Children

Travel with children can bring you into closer contact with Ecuadorean families and, generally, presents no special problems - in fact the path may even be smoother for family groups. Officials are sometimes more amenable where children are concerned and they are pleased if your child knows a little Spanish. For more detailed advice, see

by William Gray (Footprint, 2007).

Remember that a lot of time can be spent waiting for and riding buses. You should take reading material with you as it is difficult to find and expensive. Also look for the locally available comic strip

, which is quite popular and a good way for older children to learn a bit of Spanish. On long-distance buses you pay for each seat, and there are no half fares. For shorter trips it is cheaper, if less comfortable, to seat small children on your knee. Sometimes there are spare seats which children can occupy after tickets have been collected. In city buses, small children generally do not pay a fare, but are not entitled to a seat when paying customers are standing. On domestic flights in Ecuador, children under two pay tax only (12% of the adult fare), between the ages of 2 and 12 they pay 50%. Make sure that children accompanying you are fully covered by your travel insurance policy.

This can be a problem if the children are not adaptable. It is easier to take food with you on longer trips than to rely on meal stops where the food may not be to taste. Avocados are safe, readily available, easy to eat and nutritious; they can be fed to babies as young as 6 months and most older children like them. Best stick to simple things like bread, bananas and tangerines while you are actually on the road. Biscuits, packaged junk food and bottled drinks abound. A small immersion heater and jug for making hot drinks is invaluable, but remember that electric current is 110 v in Ecuador. In restaurants, you can try to buy a

(half portion), or divide a full- sized helping between 2 children.