ecuador
A year of travels – 14 countries
A year ago today I boarded a plane in London for Madrid, and began a journey that has taken me through fourteen countries in 12 months, culminating back in Spain where I am now. Along the way I have had some amazing high points, and also without doubt some of the most challenging times of [...]
Finally in Peru
Yesterday I finally entered Peru at the inland La Tina – Macará border crossing. The drive took 9 hours from Loja in Ecuador to Piura in Peru, and passed through some stunning Andean scenery, before descending into the hot and dusty lowlands of Northern Peru. The temperature difference was quite a shock after a month [...]
Podcast: Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador
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Cuenca is a UNESCO World Heritage city, founded in 1557 by the Spanish, about 10 hours south of Quito in Ecuador. I chose to study here following my Spanish studies in Guatemala as Guatemala and Ecuador are the cheapest places [...]
Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador
Having got over the trauma of my bag slash, I found some Spanish classes in Cuenca, Ecuador through a recommendation on the Lonely Planet forums. I’ve just completed a week of 4 hours/day one-on-one lessons here – at the Abraham Lincoln Cultural Center (pictured below).
I’ll be studying for another week here and also publishing a [...]
Bag slash robbery on Quito – Cuenca bus
I arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador a few days ago, having taken a bus from Quito. The journey was meant to take about 10 hours, but I arrived in Cuenca exhausted, 13 hours later.
The first bus broke down after 2-3 hours, and we ended up sitting beside the road for about an hour and a [...]
Mitad del Mundo (the Equator), Ecuador
Any visit to Quito would not be complete without a quick trip to Mitad del Mundo – the Equator line. Mitad del Mundo, for those of you that don’t know, translates as ‘Half the world’ in Spanish.
Located 23 kilometers North of Quito, getting there is as simple as jumping in a cab and paying [...]
Podcast: Colombia to Ecuador overland
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Join us on another travel podcast as we head south from Popayán & San Augustín’s “Valley of the Statues” in Colombia down to Ipiales on the border with Ecuador and the ‘miracle center’ of Santuario de Las Lajas.
Following Colombia, we [...]