Suggestions re: itinerary

[lourdene@comcast.net]

Hello all,
We have 4-5 weeks to explore Ecuador in Feb./March 2016 and have identified Quito, Otavalo, Cotacachi, Ibarra, Cuenca, Loja, Vilcabamba, Guayaquil, Playas, Salinas, and Bahia de Caraquez as places we would like to see; some for potential retirement and others just for tourism. We have viewed your helpful itineraries on the website. I am most interested in Cuenca but am worried it would not be warm enough. Can you comment on the itinerary and where you would spend the most/least amount of time? Anything missing? Any suggestions on the route and mode of transportation would be most welcome. Thanks in advance!

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Tough one. Not knowing what your particular passions are in life, it is hard to give you any guidance. I love Quito, for example, and could live there quite happily. But I live in Cotacachi for a variety of reasons, mostly because it’s small and quiet. I’m not a beach person, but if I were, I’d be living on a beach in Mexico… Ecuador’s beaches are too rustic for my liking. I love the cool mountain air.

Cuenca is fab, too. The reason we don’t live there is because of that extra flight required to get there and because yes, it seems to have more overcast/rainy days than we get in our part of the country. But it IS a beautiful city.

Only you know what you are looking for. If, though, you can be flexible, then it doesn’t really matter… if you like a place, stay longer than planned.

Word to the wise: do NOT go to the beach during Carnival in February without confirmed and re-confirmed reservations… and even then, unless you like boisterous crowds, you won’t get a true flavor of what it’s like if you go during Carnival. Most who live at the beach get out during this time of year.

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

Cuenca’s temps generally range from the 70’s to the 50’s and you’re right, some folks find the climate too cool. A recent trip to Santiago with sunny skies, upper 80’s, and high humidity had me sweating bullets and vowing to never complain about the weather in Cuenca again!

[ANDREA LYMAN]

You can only know for sure if you visit in person and stay a while. It’s as simple and true as that! One person’s too cool, is another person’s perfect. If possible make a couple of trips at different times of year and really live into what it would be like to see yourself LIVING in a place. Being a tourist and living somewhere are different experiences. It sounds like you have a huge number of locations to cover in your time frame. That may or not give the most accurate ‘read’ on what a place is like, or what the weather can be like over a longer time period. ‘Boots on the ground’ is the wisest advice ever given for exploring where you want to live – and it’s SO worth it in the end!

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