Ecuador
Of all the amazing places we’ve been this year, Ecuador was one that really took us by surprise. The colors, sounds, and experiences we had here were some of the most engaging and memorable, and kicked off our month-long trip to South America with a bang.
Our tour of Ecuador started in the capital city of Quito - located 9000 ft. above sea level, we could definitely feel the altitude as we walked around. Lucky for us, it was Valentine’s Day, or El Dia del Amor, and we were treated to a beautiful parade full of traditional dancing, music, and clothing. This parade set amongst the backdrop of the old, colorful buildings of Quito was full of life and passion. We could have watched it all day. However, with only one day in Quito we had to keep moving. We continued walking until we came to a large artisans’ market, Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal, to find some things to spruce up our new apartment in LA. Our day in Quito ended with a romantic pizza dinner and a walk along La Ronda street. In the 17th century La Ronda was the place where artists, bohemians, poets and the misunderstood would meet. Today, it’s full of restaurants, bars, and street performances - it’s one of those quintessential social streets that serves as a right of passage for anyone passing through.
The next day we started off on our first adventure to Chimborazo, an inactive volcano located in the Andes Mountains. We arrived at a completely off-the-grid hotel, Chimborazo Lodge, full of character. A base camp for hikers and climbers, the lodge is amazingly decorated with climbing gear from over the ages. If we thought the 9000 ft altitude of Quito was tough to adjust to, you can only imagine what it felt like to settle into the 13,000 ft altitude of Chimborazo. We learned that due to the oval shape of Earth, the peak of Chimborazo is actually the highest place on the planet. We went for a very slow, very exhausting, but very beautiful hike up towards the base of the mountain where each step felt like a marathon. Eventually we semi-adjusted and were able to relax and enjoy the scenery, surrounded by mountains, greenery, and alpacas.
After two nights at Chimborazo and a night back in Quito, we were ready for our next stop to a section of rainforest called the Cloud Forest. It was here that we were completely blown away. In 2001, the former mayor of Quito noticed that large portions of the Cloud Forest were being torn down for timber. As a passionate conservationist, he decided to put a stop to this by purchasing 3000+ acres of rainforest land for the sole purpose of preservation. Several years later, he took the plot that was used for cutting, and built an impeccable, eco-friendly, beautifully designed hotel, Mashpi Lodge. Our stay here was one of the most memorable of our entire time traveling. Some of the activities we did while there included a 3 hour hike through a flowing creek to reach a waterfall and pool to swim in, a visit to the top of a hill to sit and have hummingbirds zoom around our heads, a sky bike that gave us a birds eye view of the rainforest, and lectures about the birds, flowers, and plants that surrounded us every day. All of this and we were only there for 2 nights. I can’t imagine how transformative it would have been if we stayed longer.
While we were sad to be leaving Mashpi, we were excited and extremely optimistic for the rest of our trip in South America. And the adventures were only getting started. Car rental drama and 70 mph winds lie ahead!