Ecuador Bound

You’ll be surprised by the clean, modern and efficient airports in Ecuador (videos below).

There are 3 main airlines that fly to Ecuador on a regular basis. They fly to all 3 of Ecuador’s largest cities:

• Quito – Quito – Mariscal Sucre Airport (UIO/SEQU) which was refurbished just a few years ago, however, a brand New Quito International Airport (NQIA) is currently being constructed 10 miles from Quito and the first phase is expected to open in late 2009 – early 2010. This new airport (video below) will be at a lower altitude and the NQIA will have a new airport terminal and 10 times more space than the existing airport (3,500 acres). It will be able to schedule more convenient take off and arrival times.
• Guayaquil – José Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport (GYE/SEGU) which opened in mid-2006 &
• Cuenca -Mariscal Lamar Airport (CUE/SECU).

The 3 Main Airlines are:

• American Airlines (http://www.aa.com)
• LAN (http://www.lan.com) – Site is in Spanish
• AeroGal (https://www.aerogal.com.ec) – Site is in Spanish

Flight options from the U.S. to Ecuador have recently expanded by AeroGal, an established Ecuadorian airline. They added Miami-Guayaquil and Miami-Quito flights. American Airlines and LAN (a highly regarded South American airline) have been flying these routes for years. AeroGal, the new kid on the block, is a good choice if you are looking to save a bit.

You have other options as well according to A-Z Airports:

Airlines Serving Quito Airport: Aerosucre, American Airlines, Arrow Cargo, Atlas Air, Avianca, COPA, Cielos Airlines, Continental, Delta Air Lines, Florida West, Iberia, Icaro, KLM, LAN Airlines, Martinair, SJM, TAME, Tampa, UPS Airlines, Vipair.

Once in Ecuador, you probably will want to continue on your adventure. Getting to the coast (la costa) takes approximately 20 minutes from Quito and flying to the jungle or Amazon (el oriente) takes just 30 minutes.

According to Ecuador Explorer:

TAME has flights to almost all destinations in the country including: Guayaquil, Quito, the Galapagos, Bahía, Esmeraldas, Manta, Portoviejo, Machala, Cuenca, Loja, Tulcán, Coca, Lago Agrio, and Macas. The up and coming Icaro now flies to most major destinations and is in the process of expanding its service.

While prices vary depending on the destination and the season, non-national tourists can expect to pay under USD 50 each way for mainland flights (with the exception of flights to and from jungle destinations in the Oriente which tend to be a little more expensive) and between USD 300 and USD 380 for a round-trip flight to the Galapagos from Guayaquil or Quito.

For the most up-to-date fare and scheduling information, it is always best to check with TAME and or Icaro. Also, don’t forget that students who have a valid ID card from their home university may receive a 10-25% discount. There is no departure tax on internal flights.

Tame.com.ec has a translator on their site for your convenience. I counted 16 different destinations in Ecuador they service. They had this under their current specials: “From now on all customers of TAME to present their boarding pass at any of the Hertz office at the national level will receive a 20% discount on their car rental services, among other important benefits.” Not too bad of a perc for taking a short trip.

Another Ecuadorian airline for in-country flights is Icaro. This site is in Spanish only. The site is nicely done, but if you can’t read Spanish yet, it might be a problem. I will give you some pointers on that issue in another post.

---

Be sure to read my post on Choosing Travel Accommodations – Hotel & Airfare for a few money saving tools to book your flights and hotels.

---

Quechua (“qheshwa”) is an indigenous language of the Andean region, spoken today by close to 13 million people in Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, No. Chile, Argentina, and So. Colombia. It once was the official language of Tawantinsuyu “The Inca Empire.” You will hear it a lot in Ecuador, especially in the Octavalo Market. Almost half of the vendors speak it along with Spanish, while some only speak Quechua.

Distinctive forms of Quechua are found in the north of Peru (Cajamarca, San Martín, Loreto) and in Ecuador, where it is known as Quichua. I used the general term instead of the Ecuadorian version, just to avoid confusion as there are 2 other dialects of the same language in So. America.

These following videos give you an idea of what it sounds like and a little background of the Quechua peoples. These are not learning videos like the Spanish I grouped up for you:

There are NO learning videos that I have found. It is a spoken language carried down by generations of indiginous peoples of the Andes in South America. I have heard that is has a Sanskrit base but I am not positive. I found a site that gives free internet lessons on Quechua. If you have mastered Spanish and are ready for more, this would be a good addition to your language skill set in Ecuador.

Another resource I found is “Fun Facts to Know About Quechua.” On that site they say:

Here’s some English words derived from Quechua: coca, condor, guano, gaucho, guanaco, Inca, jerky, lagniappe, lima [bean], llama, pampa, puma, quipu, quinine, quinoa, and vicuña.

I managed to find one book on the Quechua language. It doesn’t come up with “Quechua” in the search so use: ISBN: 9781740597708 in the search box. Click on this to enter site then put in previous search term: Lonely Planet Country Guides

I also found a few items on eBay for Quechua. These change all the time so check back if you don’t see anything.