Ecuador

Not sure what was better here.. the views or the food? Started off strong by housing encebollado in Guayaquil. This is a hard dish to describe, but think albacore tuna, yucca thickened fish broth and a lot of lime juice and red onion so very escabeche-esque. A perfect cure for a hangover honestly. The super tiny town of Montañita had its fair share of surprises. The burger carts? WILD. They’re open until super late & they hit the spot every. single. time. Took a walk all the way down the shore and found the most hidden & incredible sushi bar. They were serving whatever was caught locally, which was awesome to see. Quito = high high altitude that will probably kick your ass, but shouldn’t discourage you from hiking a volcano like Cotopaxi. Almost 16,000ft up the volcano there is a small refuge where after a long hike, you’ll find some really traditional/delicious snacks like hot chocolate and locro (potato soup). Baños was notably the coolest town to visit. You’ll find yourself surrounded by mountains and if you’re lucky, in front of the bus station at Pipo cafe. A la minute, they’re making the most delicious empanadas like the Mama Tungurahua which was made of different cured meats but tasted like kimchi? idk but it was awesome. They were so good that we almost missed our bus to buy some on the last day. Theres a never-ending list of things to do in this town, like climb through a tight cave and see El Pailon del Diablo aka very violent waterfall (10/10 recommend)and also some very inexpensive tours to Puyo (the jungle). Aside from being immersive, was also extremely fun. Got to interact with a Kichwa community, canoe down a river & visit a small cacao farm where they showed us how to produce chocolate. All in all a very amazing trip.

p.s. The guinea pig (cuy) was a little weird.