10 Days in Ecuadorian Andes

Amazon to Andes involves a fair amount of bus time, but the diversity
encountered is well worth it. Some exertion is required, since walks of a
couple of hours at high altitudes are involved; but anyone reasonably fit
will do just fine. Most of the tour is above 8000 feet; two nights in the
Amazon are lower, as is the final day around Guayaquil. Mosquitos were
(surprisingly) not present except in the mangroves, last day. Ecuador is a
very easy and interesting country to visit. People are friendly, and are
obviously proud of their ecological and cultural heritage. Accommodations
and food on the trip were excellent, and the tour leader was well informed
and experienced (20 years). Highly recommend this trip for anyone
interested in exploring this wonderful small country.
Really too many to count; it depends on whether one's main interest is in the
Various cultures or in the huge diversity of flora/fauna.


Pablo was amazing - highest marks!


Don't worry about bugs, mosquito nets, or anything like that. Just come with
some dollars for food, tips, and a few souvenirs and an adventurous spirit.
You will need a sweater and windbreaker on a couple of occasions (hiking on
Chimborazo or in the National Park), but otherwise moderate temps are typical
everywhere. Long sleeve shirts are normal, but a couple of short sleeves
will also come in handy. Bring a swim suit in case you want to spend 30
minutes on floating down the river.

Ecuador is a very interesting country, much of it at significant altitude. In
March, on day one, on the equator the temperature in Quito at over 2000
metres was only about 20 degrees C but I got quite badly sunburned in just an
hour without a hat. The variety of environment was , as indicated by the name
of the trip, extreme from canoe trips in the Amazon rain forest to wearing
most of my clothes at nearly 5000 metres on Chimborazu.. In the past we have
shied away from group trips after some bad experiences but this time it was
the people that we were with that helped make the trip more enjoyable.
However what really made the trip memorable was our excellent guide Fabien
who took us to places that we would never have dreamed of going to and
introduced us to fascinating people that again we would never have met
without his help. Other than Guayaquil this was one of the best holidays we
can remember.
Seeing a full size crocodile launch itself into the river in the Mangrove
swamps - too quick to get a photo. I had no idea that crocs existed in South
America.


He was excellent. Despite being under stress from both vehicle issues. (We
had to abandon the first minibus after just two days) and domestic issues
(his flat in Quito had caught fire because of a defective refrigerator) he
remained calm and made sure that we were all comfortable, well informed and
well fed.
Specifically he took us to fascinating markets, through doors into
extraordinary buildings and into roadside sugar processing plants. He had a
wicked sense of humour but showed great compassion when one of our party had
to return home early because of an unexpected bereavement and when my wife
struggled with the altitude.


1)


Wear a hat during the day. The mosquito, dengue and yellow fever risk in the
part of Amazonia that we visited was minimal to non existent. Don't buy a toy
blow pipe. Only an 8 foot long one is accurate enough and powerful enough to
amuse your relatives in the UK. Wine is exceptionally expensive. Do try to
learn a bit of Spanish before you get there. Consult your GP about tactics to
overcome altitude problems. Coca tea is pretty ineffective.

The two-week wildlife cruise was the holiday of a lifetime. We both enjoy
science and wildlife, we are also sailors and have our own boat. Most days
the itinerary was full on and wonderful, and we were delighted with the
amazing wildlife both on land and in the sea. The crew were very friendly
and worked amazingly hard. There was a generous amount of good food for
every meal, including much fruit, vegetables and salads. Unfortunately
several of us had stomach upsets for 1 or 2 days.
The boat was the main cause for concern. The A/C in the dining room failed
for a couple of days, and dripped water on the seating so we had several wet
seats for a few days. The Dining room ceiling also dripped water on several
occasions. Our A/C also dripped on the carpet, or anything that was on the
carpet nearby, and also on the shelves under it. Many things were wet or
smelled musty. We had room 1 and our toilet was often malfunctioning from
the start, and then blocked completely for a whole day (happily the crew
worked very hard and managed to repair it by bedtime). There were no other
toilets except the ones in other guests cabins.
Exodus gave us only 24 hours to decide whether to abort the holiday as the
original boat the Cachalot was out of commission but we were told that the
substitute boat was also a “first class boat”. We now discover that
according to Galapagos Islands.com the ‘Astrea’ or ‘Pinguino
Explorer’ is down as a “mid-priced boat” and costs 650 dollars per week
less that the ‘Catchalot’ did, so we are not amused as no refund was
offered for this cheaper accommodation.
Exodus were unable to give us useful information regarding laundry (they said
there was none) or the ability to wash things ourselves and hang them out.
Also, they were unable to answer queries about the flight from Quito to the
islands or the baggage allowance for that flight. We therefore took far too
much luggage!
We were only told about the need for US dollars to pay the bar bill within
the last week when we had already ordered and collected our dollars.
So hard to decide as most days exceeded our expectations. I loved the seals,
so amusing and entertaining, as were the Penguins but the Hammerhead sharks
took my breath away. We saw about 100 Mola mola (sunfish) I also was blown
away by the Siera Negra Volcano – so huge.


