So I’ll round out our little mini guide to Ecuador’s second city with my top three tourist attractions. Like I said before, Guayaquil is easily passed over because it seems like a humid quagmire of noise and rush-hour traffic. But get beyond the grud and you’ll find a few places worth seeing if you are stuck for a couple of days in transit or sorting out visas.
After scaling Ecuador’s volcanoes or hacking your way through its jungle, you’re going to need a place to kick back and unwind. Canoa, located on the country’s central coast, is the perfect place to do it.
Practically unknown just a decade ago, Canoa has emerged as a low-key tourist destination. The obvious draws here are the long, wide, clean beach that stretches for several kilometers, and the surfing breaks. Canoa has emerged as one of the premier surfing destinations in Ecuador, and it draws a lot of local and foreign enthusiasts, especially during the local summer- December through April. The beach has a number of breaks for beginners, too, and there are plenty of instructors who are happy to give Read more
So you want to be an expat? Do you got what it takes? Well, if you haven’t got insurance, you haven’t got it all. Living abroad has much different ramifications than travel and any decision to make a go of it should include an investigation into health insurance plans. Continuing from our article two weeks ago where we checked into travel insurance plans, I had a look into different health insurance plans especially designed for long term overseas stayers. What’s important to understand is that your health insurance plan back home won’t be applicable overseas, thus it’s essential to have a reliable comprehensive plan for life’s uncertainties abroad.
While searching through the top 10 Google I stumbled into William Read more
Ever wanted to feel like Butch Cassidy or Sundance riding free over the Andean hills of South America? Well, you don’t have to be a bank robber in exile to do so anymore. The Folks at Ride Andes have it all sorted for you. Just book online, fly down and they take care of the rest. Airport transfers, accommodation, horses—and you won’t have to worry about the cops tracking you down. Ride Andes is one of Ecuador’s most distinguished outfitters for Horse tour holiday adventures. Don’t know how to ride—don’t let that stop you. Ride Andes even gives riding lessons.
Most popular amongst the tours is the Colonial Hacienda tour. Imagine setting off on beautiful grassy tracks taking Read more
Hands down one of the best perks for retirees and expats living in Latin America is the ability to have your own maid. Most households that live in the middle class and up employee a domestic worker to help with the cleaning, cooking and washing several days a week, or even full-time.
If you are interested in hiring help for the house, the best way to do it is by getting a reference. As you get to know more people in Ecuador you can ask around for suggestions on how they found their maids. Ask them to ask their employees to recommend someone for the job.
Employing someone in your house is not expensive when compared to North American Read more
Each day my eyes drift toward Pichincha
hovering over mighty and still.
I have felt the insides of the earth
clambering on it’s summit. Cut blood
slipping on its surfaces
and trembled at the vertigo.
To be close to the Gods is to be at risk
of falling deep into sharp ravines,
To risk loneliness and slow death,
To be torn inside out by your own isolation.
So I clamber on apart from others
scaling his old peaks,
the ice still frozen from the early morning frost.
To be closer to the unattainable,
To go no further than I possibly could–
the apex peak of ecstasy,
and then there is only the Read more
I guess I haven’t been too literate lately, which is why, up until now, I haven’t made it into Mark’s used books store. I’ve been sitting on Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace for a while. A pretty thick read at over 1000 pages, it’s been used more as a yoga prop than as reading material . I think it is for my Iphone that I haven’t bothered with real books. Now you can download onto your widget-phone and carry them conveniently around with you, electronically flipping the pages while listening to mp3s in between replying to your sms’s. But bookstores continue to occupy an important place on our google maps. It’s the same reason why record shops Read more
If you come to Quito, the place to stay is in the Mariscal. Gringolandia it is, but it is the happening place town. All the good bars, the ethnic varieties of food, the extensive travel agencies and outfitters, etc, not to mention its central location between the airport to the north and the historical city to the south. Calle Calama one block over from calle Fosch(the center of it all) is home to the best restraunts, bookstores and clubs. Pretty much the hub of it all. Villa Cayetano location on Calama puts the guest in the thick of it all with a natural, open ambience, quality rooms, reasonable rates, and plenty of amenities.
I move around a lot Read more
Travel in South America can be exciting frustrating all at the same time. There are amazing sites to see here in Ecuador: Galapagos islands, Cuencan colonial colossuses, snow-capped Cotopaxi. But unless you go on organized tours, you’re gonna have to know a little Spanish to get around. And if you plan on settling here in Ecuador, you better know a lot more than a little Spanish to survive the day-to-day living. Even a trip to the market for bread and butter will result in a lot of pointing and frantic hand gestures if you don’t know the most elementary of Spanish. Compared to places like Asia, where education is held in high esteem and, thus, you can always Read more
Anyone finding themselves in South America during the month of February should plan on taking in the excesses of the Carnaval season. And what better place to abandon oneself–It is the midst of Summer down here. Hot weather and hot blooded locals stoke a bonfire of a party in these southern climes. Carnaval marks the final festivity of excess before passing into the Lenten season. The word Carnaval stems from the Latin “Carn-aval” which translates: to avail from meat. Catholics are meant to get all the piss and vigor out of them before the 40 days of abstinence of the Lenten season where they remember the crucifixion of Christ by refraining from pleasures of the flesh and flesh Read more
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