Hello People,

As many of you might already know, I’ll be doing my summer internship in Bogota, Colombia. However before getting to Bogota, I explored Ecuador. Throughout the summer, I’ll be posting blogs on my job experience and travel.

In Ecuador, I visited Quito (the capital) and Esmeraldas (on the coast). Though I have only a week in Ecuador, it’s been so much fun. Trust me, that country is awesome and very cheap too. Imagine you pay $2 for a full lunch or dinner (this includes a bowl of soul, a plate of rice & chicken and a drink) or $0.75 for a bottle of coke or $0.25 for a one hour bus ride.

In Quito, I stayed at the ‘Secret Garden Hostel’; it is in the old part of town. The only thing nice about the hostel is the roof top where you get to see a beautiful view of Quito. When next I go to Quito, I’ll be staying in the new part of town – La Mariscal because it closer to everywhere. Okay, so I didn’t really do all those tourist things you are suppose to do when you visit a country. I toured with old town with Richard (the Irish guy I met at the hostel) and Robin (also from the hostel). A friend (Lafonsa) I met in Cali, Colombia two years ago showed us around La Mariscal and took us to an Indian restaurant. I also went to the ‘middle of the world’ (La Mitad del Mundo), it is the site that is believed to be the middle of the world, and off course I think it is false. While at the site, I went to the ethnographic museum where I learned about the various cultures in Ecuador such as the indigenous groups and the people of African descent/Afro-Ecuadorian; I was a beautiful experience.

Also in Quito, I met up with an Ecuadorian girl (Sandra) I met via couchsurfing; she took us to a café where we met up with other people from Ecuador and a few foreigners. It was a language exchange sort of gathering. There I made new friends. Good to know I have friends here  for when I return to Quito or when they visit the US or Nigeria.

Later I went to Esmeraldas; it is on the coast which means beautiful beaches are close by. I stayed with an Afro-Ecuadorian girl I met from couchsurfing. She is super cool; she picked me up from the bus terminal at 6am in the morning. Her family is awesome, they fed me and took me to Atacames (1.5hours away from Esmeraldas), there is a beach there, it a nice party beach town. They also took me to a river 2 hours away and treated me to a delicious crab meal. I have a family now in Esmeraldas.

Overall, I LOVE Ecuador. I think it has replaced Colombia as my favorite Latin American country. I will be back for sure…

Oh, I finished reading my first book in Spanish and yes I understood the whole book .

Until next time……….