This is Ecuador, guapo!

What a loooong time has been, people!

It’s almost a shame for us to publish a new article after several months but, as we always say, life can keep you busy.

However, we couldn’t miss the chance to celebrate an important date today: exactly one year ago, we were coming back to Europe and ending, after 10 months, our South American backpacking trip!

And that’s why, this article will talk about the last country we have been visiting along our journey. A country, which has been a blast for us and one more adventure to count in the list…

Esto es Ecuador, guapo!

And where to start? Of course, from one of the craziest State border we have ever seen, just a bridge over a river with a single policeman, who was obviously in his 2 hours lunch break and one daily bus that could bring us away from there.

The way we took (we cannot even call it a “street”) was so broken, arduous and full of landslides, that the driver needed to stop several times just to check where and how to pass through. The path was incredibly bumpy, we even needed to load some extra huge stones just to stabilize the bus and sometimes use them to repair the huge holes encountered.
Writing about it now, it all sounds irrational but funny at the same time: the real spirit of travels!

Fortunately, we have met some friends at the border to enjoy a nice jam session and who shared this incredible bus ride with us. All in all, we could reach our destinations safe and sound.

And our first stopover was the beautiful city of Cuenca, the so-called Ecuadorian White City. It reminded me a bit of some Italian Medieval villages, with a wonderful and big central Cathedral, some narrow, tranquil alleys and relaxed walking people. We took a couple of days free for us, to enjoy the fresh green valley, the crowded but tasty market and to get ready for some new hitch-hiking sessions.

At the same time, we made some research to try to understand why Ecuador is actually using Dollars. Yes, American Dollars is the Ecuadorian currency.

And we found out that in the 90’s, the Government and the Central Bank were not able to stop the inflation, which was about 100% in a year. That’s a crazy amount if you think that, in Europe, we already complain for a yearly 2% increase. The first solution was to print more money but this didn’t help, it just brought prices to raise even faster. Politicians, then, noticed that another Latin American country also uses U.S. Dollars and did not have these inflation problems: Panama.

Therefore, Ecuador decided to do it too and since then, they receive Dollars in exchange for their goods like oil, chocolate, bananas. And “Dollarization” has mostly worked out for Ecuador. Inflation has been low and stable and the country became one of the wealthier in all South America.

But let’s go on. We left Cuenca in order to reach our next volunteering project, in the middle of the Amazonian Forest, in an Eco-Lodge near the city of Puyo. After 1.700 km traveled in a week, which more than 1.000 hitch-hiked, we finally arrived in this green island surrounded by an ocean of nature, waterfalls and trees.

It’s unbelievable the quantity of insects and reptiles we were able to observe there: moths, caterpillars, lighting worms, tarantulas, normal spiders and killing spiders, huge frogs, butterflies, snakes.

An example of caterpillar in the Amazons

And what an experience we have done: we helped sorting crops, blackberries and beans. Cooked Empanadas, Pizza and Donuts together with our South African friend Marcelo. We experienced the strongest earthquake ever, 8.0 magnitude, that was waking us up in the middle of the night because of a volcano eruption. We built several objects out of wood like a boots-rack, a bee-hotel and one of our greatest construction project so far: an external shower in the middle of the forest!

The beginning, just a water pipe in the jungle

Finished work, with the shower in the background!

So thank you Patricio, Ferhat and all the team of the Finca Heimatlos for the opportunity. If you are searching for a great volunteering project through Workaway, don’t hesitate to contact them.

After almost a month of jungle and nature, we kept on hitch-hiking and reached the biggest Ecuadorian city and capital: Quito. What a change of scenery!

Panorama of Quito

Quito is the closest capital to the equator, the second highest capital in the world after La Paz, with an altitude of 2.850 Mt and has an impressive view of all the volcanoes around, like the Pichincha and the Cotopaxi. The city is vibrant, energetic and with several opportunities. Even if we unfortunately experienced some bad stomach aches, we visited the botanical garden, the marvelous Gothic cathedral and watched several games of the national Ecuadorian sport: Ecuavoley.

The purpose of the game is similar to normal Volleyball but there are some key differences, like the number of players (only 3) and the height of the net (2,80 Mt), that made it a different sport, really followed in the country. The atmosphere on the court is really electrified and there are a lot of old men gambling all the time on the best team and, in the end, enjoying an ice-cream together.

We have to thank Joaquin for the hospitality, the patience and for the good tips: you are welcome any time to come to Europe (right, Francesco?).

Our last Ecuadorian stop has been in La Tola, a remote village in the north outskirts of Quito. Another volunteering project of a sweet French woman called Odile, where we helped building her new house with ecological materials, under the supervision of some experienced constructions masters and workers. It was a tough and physical job but we learned many tricks and enjoyed our free time, feeling like part of the village and the community. After so many months, we felt finally a bit less Gringos.

But our flight back to Europe was waiting for us in Bogotá, Colombia. And after our last 950 hitch-hiking km, we finally reached the end of our South American adventure.

This is hitch-hiking! They even stopped the Police to ask permission to take us

Without you, dear readers, it wouldn’t have been the same. Without all the people who gave us a ride. Who was letting us camping in their field. Who was offering us some water, a lunch or a smile. We traveled for 285 days, hitch-hiked more than 6.000 km, visited 8 countries, worked in 13 projects, spent less than 4.000 euros.

We feel richer and with a heavier backpack full of memories, faces, landscapes, friends and experiences. And we want to thank you all for this, this is just the beginning!

RISK CURIOSITY