As the plane flies out of Quito, I reflect on my month spent in this Latin America country. I met many foreigners from other countries that have lived or traveled in South America for months and even a few that live and work here. In each country I have visited, I have had my preconcieved ideas of what it would be like. But, although there are similiarities, it is never exactly like i envision. That is a good reason to travel to a new country, to see for yourself what it is like and draw your own conclusions!

Weather, What I Expected:
Ecuador is on the equator, so it must be warm .
Weather, What I Discovered:
The Galapagos Islands are comfotably the same temperature day and night, and year around from what I ws told. The temperatures hold around 80F for the day and only drop a few degrees at night. 
Quito (on the mainland) is a different story. It has lows at night around 45F. The days are chilly and cloudy with highs beetween 60-50. I visited in August. Locals wear long pants and long sleeve shirts and jackets all the time. I understand this is the year around temperatures. Puerto Lopez where I visited was never warm or sunny a single day out of a week that I was there.
 
Expenses: What I Expected:
I expected Ecuador to be expensive. 
Expenses: What I Discovered:
The Galápagos Islands are very expensive. Food, lodging, transportation, it is all expensive. Even getting there is costly. The rest of Ecuador I visited is not expensive. Quito and Puerto Lopez were very reasonably priced.

Language: What I Expected:
I didn't think too much about it. All the countries I have been to, except Japan, seemed to use English as a second language, at least in the hotels and tourist places .
Language: What I Discovered:
Hardly anyone spoke English. It seems the most tourists here are from other places in Ecuador or from some other Spanish speaking country in South America. It was very difficult for me at the places I stayed or trying to travel around by public transportation.
 
Economic Development: What I Expected:
I thought South American countries, including Ecuador, were all develped countries.

Economic Development: What I Discovered:
Ecuador is developed with a pretty good road system and public transportation system. Still, it has a lot of the 'developing countries' culture, it seems. For example there are a lot of street vendors selling sidewalk foods and you still have to be careful about taxi scams and crime.

Crime and Safety: What I Expected:
I had read accounts of muggings and carjacking in places like Brazil and was not sure about Ecuador.

Crime and Safety: What I Discovered:
The places I stayed warned all the guest about going out alone at night . You need to go with a group or take a taxi from the door of where you stay to the door of where you will go and do the same on the return. Do not walk the streets at night. The exception was in the Galápagos Islands, they seemed very safe!

I talked to both longterm travelers in South America and travelers like me, here for a few weeks. 
So many told me of muggings on buses or the street in daylight. The most common thing that happens is when you are on a bus and someone will come from the seat behind you and with a knife to your throat take everything you have. I was warned by the hostel staff, anytime I asked about going somewhere, to be very cautious and aware as I travelled around the city.

One young guy from the U.K. I met, was using an ATM and a young Ecuadorian stepped up as he withdrew the money and put a knife to his throat. He took the boy's money, ATM card, wallet and passport. All in daylight with a lot of Ecuadorian people watching it all . No one tried to help.

A girl, sitting on a bus, was approached from behind. Again a knife to the throat and he took her sweater and scarf, all she had with her.

I heard many, many people saying they had been mugged in broad daylight or they had met someone that had been. 

The statue on the hill near the Old Town would be something great to see, I think. But, our hotel and also the guide warned us not to walk the hill. We would surely be mugged. The only way to go up to see it was by taxi.

The street outside my room was busy and lively all day, but as soon as dark came around 6 p.m., it turned into a desolate, isolated place. I don't know if the locals fear the crime also, or if the crime is mostly against 'gringos'.

I took a bus overnight to Puerto Lopez. When lining up at the bus door, a police officer was there . He patted everyone down and looked in whatever bag we were carrying on board the bus. When I left Puerto Lopez to return to Quito, we loaded our luggage under the bus, but the driver kept the door closed. No one could board. About 10 minutes before we were to leave, several police vehicles arrived. They went inside the closed bus and looked in the overhead bins and under the seats. Then, they came outside the bus and we formed two lines. One for the men and one for the women. They patted us all down and checked our bags before boarding. Later, I asked a girl from Germany (that was now living in Ecuador for a couple of years) what that was all about. She said there had been robberies with knives during the trips on the long distance busses lately. That is why they were doing the security checks. It was as bad as going through airport security!

