Individual Trips

In addition to the excursions included in the price of the program, there were several others that we had the option of paying extra for. One was to a beach along the northern coast of Ecuador, and a second was a week-long trip to the Galapagos Islands. Since I had just broken the bank on Semester at Sea, I decided to skip those two, especially the Galapagos trip – even though it would have been an amazing experience, the cost was around $1200.

The Galapagos Islands would have been an amazing trip, but the
alternative options were also fun and a fraction of the cost

The day trip to Cotopaxi was also optional, but didn’t cost much so I signed up for it. It turned out that a few other students also decided to opt out of a trip or two, so luckily I wouldn’t be the only one not going along on the optional excursions. During the trip to the beach I stayed in Quito and hung out with one of my best friends from the program, Ryan, who also had decided not to go.

With Ryan (right), who also opted to stay in Quito instead  
of going to the beach near Esmeraldes

There were only three of us who did not sign up to go to the Galapagos Islands, and one had made plans to travel with her Ecuadorian boyfriend (her Ecua, as we called him). So the other girl who was staying behind decided to go with me to a beach north of Guayaquil called Montañita. She was traveling on a tight budget, so that worked out well (I wasn’t as constrained, but I just didn’t feel like I could justify paying $1200 for the group trip).


I had previously gone to Montañita with close to 10 students from our OSU program, so I knew the ropes a little when it came to figuring out which bus to take and where to stay in the town. Just as we had done the first time, I took the overnight bus from Quito to Guayaquil, then a second bus from Guayaquil to Montañita. We arrived at the beach by the next morning, and although the total travel time was a good 12 hours (with the layover), the tickets cost us less than $20.

beach in Montanita

I tried to get some sleep during the overnight ride, but was not too successful – it was hard to sleep with the Predator blaring on the TV (dubbed over in Spanish of course) and the checkpoint stops every few hours where Ecuadorian army troops searched the bus for drug shipments. At one point they asked for each person’s passport, at which point I realized, after a frantic search, that I had left it back in Quito. Luckily I was able to reassure them that I was a harmless tourist – if things had played out differently I could have easily been arrested! 

After that scare the journey went smoothly, and we made it to Montañita in time for a day on the beach. We spent several nights (three if my memory is correct) there, soaking up the sun, exploring the town, and going out at night to the bars and clubs that never seemed to close (or you could always just have a bonfire on the beach).

main street in Montanita

After Montañita the other OSU student was running low on funds, so she had to go back to Quito. I decided to go on to Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador, for a few nights before I went back. Even though it is Ecuador’s third city, Cuenca is considerably smaller (around 400,000 in the city itself). It may be smaller, but Cuenca still has lots to offer for tourists.

The old city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with many Spanish colonial buildings that date to as far back as the mid 16^th century. During the bus ride from Guayaquil to Cuenca I met a traveler from the UK and ended up sightseeing with her in the city. We also met a student from the University of Pennsylvania at our hostel, and the three of us went out for dinner and drinks that night. After two nights in Cuenca I took a bus back to Quito, where the group would soon be arriving from their Galapagos trip in time to start classes again.

The historic district in Cuenca

The stream that runs just south of central Cuenca is a great spot for a walk,
 and the view reminds me almost of a European city, not South American