Montanita - Day 10 Another low-key but very relaxing day. Checked booking.com and made reservations ahead for a hostel in Cuenca, our second stop after Montanita. Walked the beach again this morning. A big group of young school kids ran down to the beach, all in gray sweats and white t-shirts, then ran along the ocean. We got some strange looks, as blond hair here is very unusual. (Might be other reasons we looked strange too!) We walked by a juggler on the beach, juggling five items in the air. Also saw a large dead eel. As we returned from our walk, a bike with an umbrella and a big cart of fruit came down our hostel road. We got some good fruit for breakfast tomorrow. After some quality time in the hammock, we walked into ... read more

Montanita - Day 8 Breakfast in the room this morning. We had our coil to heat up coffee water in our cups. Coffee, fruit, and pastries made a great breakfast. Walked the beach to check out how to transport our luggage to the next hostal. The sand near the water was hard and easy to walk along, so we will probably move via the beach rather than by the main road. The beach was quiet and beautiful this morning. There were several dogs on the beach, a couple of them frolicking in the water. A few boys were practicing their long jumps. Next was our ATM adventure. We tried a couple banks, and we couldn't get any money out. Then found out that maximum withdrawal is $100, but you can do this up to three times ... read more

Manta - 11/29/2014 - Day 6 Hotel was quiet last night, considering we're on a busy street. Went out to explore Manta. Walked through the central area and the markets. Many fruit stands, live chickens, roosters, crabs, fabric, everything you could ever want. We checked out Hostel San Francisco, another option from Lonely Planet. Price was just the same as Hotel Leo ($35). We crossed the river (Rio Manta), which separates Manta from the little town of Tarqui. 'Tarqui is a little more run-down than Manta. Found an entry to the beach, several huge ships in the harbor. We looked for a place for breakfast with fruit, but just found fish and chicken. Stopped for lemonade and water. Hot aleady at 9:30am. Loud music. In the evening there are many soccer and volleyball games on the ... read more

Quilotoa - 11/27/2014 - Day 4 Happy Thanksgiving! Plan for today is to get to Quilotoa. We skipped breakfast and headed out to get a cab to the bus station. First cab quoted us $15, but we thought that was too much for a fairly short distance. Driver then went to $12, then $10. Bob then asked another cab and got a price of $8 right away. Guess which one we took? The driver did take a very roundabout route to avoid the traffic at 7:30am. (Gas is cheap here, $2 a gallon.) Traffic in Quito is unbelievable, wouldn't want to drive here. Took about half an hour to get to the Terminal Quitumbe. The terminal was very large and modern, looked quite new. First bus took us to Latacunga, south along the Panamericana highway. Very ... read more

Quito - 11/25/2014 - Day 2 After breakfast, we decided to take in the sites of Quito. It was a drizzly morning, so we grabbed our raincoats and took off for a walking adventure. The city is very hilly, lots of pigeons and dogs! Looking up the hill you can see a large angel statue, looking down you see the tops of red tiled roofs. Many shoe shine stalls, vendors selling their wares under umbrellas, lots of traffic and honking horns. The public transportation here consists of many cabs, buses, and streetcars. We found the businessmen here to be very well dressed, in suits and ties. Passed the Palacio del Gobierno (Governor's Palace). A group of cute little school children in uniforms was taking a a tour. The children here are adorable, dark hair and dark ... read more