Traveling in Ecuador, of coarse by bus. Have 30 days, a map

Well, decided, I am going to contact each place from Moon's travel book 2012 and make it my own block.The only problem many of them do not have email or websites. I guess there it is called networking. Not real estate, but clean, good people, I have reading 2012 and sound good, not just to have and call numbers.
Thanks everyone. I will only take real responses.Do you carry money in a money belt or an a chasity belt ?

Hello,

My brother was here like four month ago for 20 days and he did similar travel as yours and he got time to get back to Quito and fly away.

The important thing is know what bus you need and where it is.

There's many buses between important cities but once you plan to go the rainforest things get complicated and drivers try to rise prices when they see a foreigner.
From Quito to Baños could be around 4 hours. To Tena another four. From Quito to Cuenca is 8 hours if you travel at night. From Cuenca to Loja is two hours, then you have to come back to Cuenca and travel to Guayaquil to get a bus to Puerto Lopez.

By car from Cuenca to Puerto Lopez is around 7 hours.

Try to travel by day, find a hotel or hostal will be easy unless you plan to travel in the summer. Be sure you have a place to stay if you travel to Tena.  In general, the roads and cities you plan to visit are safe but Guayaquil.

Vinny

Yanks Vinee, that is route I was studyinhg, my map as big mymy wall in dining room wall, fold up of coarse, but trying to compute the miles was overwhelming. The only city I do want to visit is Guy. And Banos has an extoic appeal
The hotrel/hostels seem very nice, the one's checked. Hetiste to make a reservation I might not make on the booking day. But manana, manana, I guess understand. What was your son' favorite stop ?Is there such a thing as a bus route map? 
An what are ajustments, other than, the manana, and lack of industrialism but such beautiful courtyards ad churchs. Some what similar to P. R.  I have an Indian/Andes tape, of coarse scrapped by now, but how hautingly, majestic beautiful, like no other.
Well I certainly thank you for reponding and being there !
My tikets are from 8/15-9-18 2012

Well Vinney,



Cod willing I will get there, Blessings to you and your family !

30 days is so limited, I am currently living in Ecuador Quito, i have been here about 10 months and  there is so much stuff to see is ridiculous . I had my friend come visit for two months and i will admit it wasnt enough time. I think the best thing to do is choose the best places u like, and stay a bit more rather than just go everywhere for a day or two.

Alexander

Hi

Bus service, in general, is good, the units are modern enough and they respect the schedules.
But between small towns the local bus service is different, usually the bus waits until is full, really full and they stop all the time to pick up/drop passangers.

We aware  bus drivers drive fast and furious.

ThereŽs no a bus route map, once youŽre in the bus station you have to ask where to get the right bus.

Vinny

Dear amw1955,

On 05 May 2012, you posted concerning a question about going around Ecuador for 30-days via bus.  It's now been over seven years since you wrote your question and also said that you planned to move to Ecuador at some point in your future.  I'm just wondering how things have gone for you over these past, over-seven-years.  I hope that you've been able to experience really positive things and that you have good feelings about how things have gone for you. 

Did you go on ahead and take that bus trip as you thought you would?  And did you ever move to Ecuador?  If so, how did that go for you?  If so, how has been your adjustments to living in a country on the equator when you are from a northern-latitude-state, Wisconsin.  Also if so, have you made trips home during those ensuing years?

You wrote that you would be studying, learning, and using Spanish.  I wonder how that's gone for you?  At what level of comprehension and use of Spanish as a second language have you become?  Please let readers know the various ways in which you have learned the beautiful language that native Ecuadorians use. 

Thinking about studying and learning and using Spanish in everyday situations, I have a question about which you might be able to offer me some guidance.  I have bilateral hearing loss from my U. S. Army days (Vietnam War Era vet from 1966-1970).  I wear bilateral hearing aids and, even with the aids, I have some difficulties hearing what's being said in my primary language, English.  Over the years I have learned to compensate by learning to rely on my vision.  I'm very much more a visual learner than an auditory learner. 

My husband speaks fluent Spanish and English.  And although I comprehend and use Western Hemisphere Spanish at an intermediate level. he says that I need to learn conversational Spanish by listening to it spoken at the rate of native-born Ecuadorians.  Therefore, when he converses with me in Spanish, his use of the language is rapid.  He says that I need to learn conversational Spanish at the rate with which he uses his native tongue.  I ask him to slow down because of my hearing disability. 

I write all of this in order to ask a question.  Do you have any helpful hints as to how I might better and more rapidly learn Spanish than I do presently in spite of the disability?  (I am rated by The Department of Veterans' Affairs as 100% service-connected disabled because of not only my hearing disability but also because I have been diagnosed as a veteran with post traumatic stress and major depressive disorders.)

I'm married and am thinking of moving to Ecuador at some future time.  Tony (my husband) was born and grew up in Quito and knows his native country very well.  So, I shouldn't be running into a lot of problems that other ex-pats may have to face or have had to face.  For sure, he said that I won't "be sold a bill of goods" because I'm a gringo.  He said that he will shelter me from being exploited by unscrupulous folks who take advantage of those who were born and grew up outside Ecuador. 

Any additional thoughts that you may think would be helpful to me and other non-Ecuadorians who consider moving to and becoming ex-pats are very, VERY much appreciated. 

I close this post by saying, "THANK YOU," for reading, thinking about, and responding.  And I again hope that things in these ensuing seven plus years have gone well for you.  I send positive thoughts and regards,  John Cox