Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ecuador

Traveling after farm animals

RajahKing — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:48:13 -0800

How do you answer questions about livestock proximity when coming back to the US? What happens when you answer yes to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Declaration Form questions 11 & 12, ie "Have you or any family members traveling with you been in close proximity of (such as touching or handling) livestock outside the United States?"

I ask this for a friend who will be returning shortly from a trip to
rural Ecuador, where s/he was in close proximity to livestock and
would appropriately answer yes. Has anyone had the experience of answering yes? What happens? Questioning, quaranteening, searching of bags, etc?

Has anyone ever had the experience of lying and answered no?

How would customs officials know to be suspicious of your time spent with livestock?

I fully understand the legal and ethical obligations my friend has
here, but if s/he takes the ethical lowground and says no, what
recourse does the government have?

Travel advice: Ecuador

madokachan — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:45:44 -0800

EcuadorFilter: So many questions, so little time. I am going to be going to Ecuador for 2 weeks in May with 3 friends and we have been overwhelmed by all of the places to see presented in the guidebooks. We are flying in and out of Guayaquil. We are planning to visit Puerto Lopez/Isla de la Plata, Riobamba/Banos and Cuenca. I have my eye on birdwatching on Isla de la Plata, taking the Nariz del Diablo in Riobamba, whitewater rafting close to Banos and seeing Ingapirca by Cuenca. We would also like to spend some time exploring Cuenca and Banos.

Info about us: 4 young Canadian folk (in 20s, early 30s). We speak Spanish. We have a reasonable amount of travel experience under our belts (SE Asia, S America, West and East Africa) but are not used to doing short, jam-packed trips like this. We are interested in hiking/rafting but are beginners. Also interested in history (Incan ruins) and culture. I would love to see a blue footed booby!

Can anybody help with the following questions:

1) Is this too ambitious? We don't want to feel like we are on a whirlwind tour.
2) We plan to rent a 4x4 and pay a guide to drive us from town to town (bourgeois I know). Is this overkill?
3) Are we missing out on something super fantastic and, if so, what should we drop to do it?
4) Do you have any suggestions of what else to see in/near the towns listed above? Where to stay?

Any guidance or pearls of wisdom would be very much appreciated!

Help me find a volunteer project in South America

postergeist — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:14:27 -0800

Help me find a volunteer project in Bolivia, Peru or Ecuador. I am travelling all over south america for a year and am extremely interested in joining a volunteer project for a period of at least a month somewhere in one of the above countries. I do however have some specific desires; 1. Not interested in teaching English (dime a dozen for projects)
2. I love using my hands and building things (and am good at it) and want to find a project where I get to construct something, structures of any kind. A school, a fence.. whatever. Sort of like habitat for humanity (habitat itself is too large scale and expensive)
3. Not in a city. want countryside, the more remote the better
4. Smaller scale, more grass roots level
5. One where I dont have to shell over $2000+ just for the privilege of volunteering my services.

So far all of the more interesting projects i have found require a very large contribution. I guess I can understand that the money is how they fund the project but I was always of the opinion that the volunteers themselves should not have to be the ones who pay the very large sums and that the organizations should solicit the funding through philanthropic measures.

If anyone has any experiences, suggestions or knows anyone you can network me with I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks in advance

What charity project shall I support?

badmoonrising — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:33:42 -0800

I'd like to donate a sum of money to a charity project, preferably an educational one, but I need some advice on which one to choose. This is a little long and rambly, so bear with me!

It's my 21st birthday very soon. My father has been hounding me for present ideas, and since I can't think of anything for myself I've come up with the idea of contributing to a charity project. I'm interested in education and am thinking of becoming a teacher, so I rather like the idea of building or equipping a classroom.

My preferred area would be South America, particularly Ecuador, since I spent some time volunteering there. This is negotiable, though.

The prices I've seen online for building classrooms range from £1700 to around £15,000. I don't know how much my dad is willing to spend (and it seems a little indelicate to directly ask him), but he is an exceedingly generous man and he originally suggested buying me an expensive new laptop, or paying for a holiday, so I think something in the high hundreds to low thousands would be OK with him. I'd rather err on the cautious side, though. My plan is to give him a few options (from, say, £500 to £3000) and let him decide which is closest to the amount he wishes to spend.

I know that the easiest option would be to simply donate a sum of money to be used at the charity's disposal, but I'd rather like the money to be used for one specific project. Also, most of the 'Oxfam Unwrapped" style giftshops seem very uninformative - they send you a greetings card and a certificate, in case you are making the donation on behalf of someone else. I know that personal gratification is hardly the point, but if I'm giving up a new laptop or a holiday then I would like more than a generic certificate. (Yes, I'm aware that probably makes me sound awful, but I don't care.) Something along the lines of some photos of the completed project, and maybe a very short report, would be lovely. Is this realistic, or is this kind of feedback only likely with much larger donations?

I've seen some rather suspicious websites, so I'd like to be completely certain that the charity I choose is legit and will actually use my money for the intended purpose.

I'd prefer a non-religious charity if possible, but I don't mind too much.

So. Does anyone on MeFi have any experience of this sort of thing and can offer any advice? Or does anyone have any suggestions of charities or projects? Many thanks in advance.

