A change in the flight time from Baltra meant that we had little time in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s biggest city. (Pronounced ‘wa-ka-quil’ but sometimes squeezed into a single syllable.) Just one night at the palatial Grand Hotel. Wandered a little after dark. FCO advice for Ecuador Continue Reading →

3 nights in Cuenca, Ecuador’s well-preserved colonial city in the south. A large grid of old buildings, many churches and religious institutions and some grand public buildings. Many bars and classy cafes. The main museum, the Museo del Banco Central Pumapungo was excellent. An entire floor Continue Reading →

Flight from Cuenca to Quito with views of Cotopaxi above the clouds. To save time we took a taxi to Otavalo ($60), through the bad land gorges that surround the airport and back across the equator.  Otavalo has a neighbouring and vast high altitude lake Continue Reading →

I liked Quito. Not quite a mega-city but it sprawls where it can along a high altitude valley. There are many green patches where deep gorges and  steep escarpments place limits of the buildings. And it’s set among higher peaks – various extinct volcanoes – Continue Reading →