Category: Expat Lifestyle

Hard to find such variety in a country the size of Nevada.

Yet most travelers to Ecuador get it wrong by going to lame, overpriced places like the Otavalo market.

Below is my personal Ecuador bucket list for 2014.

Things I just got to do just in case this is my last year in Ecuador (not planning on it but you never know).

1. Relax to the core all day in the hot springs in the high Andes town of Papallacta.  Afterward have a trout lunch.

2. Take a bike tour down the slopes of the Chimborazo, one of the worlds highest active volcanos at 6000 meters.

3. Take a bird watching tour in the world-renowned cloud forests of Mindo with over 400 bird species and get engulfed in thousands of Butterflies at one of the butterfly farms in the area.

4. Have a drink with women about half my age on the infamous cocktail alley of Montanita.

5. Explore the Puyango petrified forest, one of the largest in the Americas along the Peruvian border.

6. See the most remote area of Ecuador, the Yasuni, in the Amazon region before they start their planned drilling, besdies its my best chance to see big Amazonian game like jaguars, anacondas and pumas.  Another less intense option would be to fly to the city of Coca and go in canoe alng the Rio Napo to an  Eco-lodge.

7. Take the train through the high Andes from Ibarra to Salinas (a different Salinas than the one on the coast).

8. Hike arguably the most beautiful area of Ecuador from the Lagunas de Atillo to the largest waterfall in Ecuador, the San Rafael Falls and the Volcano Reventador area.

9. Visit the Saquisili (near Latacunga) thursday market for an interesting more authentic (less touristy) look into indigeous highland life.

10. Go silver bargaining along the main plaza in Chordeleg (near Cuenca) where silversmiths flex their creative muscles.

11. Try hand-gliding for the first time of the cliffs of Crucita or Canoa on the coast.

12. Bike down the entire Ecuador coast from Esmeraldas to Salinas.  Hope I get to do this one.

13. Watch the Tungurahua Volcano erupt at night from the look out over Banos.  Tours can be arranged in one of the many agencies in Baños. Cost $20 per person.

14. Observe the amazing Pink river dolphins as they frollic in the unique flooded rainforest of Cuyabeño in northern Ecuador.  Tours can be arranged once on the ground out of Quito or Lago Agrio.  Anacondas, monkeys and sloths are also possible to be seen.  Canoe Tours start from $40 per person.  

15.  Scuba dive in the crystalline waters of Galapagos off Wolfe Island where its common to see schools of hundreds of Hammerheads and dozens of whale sharks.  2 Dives start from around $130.  Best arranged once on the ground in Santa Cruz Island near the port in Puerto Ayora with local dive shops.

16.  Snorkel with the worlds smallest penguin, gigantic manta rays, big marine iguanas and (friendly) reef sharks off las Tintoreras on the picturesque snow-white sands and turqoise waters off Floreana Island in the Galapagos.  Day tours to Isabela arranged in Santa Cruz start around $65/person.

17.  Eat two buckets of the locally-famous garlic crab at one of the best crabhouses (Manny’s Crangrejal) in Guayaquil, a city known for its numerous crabhouses.  Near San Marino Mall any taxi will know where it is.  $12.

18. Hunt for fossils along the banks of the Nangaritza River, the only river that connects the Amazon to the Pacific Ocean, high in the Condor Mountain Ridge (Cordillera del Condor).  For more try lindoecuadortours.com  $25-50 /person.

19. Deep-sea fish for Marlin and Whale-watch in August off the calm shores of Salinas.  Trips can be arranged in one of the several agencies along the boardwalk.  Cost: Whalewatching from $20 per person, deep sea fishing price varies depending on amount of people.

20. Visit a coffee farm near Ibarra and learn the whole process from harvest to belly.

21.  Hummingbird watch and observe thousands of butterflies in the cloud rainforests of Mindo.  Tours can be arranged once in Mindo. Start from $20/person.

22. Trout fish in one of the surreal apline lakes in the barren Cajas National Park near Cuenca.  Tours can be arranged with Terra Diversa in Cuenca.

23. Go way off the beaten path and discover the Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) of Ecuador’s Amazon.  Extreme adventure available through local guides only out of Nangaritza.  Cost: Highly negotiable.

24. Pamper myself with a the natural mud bath in the mud pools in the dry rainforest of Machalilla National Park and spend the night playing volleyball with the local indigenous and later sleeping in one of their tiki huts.  From Puerto Lopez hire a motorcycle taxi and pay a few bucks from them to take you to the indigenous community of Aguas Blancas in the park.  Cost: $10 for the day tour to the mud baths and $10/person for the night.

