Ecuador 

In the end, we traveled through Ecuador for almost two months because we liked the country so much and we constantly met very nice people who persuaded us to stay longer in this diverse country. For this reason, we were able to shed light on many aspects of inclusion and have interesting conversations. How accessible the country is cannot be said in a blanket way. Here it is smart to divide our trip into different stations. On the one hand, there are the big cities like Cuenca, Guayaquil and Quito, which seemed to us to be quite barrier-free, especially in terms of public infrastructure. There are often ramps on sidewalks and functioning elevators. Modern malls, such as in Guayaquil and Quito are very barrier-free, although most buildings are designed rather less barrier-free. One important aspect that we did not have to consider in Asia was our own safety. In the last few years and also just currently, drug-related crime is unfortunately increasing more and more, which is why we had to be very careful where we went, especially in the cities of Guayaquil and Quito, and it was not uncommon that we were completely advised not to go to some areas. After all, Alex can't just run away... However, this should not put Ecuador in a wrong light, if we paid attention to certain hints, we could travel safely through the country. To pay attention to this, however, adds another aspect to our efforts. Also the nature brought us partly to our limits, especially the Andean area was very hilly and did not necessarily facilitate the locomotion, as for example in Cuenca. Again, we traveled a lot by bus through the country, an experience in itself, especially regarding the speed and driving style of some drivers. Similar to Asia, these busses were also not barrier-free, but with Lovis` help, this hurdle could also be overcome. 

The topic of inclusion was not easy for us to grasp in Ecuador at the beginning because, unlike in other parts of the world, there are little to none public organizations dedicated solely to the topics of disability and inclusion. So it took us a while to find the right contacts, but then they were able to offer a lot of added value. In the street you don't see many local disabled people, which also has to do with a lack of recognition. We were told that especially the influential people partly do not (yet) see the urgency to work for a more inclusive society. Among other things, this is strongly related to the issue of corruption. However, we have to say that in Ecuador, as in Colombia, we encountered a very warm and open friendliness and willingness to help everywhere. People often didn't just want to help Alex, but also wanted to know where we came from, what we were doing, etc. So an offer of help often came hand in hand with an honest interest in our story. 
We really liked Ecuador as a country with its diversity, amazing nature and warm people. However, as a physically limited person, you should know what you are getting into when you travel through the country, because there is definitely still room for improvement in terms of accessibility.