Ecuador, 2015: the trip that turned me into a backpacker
10 daysMarch 2015Guayaquil, Quito and Salinas
I was 19, a student, and had $150 as a travel budget. I paid for the flight with miles. Ten days later I understood there was no going back: the traveler I am today had just been born. Ecuador was country 3 of my challenge of 30 countries before turning 30.
Quito, March 2015, the day the challenge of 30 countries before 30 was born.
It all started with a concert ticket
In 2013 I started talking on Twitter with a couple of girls from Guayaquil. They wrote asking me for a favor: to buy them tickets for the One Direction concert in Lima, because the tour wasn't going through Guayaquil. I bought them, and in April 2014 they came to Peru to go to the concert together and we became great friends. A year later, in March 2015, I went to visit them in Guayaquil and that was my first solo trip.
Trip facts
Duration10 days
Trip dateMarch 2015
Approx. temperature~31 °C in Guayaquil, ~18 °C in Quito
What I loved mostThe hostel in Quito
The flight I paid for with miles
I was a student, and the only way I managed to travel was by redeeming a flight to northern Peru with my LATAM miles. I flew from Lima to Piura and from there crossed by bus to Guayaquil, where my friend's family was waiting for me. I stayed with them the first few days, getting to know the city. To come back I did the same route in reverse: bus to Piura and then another flight to Lima.
The three of us at the Middle of the World, the extra trip that threw off the budget.
The hostel that changed the way I travel
The original plan was to stay in Guayaquil, but my friends suggested going to Quito and then to Salinas, the three of us alone as backpackers. In that hostel in Quito I slept in a shared room, something I had never done before and that every backpacker experiences.
I already knew family vacations that included hotels, transfers, everything sorted out in advance. This was another world, one I didn't know existed. It was a reality check.
There, in Quito, the challenge of visiting 30 countries before 30 was born.
Leaning out of the hostel window in Quito, the place where everything changed.
What it really cost
None of this was perfectly calculated, and I think that's why it's worth telling exactly as it was.
Real budget for 10 days in March 2015
Flight Lima → PiuraRedeemed with miles
Bus Piura → Guayaquil$20
Initial budget for food and expenses (10 days)$150
Extra for Quito and Salinas$150
The money wasn't enough. Between Quito and Salinas I ended up asking for $150 more, and I asked for help at home to close out the trip. I don't regret it because I saw the Middle of the World, the coast in Salinas and several other places I would never have seen by staying only in Guayaquil.
The rainy night in Guayaquil from tip #2, soaked but all together.
What I would learn if I started over
01
Start, even if it's scary. Nobody can confirm it for you until you live it. Once you make your first solo trip you won't be able to stop.
02
Check the weather before you leave. One of those days in Guayaquil it poured and I ended up soaked. Something as simple as looking at the forecast would have saved me.
03
Do a little research before arriving somewhere new. Only once did I go to a totally unknown destination without booking or researching anything beforehand. It went well, but I missed things I didn't even know existed.
Ten years and thirty countries later
I didn't become a full-time backpacker because I had to finish college, and I don't regret it. Thanks to my career in digital marketing I was able to keep traveling until I reached more than 30 countries. But that 10-day trip is still the one that defines me most: it was the first, the most uncertain and the one that proved you don't need to have everything figured out to begin.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask me the most about this trip
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How much did it cost to travel to Ecuador?
I redeemed the Lima to Piura flight with miles, the bus from Piura to Guayaquil cost $20 and my initial travel budget was $150 for food and expenses during 10 days. Between Quito and Salinas I ended up needing another $150.
How did I get to Ecuador from Lima?
I redeemed a Lima to Piura flight with my miles and from there crossed by bus to Guayaquil. To return I did the same route in reverse.
Which places did I visit in Ecuador?
Guayaquil, Quito and Salinas, plus the Middle of the World. In total it was 10 days in March 2015.
What advice would I give someone about to take their first solo trip?
To start, even if it's scary. And to check the weather and do a little research before arriving somewhere new, because I missed things by not doing it.
Where was the challenge of 30 countries before 30 born?
In a hostel in Quito, during this first trip in March 2015.
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