25. View thousands of Orchid species and hummingbirds along the well-kept trails of the Podocarpus National Park easily reached in a $4 taxi ride from the town of Zamora.  Free entrance to park.

26. Get a taste of ancient Incan life by hiking the 10km trek from El Tambo to Ingapirca, ancient Incan ruins and effectively Ecuador’s own “Machu Picchu”.  You can also take a train, taxi or bus which can be arranged out of Canar.  Ruins Entrance fee $6.

27. Get certified as a glider plane pilot in Ibarra through a one month course with a local flight instructor.  They say if you can fly a plane without an engine you can fly a plane with one.  Course starts around $1300. 2013 prices yet to be released.

28.Learn to kite surf with an instructor against the strangly barren cliff landscapes of Santa Marianita near Manta.  Classes can be arranged on site.  Prices vary.

29. Zip-line through a Banana plantation in Machala and learn all the ins and outs of the interesting business with CristyViajes.  Tours start around $20 per person.

30. Fish for Pirana in Laguna Pañacocha, a beautiful black wáter lake backed by cloud forests.  To get there, hire a local canoe where the Rio Panacayu meets the Rio Napo, to get there you’ll need to take a Nuevo Rocafuerte Canoe hired in the town of Coca.  Price varies depending on season.

31. Soak in the odd street water-wars during Carnaval in February in Cuenca where everyone goes around throwing water balloons and soaking random strangers with water guns.  Free.

32. Hike the Quillotoa Volcano and witness the majestic, stunning turquoise-colored lake in the volcano’s crater.  Can be done solo by taking a bus from Latacunga and getting off near the base.  Cost: $4 bus fare from Latacunga.

33. Mingle with sexy locals dressed to the tilt during the 2 hour river-boat cruise on the all-you-can-drink boat ‘Morgans’ which leaves every night from the boardwalk (Malecon) of Guayaquil. $15 per person includes all you can drink.

34. White-water raft and try kayaking for the first time in the lazy to fierce rivers around the city of Tena where the activities have made the town famous.

35. Explore the rarely-visited beaches north of Esmeraldas while at night dancing salsa to afro-latino beats after eating the local delicacy of Shrimp cooked in spiced coconut milk (encocado de camaron).  I’m sure I’ll feel like I’m in the Caribbean.  Cost: $5-6.

36. Visit the perplexing, friendly afro-ecuadorian community of Chota in the middle of the Andes near Otavalo and have a local Shaman (witch doctor) cleanse away my worries.  Cost: $5 bus fare from Quito.

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Winter is coming up north.

And expats are on the move.

In fact, most expats in Ecuador like the freedom of flying on one-way tickets. You know, not being locked into a return date. I know I do.

Even though on the government sites it says you need a round trip ticket to enter Ecuador, I’ve flown here various times on one way tickets and have been stamped right in, no problem. Sometimes it depends on the airline and departure point so best to inquire first. But on the Ecuador side, Ecuador immigration doesn’t seem to care much.

For this coming December (2013)-January (2014) most round trip air tickets from the USA to Ecuador are running around $600-800. You might as well rent a passenger jet for this exorbitant price.

But the dilemma is most one-way tickets are generally about the same price as the round trips if searched through the major travel sites and airlines.

After extensive research I did for an upcoming trip back home to the USA, the cheapest one-way ticket I’m finding this upcoming holiday season is to fly from Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL) to Panama City (PTY) for $78 (all taxes and fees included) with Spirit Airlines purchased directly through their site spirit.com (in early January).

Then from Panama City (PTY) to Quito (UIO) there is a Tame flight for $244 found doing a search on Kayak.com (Also that second week of January) .

Even directly in the Tame offices here in Ecuador they are quoting prices higher than what’s offered by Tame through Kayak.

Total Miami to Quito with all taxes and fees included = $244 + $78 = $322.

And buying the one way fare going back comes out to about the same. If you try and it comes out higher play with the dates, know the days and weeks around Christmas and New Year prices on travel always jump.

So how much did you pay for your air ticket to Ecuador?

Did you beat my find, where’d you buy your tickets? Offline, online (which website and for what dates)?

Share by hitting reply to this email. Thanks. We´d all love to know!

And to learn what local fishermen taught me about how to find the hottest steals on the Ecuador property market, try my must-read weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

“Man, I haven’t done that since I was a 20 year old in college in Waikiki with nothing to do.” I responded as my friend and I walked the dark streets outside a bar we just visited in Quito.

You see, in the US, for a 20 year old, there isn’t much to do at night except get into mischeif on the street, because almost no night establishment will let you in the door.

So one of our favorite past times was to go to this one street in Waikiki where hookers hung out and chat them up. They are some of the wierdest people you’ll ever meet which always made for interesting conversations.

