Ecuador: in conclusion

 

I write this on the interminable journey home (spoiler: I made it back to Ithaca), which involved a five-hour bus ride rerouted up an unfinished mountain road due to Carnival blockages, a harrowing Uber texting-while-driving, a red-eye flight where I just couldn't fold myself up comfortably, being the first one thru customs when they opened at 5am, the onslaught of New Yorker crankiness that is JFK airport, and sitting on the tarmac while maintenance fixed some anonymous issue. 

But I'm back in the States! 18 days later! 

Ecuador is....llamas, volcanos, cloud forests, the Amazon, the Andes, public transportation everywhere, eucalyptus, Jesus decals, grilled plantains, Palo Santo burning in public restrooms, hummingbirds, quinoa soup, alfalfa soup, wool garments, Spanish architecture, buildings with upper stories unfinished, breakfast for $2, polite curious formal people, agave plants, stone fruits and tropical fruits grown in the same country, cumbia, farming on vertical hills, good chocolate, 4000+ species of orchids, street dogs, frozen bananas covered in chocolate on sticks, salty food, cold grey rain and burning insurmountable sun, stunnig biodiversity, breathtaking views.  

(At least my few days there...) 

If I had to sum up my trip, I would call it: 

"For the Love of Leaves. With Walking." 

I survived not having a bicycle! Traversing airports was much more effortless without having my beloved contraption in cardboard the size of a picnic table. But I did not love the bus rides necessitated by not having a bicycle. I did love getting deep into the forest and onto hiking trails that I wouldn't have attempted if I had the bike. Finally, we spent more time in "destination" spots, the verified beautiful places to see, rather than in small nowhere towns on the way to said places. I think this contributed to a very richly full trip. I didn't lose the accustomed 5 pounds due to food-borne illness, perhaps because we were eating in these destination towns. I think I missed out on some of the hidden authentic Ecuador from not being on the ground via bicycle. But all in all, I enjoyed traveling lightly with just a backpack and my walking shoes. 

Some trip stats: 

Days away: 17 

Hikes (including some urban): 13 

Total distance walked: 72 miles 

Total elevation hiked: 19,700 feet (this is 65% of the way up Mt Everest!) 

Highest elevation attained: 12,900 feet

Buses ridden: too darn many

Weird bug bites: 1

Sunburns: 1 (only 1 is amazing) 

Four leaf clovers: 2

Hummingbirds: countless

Balls of delicious smoked cheese carried for days fridge-less and consumed: 1

Pickpockets: 0

Orchids found in the wild: at least 7 different kinds

Guinea pigs eaten: 0 

Incredible views: oh-my-giddy-gad

Volcanos seen: 3

Volcanos in Ecuador: 27  

Passes through Quito on human-knot public transportation: 2.5  

Shirts jettisoned behind: 2 

Jars of peanut butter consumed: 0 (what!?) 

Cities visited: Guayaquil, Baños, Puyo, Tena, Quito, Mindo, Mitad del Mundo, Riobamba. 

Ecosystems visited: tropical rainforest, cloud forest, humid mountain forest, humid paramo (aka shrubby high-altitude grassland), coast. 

Gratitude to be able to travel: enormous