Ecuador Trip Recap, 1 of... (1 Viewer)

[hakalugi]

As posted in the private area, when I was looking for info on renting an LC for our July 4th week trip to Quito and surrounding Ecuador. Couldn't find one this far north (some outfitters in southern Chile and Arg) but up here, nothing specific for LCs and such. Did find Sixt rental car had a Fortuner, with 4wd and 4low, more on that below. We had a great trip and wanted to share the nature and trucks observed, and recommend this as a destination for outdoor activities, plenty of driving opportunities, and strong US dollar when there.

Coming into Quito at night - fast landing, city is at 9350' after all, air is thin up here

first truck I see in airport lot is a Defender 130... wow.

The Fortuner is based on the hilux chassis. Size of a 3 row highlander, but had better suspension. Very underpowered tho with the tiny gas engine (asked for manual + deisel, didn't have it, gas and the 2.7L 4 banger was struggling on Cotopaxi, more below, the 4.0L V6 seems to be an option on this vehicle, could have used it. Gas wasn't Euro expensive either down here, about the same as US cities. Toyota Fortuner - Wikipedia

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 2 of...

Like I said the USD goes a long way with anything services/labor related. We got a condo for our whole 11 days in Quito, even though we did 2 exursions out of the city for a few days each - keeping the place as home base. For the cost of 2 hotel rooms in DC for 2-3 nights, we got 3 BR condo, Washer/dryer, 2 parking spaces, doorman/ secure elevator, oh and a private rooftop terrace with grill and hammocks. Holy crap it was sweet. The cone and clouds pic is Cotopaxi, a nearly 20k foot active volcano to the south of Qutio. Usually cloud covered at all times but early AM, grabbed this pic just past dawn one morning.

There were some cool trucks around Quito, too:

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 3 of...

We spent 2.5 days walking Quito then headed south to a town called Banos. Even cheaper, for a long time a religious destination known for sacred healing waters. Lots of young euro tourists and dozens of hostels. We did just 2 days there, hiking water falls, checking out the church and town and enjoying more local fare.

The countryside was very basic, like many developing nations, saw several 40's on blocks as project trucks, usually wasn't able to snap a pic as I was driving the whole time.

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 4 of...

On the drive back from Banos we hit Cotopaxi. So

1. you can drive up to 14765, max, that's the pictured lot
2. you can then hike 1-2 hrs up to 15,960 to the base camp structure if you'd like without special gear and use restrooms and food/water shop
3. the peak is 19347 and it was active in 2017

We packed shells only for this day, and needed them. As you can see, very arid, had to use 4-low not due to the grip - the road was usual rutted gravel washed out, easy to drive, but due to lack of O2 and gearing and 2.7L engine, just didn't have the torque to make driving anything but a chore. Did pass a 60 on the way down wooot.

(5 pic max, so cont'd)

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 5 of...

15180 max before we ran out of time (translation: (1) we did have a time crunch** and (2) my wife and kids were like: "seriously, how much higher are we going?")

** time crunch. So Quito has a smog problem. So they ban driving during rushour 5 days a week based on your license plate's last digit. ours ended in 1 so we couldn't drive monday 7am - 9am (fine we were in Banos) or 4pm - 8pm (?) monday night, anywhere in Quito. So we needed to get to Quito into our condo's garage before 4pm, so being on Cotopaxi at 1245pm and wife tapping her feet meant... we motored north. Going downhill was a lot easier.

non trivial $250 fine if they grab you driving during these times and they take your car. Rental company had a separate form i had to sign ack'g that if i lost the car due to being stupid, i still had to pay for the whole time and the fine and the town/impound fees. I assume people of means have > 1 plate at home and swap them around...

We also hit some sky swings on the way south, looking at a neighboring volcano. these pics are 'only' at 8k feet, so low enough to still be lush. Very beautiful place.

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 6 of...

Even this 'mid sized' SUV can be tight navigating in the cities, this was my gap on both sides to get into a hotel parking lot we used 1 night.

And like a lot of s.america, plenty of people doing a longer trip than us. This was a german 'newlywed' couple married 1.5 yrs go, going round the globe in their van.

Oh and some stuff doesn't quite translate fully. Below is a Hooters clone. Quite literal, aren't they?

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 7 of...

Finishing with a few more truck pics... very few proper 80 series (very expensive here) but a few FJ's were seen.