Now here I was, years later in a dark street in Quito with a friend getting egged on to do the same thing as we approached a corner that always had streetwalkers.

“OK, lets do it.” I was never a match for peer pressure.

We picked one particularly hot looking one to chat up. And as we approached we quickly realized this gal was actually a dude (as is usually the case).

Then when she spoke it was obvious. She was a dude. “Hola mi amor.” she began in her deep raspy voice.

“Hey.” I started in Spanish. “So where you from?” I asked.

“I’m from Esmeraldas.” She said.

“Cool, beautiful area, I was thinking about buying a house there.” I continued, trying to break the ice.

“I have a house there.” She followed.

“Oh really, how much you pay for it?” I asked matter of factly.

“I didn’t, it was a land invasion.” She boasted.

Then two of her friends walked over and joined the conversation.

One of them said… “I also have a land on the coast.”

“Got it through a judgement.” She said. (Which is basically a more legal way to claim unclaimed lands in Ecuador.)

The third one piped in… “me too, I have a land in Esmeraldas also.”

She continued, “My father was a comune member, and was gifted the lot, then he died and left it to me.”

Wow, I thought, so there you have it, on the coast of Ecuador it seems like only foreigners actually pay money for the land.

So when you’re about to buy a property, it’s even more important to research the title history, and look smart by asking for the following documents right away so you don’t waste time on a property with possible title issues with various people making claims of ownership (which is COMMON)…

-Copy of the notarized title (Escritura)
– Copy of the property taxes receipt (Predios)
– Certificate from the Property Registry (Certificado del Registrador de la Propiedad)
– Certificate from the Municipality (Alcabalas)
– Receipt of the Fire Department tax (Certificado de Bomberos)
– Municipal appraisal (Avaluo Municipal)

So there you have it, how streetwalkers in Quito enlightened me about Ecuador real estate.

And to learn what local fishermen taught me about how to find the hottest steals on the Ecuador property market, try my must-read weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

You got to be careful in Ecuador when investing in property, man.

You see, you´ve probably lived your whole life taking for granted a right in the US, Canada or Europe that simply is not held as dear in countries like Ecuador.

The right to sleep in peace.

Seriously.

I remember from my time living in the US if a neighbor was making noise at an unpleasent nightly hour the cops often would beat me to the punch and be over there quieting the people down. If not, a simple call and they’d be there within a few minutes.

Not in Latin America. And not in Ecuador.

Call the cops on a noise complaint. Chances are they don’t even show up.

And if they do show up, the locals probably won’t even take them seriously.

Different culture, different place, different values.

The last 4 months I was leasing Hostal El Viajero here in Quito and using it as an auxiliar second location to my primary business Quito Airport Suites, a small hotel near the airport in Quito.

At the beginning, I saw El Viajero struggling so I swooped in and made a deal with the owner who initially didn’t have plans to lease but instead run it himself.

After a few days I realized what I got myself into.

Right next door was a makeshift, illegal (without permits) dog kennel.

As the weeks passed the kennel grew and at any given moment, at any hour, the dogs could be ticked off and trust me, no amount of sound proofing can help against the thunderous roar of about 50-100 dogs yelping.

We filed the complaint with the Municipal.

We complained to local authorities including the police.

We talked to the owner of the kennel.

Nothing helped, months later the kennel remained, and the hospitality business next door just wasn’t feasible.

I really felt bad for the owner, who must have invested well over a hundred thousand in the construction of an otherwise nice building in a good location. As a renter I simply turned the keys back to him and left.

His problem.

Its absolutely essential before you invest in property in Ecuador to study the surroundings and see if the noise level is to your liking. Cause your surroundings are very hard to change later. You’ll also need a little bit of vision to also see what could be in your surroundings later that may be problematic.

Spend time in an area at different times of the day, and actually spend significant time there before investing. Talk to neighbors. Get the real scoop, you’ll be glad you did.

At the very least, noise level is something you may not even think about before investing in countries like the US because its a non-issue, but its something you should think about in Ecuador.

Especially in some areas the countryside of Ecuador… dog barks and roosters are real noise makers.

In the cities, impromptu parties from a rowdy neighbor or car alarms, vehicles braking and horn beeps can also be an issue.

For instance, is a speed bump right in front of your house? If so, then be prepared to listen to the squeel of brakes at any god-awful hour.

Pass on that property.

In third-world countries across the globe, as in Ecuador, you and your investments are just not as well protected as they are in places like the US.

But not one tells you this before buying.

So due diligence is even more important.

And for more insider dirt on living and investing in Ecuador from the ground subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time: