My latest article for BootsnAll.com takes five destinations/travel experiences that are known for hefty price tags and shows you how to visit/have them at a relative discount.

If you’re both interested in touring the Galapagos Islands, relaxing in French Polynesia or Mexico’s Riviera Maya, taking an African safari, or exploring Antarctica for yourselves, this here’s the resource for you:

Exotic Destinations on a Budget: How to Experience the Trip of a Lifetime for Less

Please enjoy reading — and trip-planning!

Travels With Two

Quito, Ecuador - Photo by Eric Chan

Continued from
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: The Galapagos

*A few Junes ago, my parents took their dream trip to Peru & Ecuador through a U.S. tour company, Adventure Life.

My parents both strongly recommend Quito, Ecuador as a place to really get South America; the first UNESCO World Heritage site ever named, the country’s capital still has the best-preserved, least-altered city center on the continent.

They also have just what ails you when a travel crisis threatens to melt your spirit into a ball of goo.

Just before their tour group headed to the Galapagos, my parents spent one night in Quito — for starters.

As their plane flew low for a breathtaking few minutes over the city’s near-endless valley, stretching for miles between two mountain ranges, they both remember thinking that flying into Quito must require considerable skill…and wished happy, steady thoughts for their pilot.

Photo by Stephen Duros

They’d actually been due in Quito about 6 hours earlier but their flight out of Lima, Peru was very delayed. Arriving just shy of evening, they were too late to see much of the city beyond a pink/lavender sunset and La Mariscal, the touristy neighborhood surrounding their hotel.

Photo by Quinn Dombrowski

Quito at night - Photo by Carlos Adampol

Some of their Adventure Life group from the tour’s Machu Picchu leg were also headed for the Galapagos leg, and they all stayed the night at the Hotel Sierra Madre.  That evening, the hotel’s manager seemed extremely anxious about their group’s plan to walk to dinner a short distance away; he wasn’t very clear, however, and they couldn’t fathom why he’d worry about a huddle of adults.  That is, until they were greeted at the restaurant by armed guards.

One by one, they were suspiciously vetted and allowed to take their seats.  Inspired by their bewildered expressions, a friendly local stopped by their table to explain that the kidnapping of tourists was always a possibility in Quito; he strongly urged them to consider a post-dinner taxi back to the hotel.

In the meantime, though, both their fabulous seafood meal and Mare Nostrum‘s almost medieval setting were a huge hit.  The Spanish Colonial interior was hung with huge tapestries and oversized art pieces on the walls, floor and sideboards.  Although they all ate and drank like pigs that night, consuming near their own weights in paella and bouillabaisse, the total cost came only to just about $15 US per person.  (Note: Ecuador uses U.S. currency.)

Falsely cheery dining room at the Hotel Sierra Madre

Safely delivered back to the hotel (indeed by taxi), my folks had to repack to accommodate the size of their Galapagos tour boat; they could only take one small suitcase and one backpack each.  Adventure Life had prearranged for them to leave the rest of their luggage in the Sierra Madre’s storage facility.

Aside from pretty painted tiles and a falsely cheery dining room, though, this would prove the Sierra Madre’s only perk.

My parents recall an endless, chilly night with one thin blanket apiece on their twin beds, dogs who howled and barked into the wee hours, and a nearly inedible breakfast.  They had only a few hours of tense sleep before heading back to the airport, bound for Baltra.

But because the Sierra Madre was kind enough to hold onto their extra bags, they dutifully returned here post-Galapagos.  Arriving at the hotel straight from six grungy days aboard a small boat, my parents were pretty desperate to stretch out, rest and bathe.

Sadly, the Sierra Madre had no hot water.  At all.  And there were only single beds.  And again with the barking dogs.  By breakfast, my mom was slumped before her tragic plate, whining like a 2 year-old.

A travel crisis was imminent.

Acting swiftly, my heroic father managed to get them both packed, into a taxi, and over to the more elegant Swissôtel.  In the lobby, they were both greeted by a lovely, smiling man who proffered a tray of warm wash cloths.  At this point, my strong, capable, under-slept mother broke down, crying as quietly as she could manage in her relief and joy.

Their room had just what she needed to bounce back to herself: Plush beds, clean linens, a hot shower…and a view of the gorgeous mountains ringing Quito.  There were glass elevators, an indoor rooftop pool, and possibly best of all, extremely edible cuisine.

