they came but it didn't matter as I climbed and jumped to others in delight. (I would still do that, being 17.)
Dirt is everywhere, do expect to get dirty as people water their plants and sometimes the dirt roads that have no gravel which turns into mud. Houses are made of wood, cement, and brick; some nicer then others, but all with their unique charm. They are also in different colors, not always a white or a gray but sometimes a fading red or green or yellow. Windows are barred but to me do not appear in a way that scream poverty and oh, poor children but sit without bothersome glass and plants on the border. They also swirl in designs, again, some nicer then others.
The people are friendly on a whole minus the creeps that exist everywhere. Well, to a foreigner who can't speak Spanish they'll seem that way. As to one who is part of the place, who's family lived there and talked to them, I know a little more. They're gossipy! For one who lives in the town, your business is everywhere. Well, that's not much important to a traveler. To a visitor, they are kind and loud.You will also notice there are parties all the time, everywhere, every weekend. These people love to dance. They pick a location, get a band, charge you if you want a table or extra seats and bring as much beer as you want with a price, of course. And the party starts. The way you dress depends, ranging from shirts and jeans to casual dresses to even nicer dresses. Also around the edges, they'll sell you non alcoholic drinks. Anyways, these people love to party. If not in a town nearby you, in another one and you just drive there and park and enjoy.
Political issues, people say they hate our president but he's not all bad. He's done some good things with constructing roads at least. I'd rather not say much on a subject I don't understand. You will also see signs everywhere with different numbers and different names and different slogans. That last one's actually expected. I myself don't understand that concept yet but it's everywhere; even spray painted on walls.
We also suffer our fair share of violence as well and worry about those who will pull our car over and take all our money. Even in a big town, those worries nudge at you if you're carrying something expensive. I myself have lost a lovely Victoria Secret's pink bag that had some pair of new underwear, some pajamas and my new purple glasses. I left it out in the car with the windows down when I went inside to a internet cafe for what was just a couple of minutes. Obviously, as I remember every item I've lost, the loss still burdens me. So! Be careful with your things if for some reason you ever obtain an urge to go to Ecuador.
Besides the worry you'll get carjacked, travel isn't so bad. The price to ride a bus anywhere is just a dime. Sad news is there have been bus accidents from buses that drive too fast. Besides that, I adore the buses in Ecuador. For one, the doors -- completely open. I'm not sure exactly what they do with those doors, but it's open. You're waiting outside, me for example, out of this house I just visited. You're looking down the rode seeing which bus comes your way. All these buses are colorful and painted so different from New York's blue and white buses and the subway (they got no subway for starters). And you have to make sure they're the right color, heading to where you're going. Once you're certain, instead of stepping back like you would do when it's not your bus, you stay there and a guy hanging out at the door will see you and let the bus driver know. The bus driver slows down and the guy hanging out by the door jumps out and lets you go before him. Later, he'll ask you for your fare. You climb up and are greeted with an almost cramped but not entirely for the bus never seems so full that people stand and crowd each other, just in the way that there may not be any more seats left and you sit near the front on this plushy seat. The bus on the inside is just as colorful as it is on the out. You sit and the bus roars. Okay, not roars it just goes. Wind blows in the bus by how fast it's going and you see blurs of green rush by. Sitting by the front, provides you a nice door view which is just to say instead of the window you get a taller view, haha. A person will tell the door guy or the bus drivers who are conversational where they wanna get off and that it's coming up.Then it slows down when there's a bump or a person gets off. That's it! Not bad. On one of these stops sometimes a person will come on and sing or sell you food and things.
And here's one of those bus crashes we were talking about.
If you Google "Ecuador bus" you'll get some more pictures but I don't want to scare you off.
They aren't always this bad, this is just a pretty drastic one.
Now, water stuff. Nearly every shower, not hotel standard, has cold water. Freezing cold water that you gotta get used to. I would take some showers outside sometimes in a little shower house for lack of a better term, which is delightfully quaint for those people who like those things and I can still remember the chill. Partly because right when I turn on my own shower, there's 5 seconds of immense cold before it transitions to hot water. There is also an ever quirkier shower at another house I stayed at that had a shower outside. Fashioned with some sort of pipe and a thing you had to turn around to turn on, it sported a black curtain. But that was it. My cousins who lived there being all male had no issue with this so they probably enjoyed a quick shower or too after working. As for me and any female, I'd advise you only step into such showers with your swimsuit on or if it's extremely hot and you don't mind getting all your clothes wet. How fun!
Grocery stores are everywhere, little delis or stands that sell candy or icecream or a refreshing glass bottle of Coca Cola. Do yourself a favor and ask for a bolo, like you know what you're doing. Bolos are like the Mamita's Coconut Cream icecreams that sell for $1 in your local grocery store. Except much cheaper (for 25 cents) and with a richer flavor. They have chocolate and this yellow flavor I can't ever quite get the name right for. They taste different everywhere because they have handmade ones and commercial ones. Both are delicious. My grandma makes some of the best bolos I've ever tasted and on one trip she gave me the powder to make it and the little bags to freeze them in. When I got back to NY and I craved a bolo, I mixed it with milk and put it in its little bag into the freeze. Plopped it there for a couple hours and enjoyed it immensely. Speaking of refreshments, guys also sell fresh cold water everywhere just like the people on the buses. Nice supermarkets can be found in the bigger towns that are similar to your supermarket only with different names that sound more Spanish then anything. There are also cute parks colored brightly but some in the same faded way houses are painted.
Food! Ah, food. To me it is typical fare, seeing as food is cooked by Ecuadorian hands every day in my house.
Typical meals include two portions. One being a soup of some sort and another a meal & rice dish. I am used to three meals a day but there it's like a good breakfast, an even bigger lunch, and a dinner that's returned to normal portions. And you still get hungry with the rest of the day in between those hours.Orange juice can be handmade easy and the chicken you ate could have been killed just a couple of hours ago. On Sundays, is market day where market stands pile up early in the morning in that area you noticed had a lot of empty tables. Those are for the food. We are also the country of chocolate and bananas and we also have lime trees and this is everywhere. Cacao can be made into chocolate easily and besides bananas and limes we also have mangoes! Oh, mango trees cast over you that if you jump or if you're in the back of a truck you can stretch your hand out and try to grab one. There are bound to be other things I don't know so let's move on. People also love ceviche.
Beach wise, we're not so bad. Nothing like Galapagos beaches though.
I've stayed in Ecuador at family's houses and in hotels. I don't remember what hotel it is anymore but it was a nice, enjoyable stay. They had a very nice pool, great food and a beach just down the stairs. Oh and hot showers. Love them hot showers.
It's all pretty relaxing in Ecuador, though. Enjoy it if you ever go. My dad for one who frequents trips here and there (for "business" so he says) relishes in it and the differences in its culture from New York, amazing but in its own kind of cold and a fast, rush-paced life. Be kind, learn the language, try some food, join in and you'll love it. Maybe one day you'll stay out of the comfy hotels and venture into boisterous towns. At the very last, grab some bus rides. They're so cheap and you'll end up somewhere! Just don't get lost.
This has turned into a long post about cumulative stays in Ecuador that making a separate post for every place I've been would be wise. Thanks if you read my thoughts!
