Substitution: off comes nr 9 Patagonia in comes nr. 18 Ecuador
The world has suddenly got too small for us. We cannot find a dream destination that is not in Europe, has got penguins and is cheap.
We spent the last 4 days searching about Patagonia, (you must check this site out Interpatagonia) Chile and Argentina, and after being enchanted by its beauty we realised that September is not a good time to visit. Since this region is in the southern hemisphere almost opposite New Zealand there are the same climate problems. Apart from this, and probably this was a more determining factor, the countries are not as cheap as we thought they are going to be.
Now that we've left our dreams of ice climbing, glacier trekking and a cheap holiday aside we're checking out Ecuador as the next potential destination. The lure for wildlife might be too much to resist especially the trip to the Galapagos Islands. There are some problems here; rebels, malaria, high cost, difficult flight routing but at the moment they're not scaring us off. Let's see whether this destination will survive the research phase.
280. Matt Lardie on 7/27/2005
Hey - I lived in Ecuador for 4 months recently - if you are thinking of visiting I would say go for it! I have never been to a more dynamic country than Ecuador. It has everything you could possibly want to experience in South America, the Andes, the rainforest, the beach and lowlands, and the Galapagos Islands. The only time you will have to worry about rebels is if you are travelling in the remote rainforest areas close to the Colombian border, and there are hardly any tourist operations that work there. I never encountered a security problem my entire time there; the only thing you have to watch is for pickpockets and muggers, especially late at night in big cities like Quito & Guayaquil. If you plan on going to the beach, I would say go to Montanita - its like the hippy commune of Ecuador. Its a lot more laid back and much safer than some of the big touristy beaches such as Esmeraldas. Also, if you don't really know what you want to do in Ecuador, I would say check out this site www.ecuadorexplorer.com - it has some great resources. Feel free to e-mail me at mlardie@gmail.com if you want more recommendations or tips, I'm happy to help! - Matt
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