I had family in Ecuador and have spent time there. But it has been 20 years. I really enjoy the high country. Quito is a nice city, but it is a city; congested, smoggy, and you do have to be careful of crime. Don't wear any flashy anything and try to blend in. It helps to speak Spanish but you will find many English speakers in Quito. I took cabs all over and I was only 18. My girlfriend and I went lots of places unchaperoned. I'm sure for this event there will be a horde of English speaking people. Do be careful of altitude sickness and take it easy the first few days. I have a lovely memory of running for the bus and dropping in a dead faint to find a circle of children around me laughing at the pretty gringa who fell down. A nice woman came along and brought me some food and salty, buttery tea which is supposed to help us lowlanders. Another time I was on a bus standing up trying to navigate the goats and chickens to disembark at the next stop, when the bus lurked and I fell into a man's lap. I said permiso instead of perdon. Permiso mean 'permit me', perdon is more like excuse me. He laughed heartily and grabbed me back down onto his lap and kissed me..since I had asked his permission to sit on his lap. I had the whole bus in hysterics by the time I got off. Now this was not in the cosmopolitan Quito but up in the high country near Ambato. I have been down under and have some Aussie friends and let me just say that personal boundaries are no where near the same in Latin countries so be careful and keep a sense of humor.
Try to get to Cuenca if you can, it's a really pretty city. And I am partial to Ambato which is only about 3 hours south of Quito and the drive is beautiful and Pillaro, which is one of my favorite little towns. Also to see some beautiful cloud forests Machililla http://www.hipecuador.com/html/ups/regions/cloudforest_regions/cordillera_costa.htm
http://www.hipecuador.com/html/ups/regions/cloudforest_regions/cajas_mountains.htm
Guayaquil is big port city on the coast, it's vibrant and there is a pretty drive up the coast. But in my opinion, it's hot and oppressive and my experience was that it seemed more crime ridden. Of course, things may have changed.
Do be careful of the food and water. I ate street food with impunity and there are some really yummy fritter type things they fry up on the street made of plantain and goats cheese, with the occasional ants fried up with them for extra spice. The lamb is very good in Ecuador and in general I ate in restaurants and wasn't very careful. I just didn't drink water that didn't come in a bottle and I didn't eat salad or fruit that I hadn't peeled myself.
All that said, I got the worst case of amoebic dysentery while in the jungle, I had some questionable tea while there, not sure that water was brought to a boil.
So be careful with food and water ...stay flexible...and have a great time. I love Ecuador and I often fantasize about going back someday.