And here is a view from above Quito, from the west side, looking east, on the foothills of a dormant volcano, "Teleferico" where you can take a gondola up part of the way then hike until you run out of breath...

 

[hakalugi]

Ecuador Trip Recap, 8 of...

And for those of you who want some luxury and science, you can find the combo at Mashpi Lodge, one of the Nat Geo Unique Lodges of the World. We did 2.5 days there. Amazing guides, flora, fauna, experience. Highly recommended. https://www.mashpilodge.com/

2 guides dedicated to the 5 of us, dawn bird watching, humming bird and butterfly excursions, Night hikes, snakes, 6" milipedes, 8" slugs, 7" butterfly below; sky bike, gondola like 'dragonfly' hiking in creek beds, to swimmable falls. Very comfortable and posh accommodations, local labor, great cuisine, and sustainable practices. Quite the contrast to Banos and euro hostel feel, this wasn't budget but was a special treat. This is about 2.5 hours north from Quito and they definitely didn't want us driving I think we were only 1 of 3 guest cars there, they want people taking buses from Quito because: (1) impact of parking they have to shuttle our truck to a satellite lot, (2) the road is single lane, timed up/down access, and was the most challenging road to drive - always raining, foggy (this place is called a "cloud forest" for a reason) off camber, large drops down one side (ie: 50-150 Meters in some places), so fine for one of us who can drive just about anything, not for an average guy/gal to drive in a sedan). They require you rent an suv with 4wd if you're even going to be provided the driving directions. We're glad we did, it allowed us more freedom to explore to and from, and afterall, *we* like driving trucks/SUVs on fun/challenging roads after all.

Anyways, hope you liked the pics and this is where I was missing the last meeting. See you guys/gals in a few weeks for the August meeting.

 

[OTRAMM]

You're bumping Ecuador up on my list. I love South and Central America but haven't made it there yet. I friend brought back the best coffee I've ever had from Quito.

 

[Von Hayek]

Nifty, nifty trip.

 

[hakalugi]

You're bumping Ecuador up on my list. I love South and Central America but haven't made it there yet. I friend brought back the best coffee I've ever had from Quito.

Yes. The coffee and chocolate were outstanding. OD’d the whole trip on both. Shaking at Customs and Border Patrol at Miami airport for innocent reasons

 

[Stumpalama]

Gonna share this with Steph...

 

[bkfj40]

Looks like you had a great trip! I assume that they are still using USD as their currency?

Ecuador was a great place to visit - we did an REI trip to the highlands in ecuador, quito, and then galapagos a few years ago. Next time, make sure to hit up galapagos islands!

 

[shmukster]

Awesome writeup I'm envious!!!!!

 

[hakalugi]

Looks like you had a great trip! I assume that they are still using USD as their currency?

Ecuador was a great place to visit - we did an REI trip to the highlands in ecuador, quito, and then galapagos a few years ago. Next time, make sure to hit up galapagos islands!

Yes, they dollarized about 20 yrs ago. you pay with USD and they give change in either USD and US coins or their own coins. 100% clones, same size and denominations, just their own historical figures. So on the last few days of our trip we just asked for US coins only when making change, no biggie.

Galapagos - my wife went as a teen and liked it a lot. It's a big time commit. We thought about it and only had 11 days total, so it would have been an easy 50%+ of the trip minimum. It's on our return-trip-list; and after we saw the kids really being into the science side of the Mashpi excursions and asking solid questions and engaging, we knew they'd be ready if/when we can go back.

Oh and on the way south from Mashpi we stopped at Mitad Del Mundo (middle of the earth) crossing the equator, here are a few pics. And a shot of what a $9 plate of food looks like. The green sauce is a strong/fresh chimichurri that was divine. Avacados/guac fresh everywhere you go. Ate my weight in avacados this week; skipped all but a nibble of the plantains - too much sugar - but they were tops too.

 

[hakalugi]

Gonna share this with Steph...

Isabel would be glad to chat if she has any Q's.

 

[Tikicruiser]

I have always argued Ecuador is the best tourist country in South America. I learned my Spanish in Quito spending two winters in home stays and Immersion schools. Also got the early Mountaineering bug climbing the volcanos there. Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Cayambe and a few more. It has everything, including Mountains, jungle and beach, all in much closer proximity than the bigger countries. Awesome place and my time was all in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. I’ll look forward to chatting about it at the meeting.