I felt less safe in Ecuador than any country I have travelled in so far. I never took my passport or ATM card or much cash along when I left the hostel . From what I heard, most of the countries in South America are the same. But, this was mostly in Quito. The Galapagos Islands and other Islands I stayed on seemed to very safe.

The Local People in Ecuador: What I Expected:
The local people in each country are a little different as far as being open and welcoming to strangers. I hoped Ecuador would be a warm experience. 

The Local People in Ecuador: What I Discovered:
The staff at two of the places I stayed spoke good English and were helpful with directions and other questions I had, but at all the other places none spoke any English at all. 
The local people in general were very reserved and seemingly uninterested in foreign visitors. Even the people in the places where I ate or shopped seemed very guarded. It's one of the few countries where I didn't meet any locals to talk to.

The Galápagos Islands: What I Expected:
For many years on the top of my 'Bucket List' was a trip to the Galápagos Islands! The cost of travel there was an issue holding me back, as was the time needed to go . Also, I wanted to pick the best time possible to visit the Islands. After a lot of research, I decided I wanted to go around April, because it was the mating season and I wanted to see the animals in their natural habitat during this time. I expected to see hundreds or more of the wildlife milling around, unafraid of humans! 
I wanted an 8-day tour, because, from my research, this sounded like the best option for me. I didn't want the cheaper "Tourist Cruise" tour. The guide didn't speak much English from what I read. The higher priced "Tourist Supreme Cruise" was more designed for older, weathier people. That didn't sound like the crowd I would fit in with on an enclosed ship for 8 days. The cruise I wanted was the 8-day "Tourist Superior Cruise". The size of these boats was 16 passengers. You could also get larger ships carrying up to 100 people for 8-15 days. But, these were not for me, either.
I expected to walk in the midst of abundant wildlife roaming the beautiful islands!
 
The Galápagos Islands: What I Discovered:
The Galápagos Islands are about 1,000 miles off the mainland shore of Ecuador . Before going, my research told me not to book any of the boat tours from outside the country. So, I waited until I got to the islands to find a cruise ship.It was high season in August. I could not work it out to go in April when I really preferred to visit. 

I talked to many tour agencies on the island for 3 days. All I ever got offered were the ships I did not want to go on. So, eventurally, I just travelled by boat to the various islands and then took small trips to the smaller islands to see the wildlife.

The Galápagos Islands are not luscious islands with green growth sheltering the wildlife. The islands are barren, volcanic rock islands. You feel like your are in some moon landscapre or no-man's land somewhere.

But, the wildlife is amazing! I saw and got up close to giant tortoises, iquananas, penguins, birds, and sea lions that are happy to swim along side you or even sleep beside you on the beach!

I saw all the same wildlife I would have seen on the expensive cruise, and saved a lot of money in the process by traveling on my own . Also, I was not confined on a boat with 15 other people that I may or may not have enjoyed living with for 8 days. So, I am very happy with the way my adventure turned out! I do not regret not taking a cruise at all.
 
Conclusion on Ecuador:
What I have written here is just my personal experience. I met several people in the places I stayed, from other countries, that were living and working for a year or more in Ecuador. Almost every one of them had a story of a mugging to tell, though. Still, they liked living and working in this country. There are some beautiful things here and the wildlife in the Galapagos Islands is really something to see. Everyone's experience is different. That is why you need to travel for yourself. Maybe you will see this or any other country you visit totally different from what I do.

Vietnam:
I changed planes in Taipei, China on my way to Vietnam. The photos in this blog are photos from Hanoi and Hue, Vietnam. I have visited Vietnam twice before and have written posts about it, so will not write much in this post .

In Hue I spent some time with Lop, a young motorbike taxi driver I met when I was here before. One day he took me to have dinner with his family and also to see where his father was buried. He died when he was just 36, only about 6 years ago.

Two of the guys that worked at the hostel where I stayed in Hue took me to the beach one day and another day they took me on their motobikes to visit some Vietnam War bunker just ouside of town. Hue saw some horrible fighting during the war. Hue was part of South Vietnam, the Vietnamese we were fighting with. One day we all went to eat with one of the guy's family, also.

Bang worked at the restaurant near the hotel I stayed at and did some tour guiding for me around Hue during his time off. He is a very ambitious univeristy student with a lot of plans for his future.