Over the next couple of days, she and my dad toured the entire city and fell deeply in love.

View of Quito from the Swissotel - Photo by Josh Durias

In the residential neighborhood surrounding the Swissôtel, local shops were stocked with elegant handmade Ecuadorian pottery, art objects and clothing.  Here, my folks also found well-manicured parks for strolling and Old World ambience at the Hilton Colon’s spectacular afternoon tea.

Through the detailed dioramas and ancient artifacts at the nearby Museo de la Ciudad, and the exquisite ceremonial gold and Colonial-era paintings at the Museo Nacional, my parents were amazed to discover that Quito, a pre-Colombian stronghold and later, great jewel in Spain’s crown, was first settled by humans 10,000 years ago.

Modern day Quito still bears the legacy of an ongoing culture clash between its natives and conquerors.  Small groups of Indians from the highlands come to Quito in their native dress, children in tow, staying wherever they can in the hope of finding work; many end up hawking handmade wares at the base of one of Quito’s highest points, Cerro el Panecillo (“Hill Like a Little Loaf of Bread”).  These Indians are generally treated with disdain by local residents, who are mestizos of mostly mixed Spanish and Indian descent; in Ecuador, as in many other Latin American countries, the more Spanish blood a person has, the more they tend to view themselves as upper-class and refined.

The Winged Virgin of Quito

El Panecillo - Photo by Eric Chan

My parents sought to escape this struggle one afternoon, taking a taxi to the top of El Panecillo to see the city’s famous, gigantic statue of the Winged Virgin of Quito; an aluminum copy of 18th-century native son Bernardo de Legarda‘s more delicate Mary, this far from universally beloved landmark overlooks both Quito and a site considered holy for centuries.  Known to the Incas as Yavirac, or the Temple of the Sun, the original structure was dismantled by Spanish conquistadors who used its sacred stones to build the foundation of the 16th-century Iglesia de San Francisco, found far below in the Historic Centre.

Clearly, you can climb as high as you’d like in Quito, but you can never escape its past.

Once again ignoring warnings about safety, they walked down the Panecillo to catch some of the local flavor of the run-down neighborhood at its base; many tourists have been mugged making this same trip.  Thankfully unmolested, they picked up a simple lunch of llapingachos (pan-seared potato cakes) and wandered through stalls full of handicraft vendors, where my mom treated herself to a handmade woolen bag, loading it with soft alpaca sweaters and intricately carved gourds.

Unwilling to accept Quito as a violent, scary city, they instead embraced its complexity and historic beauty, leaving behind a piece of their hearts.

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See also
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Machu Picchu
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Cusco
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: The Galapagos

and
TWT Travel Binder: Ecuador
TWT Travel Binder: Peru

Travels With Two

Continued from
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Machu Picchu
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Cusco

*A few Junes ago, my parents took their dream trip to Peru & Ecuador through a U.S. tour company, Adventure Life.

Kicker Rock, San Cristobal, Galapagos Photo by Suzan Wynne

The third leg of my parents’ dream vacation to Peru and Ecuador was a cruise to the Galapagos Islands… aka Ground Zero for Evolution…aka Yes, Please.

My parents officially booked their Peru & Ecuador trip through Adventure Life, but the Galapagos portion was officially handled by Klein Tours. A representative from the latter met my parents and their tour group at the Baltra Airport after a blessedly uneventful flight from Ecuador’s largest city, Guayquil.

Baltra, technically an Ecuadorean naval base, has the most human inhabitants of any island in the region; its nonetheless-tiny airport is most visitors’ gateway to the Galapagos.  All visitors must pay a $100 US entrance fee for the Galapagos; Ecuador uses United States currency.  Many tourists choose to stay in one of Baltra’s waterfront motels and take day trips to other islands, and tour groups come to the port here to board their boats.

Sea lions on Baltra bench - Photo by James Preston

With a few hours to kill before boarding their own tour boat, my parents’ group was taken to explore the Charles Darwin Research Station on the nearby island of Santa Cruz.  The Station proved the perfect appetizer for the journey ahead: essentially a Galapagos zoo, it features a cross-section of the unique flora and fauna found in this remote part of the Earth.

Klein Tours' Coral II (in front) - Suzan Wynne

For my parents’ cruise group, Klein Tours booked the Coral II, a small boat with space for only 20 passengers. Over the next six days, my foodie folks found the meals glorious, their fellow tourists terrific company, and the staff knowledgeable and helpful. As a bonus, their steward made what may well be the world’s best Pisco Sours.

Their group’s small size, combined with favorable wind and weather, enabled them to add a couple of brief stops to their itinerary; altogether they visited seven islands, only two of which were inhabited by humans.

As Darwin famously discovered, each Galapagos island has its own unique geology, plants and animal life. For instance, around some of the islands, the water is bathtub warm while at others, deep currents leave it freezing cold.  On Rabida, an entire island composed of iron oxide, even the sand is red.

Galapagos Island terrain photos, clockwise from top L: Bartolome (putneymark), Rabida (Jeremy Hetzel), Santa Cruz (Suzan Wynne), Floreana (kylemac)

As my parents snorkeled, swam and hiked on each island, they were constantly bombarded with sights they could scarcely have imagined…outside of, maybe, National Geographic:

• a seal giving birth and a flock of frigates eating the placenta
• marine iguanas, tinged red from russet algae, lying on top of each other for warmth in the sunrise, snorting salt and then slowly coming to life
• broods of fuzzy, awkward sea-bird chicks screeching for food

Photos by Eric Chan

• fire-engine red crabs skittering up and over slippery rocks
• cacti growing straight out of long-cooled lava
• baby turtles making their way to the water just after birth
• herons and egrets perched by shorelines and stretching their wide wings

Photos by, L to R: Roy and Danielle, Suzan Wynne, Dag Peak

• a freshwater lake on top of a volcanic mountain where frigates wash themselves
• whole flocks of enormous pelicans at rest
• a volcanic blow hole spewing water high over the island

Photos: L and middle by Jeremy Hetzel; R by Suzan Wynne

• the mating rituals of blue footed boobies and albatrosses
• the greetings of penguins and seals who viewed people as nothing more than other animals clambering over the black rocks
• whales diving and breaching not far out to sea

On L, blue footed-booby (Suzan Wynne); middle and R, albatrosses and Galapagos penguins (Aaron Logan)

After their last morning on the Coral II, but before heading to the airport to catch their flight to Quito, they and a few others accompanied their tour guide to the Santa Cruz highlands; here they found a misty forest, volcanic craters and huge, wild tortoises roaming free.  While munching happily on some wild passion fruit that grew all around the area, my parents and their group learned how the islands’ local coffee is grown.

I believe the word my mom used was:

“Heaven.”

Santa Cruz Highlands - Photo by Benson Schliesser

Continued in
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Quito

See also
TWT Travel Binder: Ecuador
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Machu Picchu
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Cusco

Travels With Two

Continued from
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Machu Picchu

*A few Junes ago, my parents took their dream trip to Peru & Ecuador through a U.S. tour company, Adventure Life.

Cusco's Sacred Valley - Photo by Suzan Wynne

My parents found Cusco, Peru a fascinating place to visit, an ancient city with a mixture of pre-Colonial and Colonial buildings.  One of the highest sites on Earth to have been settled by human beings, it’s located over 11,000 feet above sea level in the southeast Andes Mountains.

Here you can compare the seismically sound architecture of the Incas with far less sturdy Spanish churches, explore a sacred valley, and enjoy one of South America’s most adorable rodents…for dinner.

In collecting research for their Peru/Ecuador journey, my mom found that most pre-arranged tours allow only a day or two in Cusco, barely enough time to get acclimated to the high altitude, much less take full advantage of the many architectural, cultural and historic treasures hidden here.  After visiting, though, she and my dad concluded that time limits here are due to a high level of tourist harassment.

While tourism drives Cusco’s income, there are still many poor people in the city; a potentially depressing but largely unavoidable part of the Cusco tourist experience is being aggressively approached by large groups of children selling postcards, etc., particularly on and around the main tourist area, the Plaza Mayor.

Photo by Inca Trail

If you manage to get through this emotional onslaught with an intact will to contribute to the local economy, know that many shops ringing the plaza offer fine silver jewelry, woolen fabric art objects and tapestries, and stunning clothing.  My mom, who has a very experienced eye for art and handicrafts, fell in love with the beauty, breadth and quality of local artisans’ work; she advises shopping around a bit before buying so that you can familiarize yourselves with the best prices and range of what’s available.

