At the start of our travels, Sean and I were dropped off at Logan Airport in Boston destined for Cuenca, Ecuador. The first stop on our new “full-time-world-travel-location-independent” lifestyle. It didn’t take long for us to run into a snag. Actually it was about 20 steps. Hello, Copa Airline ticket counter lady.
“What’s that you say, It’s not ok to fly to Ecuador without a return ticket?” Or at least a ticket out of Ecuador. All of those things that we read about not actually needing to purchase a ticket in advance appeared to be wrong in this case. We have since learned that having purchased a refundable bus ticket out of the Country would have been ok. (Here is our subsequent article about proof of onward travel, if we only knew….).
We ended up purchasing what we were told were 2 fully refundable tickets back to Boston. (We now know that “fully-refundable” doesn’t include penalties and fees, etc. Sigh . . .
Fast forward and we have landed in Cuena, Ecuador. Slightly jet lagged and disoriented. Never the less we are able to secure a taxi to our apartment for the next month and are quoted the $3.00 fare we had anticipated. I collected by bag and made my way toward the door while Sean got out to pay the driver. Just then a truck filled with pre-teens drove by and doused Sean’s shirt with water. Welcome to Cuenca tall Gringo guy.

Street Vendor Selling Silly String and Super Soakers
Turns out it was Carnaval and this was a big part of the celebration in Ecuador. No booze or beads here, just super soakers and cans of silly string or shaving cream. It ended up being a lot of fun.
Next lesson comes courtesy of the Cuenca open market. We wandered in to inspect the local produce, flower stalls, lunch counters and meat/fish market after taking a run by the river. Not far into our wander Sean leans down and whispers “People are staring at you.” Uh-0h, this can’t be good. Sean then observes “I think it’s your legs.” I look around — shorts don’t seem to be the standard market wandering garb.

Inside the Market in Cuenca
Once back to the apartment I reach out to Google, and find many articles giving subtle advice, such as “Please . . . no shorts.” No shorts, tanks or sandals. Leave them for the beach Sister. We dress up here. How did I miss that piece of advice? Especially prior to picking up some cute new shorts and sandals that I squeezed into my 21 inch carry on before leaving for South America? There is not a lot of real estate in a carry-on bag (see prior post, Size Matters _ the Luggage Debate).
On a positive note, there are plenty of cool boutiques here. Time to shop!
Visit our Resources Page for our travel tips, including how to save money on flights an our gear recommendations, based on our ongoing travels around the world. Now 2+ years and counting!
The GypsyNesters
Sunday 6th of April 2014
Ah yes, the return ticket. One of the many lessons we've learned along the way. Never thought of a bus ticket though... good idea, thanks!
Jen
Sunday 6th of April 2014
We've since been told that some people will go almost all the way toward purchasing on onward ticket on-line, and then print out the screen shot just before clicking the button to purchase. Haven't tried this ourselves but an interesting idea . . .
Virgil
Monday 31st of March 2014
No pic of a sopping-wet Sean? Too bad... :)
Jen
Monday 31st of March 2014
Next time for sure :-)
Ross
Friday 28th of March 2014
Nice site. Wasnt that mouse very good to sit still to put a helmet on! Luckily we got that advice about the planes and bought a redundant return ticket from Lima. It was fairly cheap though so it didnt matter much, not half as much as one from Boston anyway.
Jen
Friday 28th of March 2014
Even the mouse knows - always safety first!
Justin Velthoen
Monday 24th of March 2014
An excuse to shop for new shoes? Hrmmm, tragedy or strategic planning... ha ha
Jen
Monday 24th of March 2014
Either way it works in my favor for sure! Jen
Beth
Saturday 22nd of March 2014
I was in my mid-thirties before I realized that some people expect others to be "dressed" when shopping. But it was a derogatory comment made by somebody "from away" (Massachusettes) who said "nobody here in Maine knows how to dress when they go shopping". I mean, I don't wear sweat pants but I do still wear jeans to shop.