Holiday Inn Express Quito

... the wat** each m*rning al*ng with the gas when y*u need a h*t sh*w**...hence my first sh*w** was a v**y c*ld trickle.<br><br>The f**d at h*me is v**y basic, bread, cheese, ham, eggs, rice, vegetables and fruit. M*st Ecuad*rians d*nt eat meat at h*me as its t** expensive t* buy. They have it as a treat when they g* *ut. The *nly meats I´ve seen *n the menu are P*rk, Beef and Chicken...al*ng with Shrimps.<br><br>On Friday we ventured up t* Anylus sch**l wh**e she ...

... of Ibarra (I think every city in Ecuador has a Pregon). And so there were a carnival passing through the main street and thousands and thousands of spectators. It was very nice to watch, especially the indigenous dancers in there beautiful outfits. After watching many different groups of dancers and musicians pass through, Anita, Marselo and I went to a bar to spoil our throats a bit, and after some Pilsener&#8217;s (to my Danes, notice the resemblance with our word &#8216 ...

... rice and veggies, fish for me and meat for Brian and a juice for $1.50 each. Brilliant. <br><br>The following day we went out to the equator, or Mitad del Mundo. We had met up with two Aussies and a girl from Slovakia in the hostel so we had a grand little tourist group arranged. I swear we didn´t all stick out like sore thumbs. The two boys and the girl had their backpacks and their water bottles, hats and sunglasses, the works ...

... your typical tourist maggot to get my gimmicky photo on the equator line. Never mind you that the actual equator monument is out about 200m because it was built so long ago way before the wonders of GPS proved they were a little out of whack. But I give them credit, they ended up bloody close enough, and no one would have know the difference if I didnt write about it here.<br>Anyway, two buses to get out there. A huge monument (albeit a little out of place), some tacky photos and ...

... were spectacular. Those Ecuadorian animals I´d mentioned the other day? We were able to identify maybe 2 or 3 of them. Ecuador has some crazy looking animals apparently. Like really crazy. <br> Upon entering, we discovered that, unfortunately, we couldn´t wander through the actual sanctuary, as service was in session (bollocks). We wandered over to the other side, to try to find our way up to the top of the clock towers. We sort of failed; instead of ...

... Cotopaxi National Park, where we were fortunate to have a clear day and see 8 volcanoes from a lookout point. <br><br>We continued our drive up Cotopaxi volcano which is the most famous in Ecuador due is its perfect conical shape. From an altitude of 4,500m, we biked down approx. 25km of dirt roads through volcanic ash and remote landscapes. <br> <br>We then headed by jeep into the western Cordillera arriving at Quilotoa for the ...

... there is live dancing and music as well. We ate lunch at a restaurant in the park. There was a party at a table nearby eating an Ecuadorian specialty known as cuy, which translates to guinea pig. I had mentioned prior to leaving for Ecuador that I would try it at some point just to be able to say that I had. However after seeing it, I think I have to retract my statement. It was hairless, stretched out, with teeth still intact ...

... in game 1 of the Finals, which was disappointing. We also encountered Quito's (or at least New Town's) nauseating 22% (10% service and 12% tax) additional charge on restaurant bills for the first time. And the hostel dog nearly attacked Leppy trying to get at TB. Maybe its time for him to go...<br>

so, this morning we decided to go to do a bike trip to ¨some waterfalls nearby¨. lies. it ended up being a 30 km bike ride in the sweltering sunlight...and if you know me at all you should know, i hate direct sunlight. but i thought...what the hell, i will be a sport. we started at 11:00 in the morning, and headed towards puyo (the next town over). we biked through the first tunnel which was horribly frightening because i couldn´t see ...

I arrived in Quito just in time for the world renowned Free Rum and Coke night at Central Del Mundo Hostel. As if the name isn´t implicit, a giant cauldren is filled with rum and coke, it is served with a ladle, it is free. The event, hosted every monday, wednesday, and friday is a great way to sit around and chat with other travelers about places to go and not to go as well as get ready to go out for the night. The hostel is located in ...