Once you’re done praying at the temple of commerce, you can visit a slew of churches and museums. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, Cusco features over a dozen religious institutions from the era of Spanish conquest (late 1500s-early 1600s).  A boleto integral (integral ticket) can be purchased at the Cathedral de Santo Domingo (situated on the Plaza de Armas) for a single-price (15 PEN/$5 US) entrance to the cathedral, churches of La Compañía and San Blas and the Museum of Religious Art/Archbishop’s Palace.  Another of Cusco’s star attractions is the relatively new and elegant Museo de Arte Precolombino, the only museum in Peru dedicated to pre-Colombian art (Plaza de las Nazarenas, entrance 20 PEN/$7 US; texts in English, French and Spanish).

Plaza de Armas, Cusco - Photo by James Preston

Getting around the central city is best done on foot in comfortable, grippy-soled shoes because the streets are steep, cobblestoned and narrow. Taxis (like Aló Cusco) are available but the streets easily become clogged with long lines of traffic.  Couples walking alone at night should stay alert and keep valuables close/secure; as in any Third World city, robberies are an occasional threat.

Photo by Ivan Mlinaric

Peruvian guinea pigs - James Preston

Because Peru has experienced major waves of  conquest and immigration since the late 1500s, Peruvian cuisine represents four continents — South America, Asia, Africa and Europe; in Cusco, you can find dishes made with everything from corn to pasta to coconut milk.  However, a few things are specific to Peru, like the yellow olluco tuber; a mint sauce called huacatay; cured chalona, or alpaca meat; and the Andes’ finest, um, delicacy — guinea pig.

On my parents’ first evening in Cusco, their tour guide took their group to a restaurant with a large menu.  A few brave souls decided to order guinea pig; the little rodents were delivered grilled on a platter, looking very much like…guinea pigs. Some of the group (my parents included), used to viewing these cute critters as childhood pets, had to move to another part of the table just to get through dinner.

For day trips to the Sacred Valley and Inca ruins outside the city, you can each purchase a one- or two-day boleto turístico (40 PEN/$14 US); Fodor’s offers excellent instructions on how to find/purchase these.

_____________________________________________________________________

Continued in
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: The Galapagos
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Quito

See also:
TWT Travel Binder: Peru

Travels With Two

Machu Picchu's Sacred Plaza - by kudomomo (flickr)

My parents, Suzan and Ron Wynne, have long inspired me to be curious about the world.  Between them, they have passions for history, geography, geneaology, politics, photography, art, music and food from around the globe.

They’re also itinerant wanderers:  Mom’s the trip researcher, and Dad’s willing to drive (or stop) absolutely anywhere.

A few Junes ago, they took their dream trip to Peru and Ecuador…and carried our imaginations with them.

For this trip, in a switch from their usual independent travel style, my parents agreed that they wanted an organized tour, rather than schlepping their luggage across South America.  They booked their two-country journey with a U.S.-based company called Adventure Life.  My mom came across their ad in Smithsonian Magazine, and it turned out their prices were way cheaper than her other top tour company choice, Lindblad.

Ollantaytambo - by Suzan Wynne

The main focus of the Peruvian portion of their trip was the sacred Inca site of Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

While Adventure Life’s direct involvement with my parents’ tour group of 20 people (mostly couples) could be neatly described as “hands-off,”  AL did arrange for a fabulous freelance guide in Peru, Ayul Acuna Cardenas.  Cardenas is now the director of Tanit Trails, a sustainable tourism company based in Cusco.

The night before they visited Machu Picchu, they and their group stayed in the village of Ollantaytambo at Hostal Sauce, a small, simple and lovely hotel on the main square.  Early the next morning, they toured an ancient Quechuan terraced ruin and a little something of the town. The level of poverty was deeply disturbing to most of the group; while their hotel had running water and sanitation facilities, this wasn’t the case at most locals’ homes.

Photo by Cyril Bèle

Leaving Ollantaytambo, they boarded a train bound for Aguas Calientes, the town just below Machu Picchu; the 90-minute trip followed the course of the wild and winding Urubamba River, passing from cactus-strewn desert fields to a jungle of giant ferns and heavy undergrowth.  Grateful anew for their decision to book a tour, they remember sitting in a comfy, air-conditioned train car, watching small groups of hikers across the river plod their way over the sun-baked hills to Machu Picchu.