(In case anyone asks, Dad's absolutely fine with this - in fact he seems delighted with the idea. Also, in case anyone missed the references to pounds, I'm in the UK, but I don't mind donating to any nationality charity as long as it's above board.)

exporting myself down colombia way

yonation — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:51:09 -0800

bogota to quito trip: suggestions and advice? heading down to colombia in june and flying out of ecuador in july. what to do, see, ride and eat along the way? any sober, nonhysterical comments about safety (past standard US Dept of State boilerplate)?

aji con maracuya ecuadoriano

whoojemaflip — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 06:08:58 -0800

Ecuadorian chilli sauce with passionfruit, it's sooo good! Any idea what it's called? Its the most common salsa de aji on ecuadorian restaurant tables, but its been ages & I can't remember the brand. There are a number of different flavours but the one that stands out is 'Con Maracuya'. Unbelieveably tasty. I want to get my hands on some in the UK, but my google-fu has failed me. Bonus points if you can point me to a shop that stocks this stuff...

Campeche, Córdoba, or Quito?

dondiego87 — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:44:22 -0800

Help me decide where to live for a month (all expenses paid): Campeche, Mexico; Córdoba, Argentina; or Quito, Ecuador. I'm a college student who is currently considering an environmental science internship this summer (probably June) in Latin America. The choices are Campeche, Mexico; Córdoba, Argentina; or Quito, Ecuador. All expenses (flight, food, lodging) will be taken care of by my university. I may or may not have access to a car -- let's assume I won't.

I'm trying to decide which of these three cities to apply for. I'm looking for information important to any city dweller -- recreation, safety, water quality, shopping, etc. -- about each to factor into my decision. Also, information about the availability and quality of phone and internet access (esp. wifi hotspots or internet cafes) is going to be important.

Some miscellaneous information:

This post about Quito provided some helpful ideas. "arabelladragon" had some useful tips, but I'm concerned about the "don't ever wear shorts in Quito" line. I only wear pants when it's required by the dress code, so a no-shorts policy could be a problem. Is this an etiquette thing, a safety issue, or what?

I'm a big outdoorsing fan, so anywhere that has ample opportunities for hiking, kayaking, etc. would be great. These would probably have to be day trips, since I doubt I'm going to bring my camping equipment and I will be working normal business days.

Right now I'm leaning away from Campeche because the temperatures there during the summer are much hotter than the mid-to-upper 60s that are average for Córdoba and Quito. I do realize, however, that this shouldn't be a major factor in my decision.

Thanks so much for your help!

Volunteering in Ecuador/Galapagos

orangskye — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 14:50:19 -0800

I am planning a group trip to Ecuador/Galapagos islands, and we would like to spend a day doing community service. Any suggestions/recommendations/experiences? I'll be going with a group of about 25 people, aged 25-30, in the last week of August. We'd be up for doing anything really, but only have a day either in Santa Cruz or Quito. Preferrably the organization would be non-political and non-religous but other than that we're open. All ideas welcome!

What to do in Quito for a day?

saladpants — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 16:11:16 -0800

24 hours in Quito, Ecuador. What to do? Wife and I (along with in-laws) will be going on a week-long liveaboard to the Galapagos Islands between Christmas and New Years. Prior to heading off to the boat we'll have a day or so in Quito. Anything unique or fun to do?

Peruvian bug swarm on This American Life

Araucaria — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:34:30 -0800

"This American Life" filter: a story about traveling to a city in Peru or Ecuador, and being overwhelmed by swarms of horrible insects. I caught part of this broadcast a couple of years ago. It could have been any time between 2001 and 2005. I would like to find out the date of broadcast, the name of the city & country where the events occurred, and the kind of insect that caused the problem. The storyteller was on a trip to South America with some friends, and they landed in this large city that had become a desolate and deserted wasteland, filled with clouds of horrible insects. All the businesses were closed. There were piles of burning insects in the streets. After a day or two of this nightmare, they escaped to the mountains. Passing back through the city a week or two later, they were amazed to find a clean, bright city with lots of happy people. It was a different world entirely. They asked about the bugs and learned that the swarm occurred annually for a couple of days, and the locals would simply take off for that week. But it was never listed in the travel brochures. The person they talked to said, "Why bother? It lasts only a couple of days!". But it nearly ruined their vacation.

As I stated earlier, I missed certain key parts of the broadcast. Can you help me, O wizards of AskMeFi?

How do I ship some small things for the USA to Ecuador?

GilloD — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 08:54:36 -0800

I need the send something to Ecuador from the U.S of A. I've never sent a piece of mail farther than, well, whereever my nearest Netflix distrobution center is. I've sold a few games on Ebay, so I'm familar with 1st class and Priority mail and what not, but now I need to send a couple of mixtapes and some pictures to my girlfriend in Ecuador. Problem is, I don't even know where to start with something like this.

Neither speed nor cost are particularly important, although more of the former and less of the latter are nice. It's headed to Quito if that's any help at all.

How can I call Ecuador on the cheap from a cellphone?

GilloD — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 17:45:29 -0800

I need to call Ecuador. Hola, Ask MeFi! My girlfriend is in Ecuador until December. We e-mail back and forth every few days, but I'd also like to be able to call her at some point. Here are the complications:

A- I only have a cell phone. So land line only options are a NO GO! UNLESS!
-A i: I have a landline at work
-Aii: Our boss is generous with letting us abuse the postage machine and whatnot, but I think long-distance calls to South America are probably not a good issue to push on

So! Phone cards? 800 numbers? I've never called outside the continuous 48 before, so I'm completely dumb on the subject. Help!