Very knowledgeable about so many things, but not easy to get a straight
answer from, and also rather creepy.


Find out who the local agent is and check their website, it answered many of
our outstanding questions. You can wash for yourself, a plug is useful, and
hang out clothes on the rail outside.

The Galapagos Islands are such a special place it really is a trip of a
lifetime to have the opportunity to be so close to such wonderful wildlife,
it really is a privilege.

The guides there are extremely knowledgeable and experienced which is
essential as there is so much to see you really need someone who can point
things out and explain the detail.

This particular trip is on a catamaran boat which only has around 8 rooms so
this trip is not for you if you suffer from sea sickness, the water was very
choppy at times and it did spoil the trip for me despite taking tablets.

If you are going you will love it!
Snorkelling with sea lions, sea turtles, white tipped reef sharks, penguins
and so much more, it was simply amazing, so very special.


Our group leader Alexis was so very knowledgeable and very willing to share
all he knows, at times he could talk for England! Unfortunately there were a
couple of days when he wasn't very well and so was not his usual self, he was
quiet and we certainly didn't get as much information on those days. I think
it would be good for the tour to have a way to replace a leader if necessary,


Do not consider doing this trip if you suffer from motion / sea sickness
during the dry season, we went in June at the beginning of the dry season and
it was very choppy, one night only 6 people made it to dinner so I wasn't
alone! The crew on the boat said that the sea was actually quite good and
other months could be significantly worse so you really need to take this
into account.


An inspirational trip despite the sickness, we loved it, the snorkelling and
all the wildlife you see is amazing, these beautiful islands are protected
but the world is changing and climate change is affecting it so don't miss
out and book to go there soon!

Absolutely brilliant trip. Everything I’d hoped for. Loads to see and
do. Lovely country, lovely people. Interesting and varied accommodation.
Great group of travelling companions.
I loved it all - but the stand-out moments were the visit to St Clemente, the
time in the jungle and shopping in Cuenca.


Pablo was excellent - extremely knowledgeable, very friendly and highly
organised. Mauricio our driver was also fantastic - I always felt very safe
on the sometimes challenging roads.


Things I took which I didn’t need!

1. Mosquito net.
2. Expensive and heavy Electricity voltage converter - the cheap 2- prong
adapters worked perfectly well.
3. Thermals and too many cold weather clothes - we really only had one
activity where extra layers were required and even then only a fleece and
light-weight jacket, although a warm hat was welcome.
4. Beach towel - towels are provided for the hot spring swim and tubing.

I thought long and hard about booking a this trip as it is not cheap! However
it proved to be the best holiday that I have ever taken and well worth the
money. We snorkelled twice a day on most days, with the turtles, sea lions,
penguins, marine iguanas and great shoals of multicoloured fish. Every
island that we visited was different and the naturalist guide that
accompanied us was a fount of information. On land we saw the giant Galapagos
tortoises, land iguanas and a myriad of different birds. The boat that we
were based on was first class with excellent food and attentive and friendly
crew
Swimming with sealions


Excellent, could not have been bettered, Gandy was efficient, knowledgible,
kind and fun


If you have your own full length wetsuit, then take it with you if you are
travelling, as I did in November as the water is fairly cold then and the wet
suits provided on board are short ones. On the other hand I understand the
sea is much warmer in Feb/Mar.