Their Aguas Calientes hotel, the Machu Picchu Inn, featured colorful local art and lovely gardens, a welcoming place on that hot, muggy day.  After having lunch, the group took a shuttle to the Sanctuary Lodge visitor’s center at the entrance to Machu Picchu.  A stunning but very expensive place to stay, the Lodge has an excellent (and comparatively reasonable) restaurant that shouldn’t be missed.

Photo by Suzan Wynne

During their visit to the site itself, excavations were continuing; they were able to watch archaeologists uncover part of a wall behind the Sacred Plaza.  At 8,000 feet and about 95 degrees on a June afternoon, making their way around the Urban Sector (the ruins and structures circling the Sacred Plaza), was both exciting and exhausting.  Needing a rest for their weary bodies and boggled minds, they found a cool, shady spot on a hill overlooking the Plaza, where they could watch a parade of birds, squirrels…and international tourists.

Near sunset, it was time to take the last shuttle down the mountain.  Finally a bit cooler, though, no one really wanted to leave.

That evening, back down in Aguas Calientes (Spanish for “hot waters”), most of the group went to the local spa fed by hot springs.  They enjoyed the hot, warm and cold spa pools, but the iffy attention to cleanliness?  Not so much.

My parents offer the following advice about this experience:

• Avoid going near the bathroom and changing room
• Wear your bathing suit under clothing and take a towel from your hotel
• Make sure that you have flip flops with you

Photo by Suzan Wynne

The next morning, their group was back on the mountain.  Some hiked portions of Machu Picchu’s classic Inti Punku, or Inca Trail, some took the 1-3 hour hike to the sacred mountain of Huayna Picchu (open to visitors only between 7AM and 1PM each day).Some (that is, my clever parents) took the shuttle to the Lodge entrance for a gorgeous lunch followed by tiny scoops of perfect vanilla ice cream in a tulip cookie.

Afterward, they teamed up with others in the group to see areas they’d missed the day before. While sitting on a shaded wall to catch their collective breath, a llama wandered by and lizards were playing chase in the rocks by their feet.  Above them, low-hanging clouds and windswept trees sheltered literally hundreds of birds.

Ashlar stonemasonry - Photo by Suzan Wynne

The wall beneath them had been built by master Inca stonemasons using the ashlar technique, where dry stones are fitted tightly together without the use of mortar; Machu Picchu’s site is prone to earthquakes, and this system has kept most of the construction here intact since the 1400s.

As they made their way back down the steps to the Sacred Plaza, chinchillas skittered into their hiding places among the excavated ruins.  They made one last visit to the Stone Condor (a temple/torture chamber between two huge rocks that resemble the hunched wings of a condor) and the still-impressive House of the Priest, then went to have one last glimpse of the excavators’ progress.

Awed into silence, they shuffled, dazed, onto the train back to Ollantaytambo for the night.  The next day, they would spend their final Peruvian day in the ancient Inca stronghold of Cusco.

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Continued in

A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Cusco

Travels With Two

Here are some resources to help you plan your own “travels with two” to Ecuador.

ECUADOR – GENERAL
Guides
Official Tourism Guide
National Geographic
New York Times
Frommers
Fodors
Conde Nast Traveller
Concierge.com
Globe Trekker
Lonely Planet
Articles
Travel + Leisure: The Best of South America’s Haciendas
Daily Candy: Winning Equation

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QUITO
Guides
Samantha Brown
Articles
Budget Travel: Scale a Volcano in Ecuador

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THE GALAPAGOS
Guides
Islands Magazine
Articles
Travel + Leisure: Romantic Places: Evolution, Galapagos
Islands Magazine: Travel Tales: Who’s the Fittest on the Galapagos?

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OTHER ECUADOR DESTINATIONS
NGT: Historic Places Rated: Cuenca
Conde Nast Traveller: Earth-Friendly Getaways: Sacha Jungle Lodge

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Ecuador
Travel Agents & Tours
Tom Damon – Southwind Adventures
Emmanuel Burgio – Blue Parallel
Clark Kotula – Geographic Expeditions
Ecoventura
Big Five Tours & Expeditions – Ecuador
Big Five Tours & Expeditions – Galapagos
Abercrombie & Kent

Barrio las Peñas, Guayaquil, Ecuador by Carlos Adampol

Bartholomew Island, Galapagos by Derek Keats

Sea lion, Santiago Puerto Egas, Galapagos by putneymark (flickr)

Bartolme, Galapagos by putneymark (flickr)

Have an Ecuador tip, story, or blog post you’d like to share?

Travels With Two