Soccer, right?  Well maybe, but equally as popular as the world´s game is an Ecuadorian version of volleyball: EcuaVolley.  And it is everywhere in this country.  Courts are in every park, in every town – way more prevelant than soccer fields.   It´s similar to volleyball as we know it, but with a few important differences:

  • Generally played on cement courts with a soccer ball
  • 3 on 3
  • Higher nets, preventing most players from spiking the ball (Ecuadorians aren’t the tallest people)
  • A much more liberal touch time for each contact with the ball

When we first witnessed the game, I thought everyone was cheating – you can’t palm the ball in volleyball!  Well, in EcuaVolley, you can.  There are some talented players down here, and games we witnessed got competitive and heated.