Where We’ve Been

 
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Ecuador

• Quito
• Hotel de San Fransisco Quito – $42/night (breakfast included). Right in the middle of Old Town. Perfect location. Very well kept, bright airy rooms, helpful and kind staff. Cable TV. Wifi, but couldn’t connect in our rooms. Only minus was inexplicable urine smell coming from our shower on day #2.
• Hotel Husai – $1o/night/pp. Great location in Old Town. Smallish rooms. TEENY bathrooms, but totally managable and good value. No pee smell. Great staff. Awesome wifi.
• Teleferico – $8/pp. Think giant gondala ride up the hillside of Quito up to 13,450 feet. Holy cow. I mean… it’s really freaking high. Don’t go running around up here, you’ll die. And this is still the “foothills” of the much larger mountains and volcanos all around you. Must see.
• Museums & Churches. $2-3/pp. There are lots of them. Can’t be bothered right now to look up names, but if you’re in Quito and have your guidebook you’ll know the ones I’m talking about. There’s the guilded church — must see. Holy rococo, batman. And then there’s the convent. Wow. Lots of blood and Jesus stuff and a whole lotta catholic guilt happening in the art here. Sort of overwhelming and made me feel kind of pukey. The other big church was pretty cool too. Amazing wood-working.
• Cuenca
• Getting There: We opted for the $73 flight (45 min) instead of the 12 hour (<$10) bus ride. We bought same-day tickets right at the airport. Just got there 1.5 hours early. No sweat.
• Hotel Monistario – $20/nt (double w/ private bathroom). Skip it. People were nice enough and great location, but seriously… hardest and squeakiest beds ever and thinnest walls in the world. We are troopers when it comes to not being picky about beds, but this was a “will not repeat” in our books.