Hostel Life can be Expensive!

Our first experience staying in a hostel has been very positive.........cheap & clean rooms, friendly & helpful staff, free wifi, and a chance to share experiences with other travellers.....and this last item has led to a slight detour to our travels down the west coast. My dear wife, obviously impressed with my research and week 1 plan which has been averaging less than $40 / day all-in (hostel, food, drink, transportation, entertainment), heard about a last-minute, half-price trip to the Galapagos from another lady staying at our hostel and all of a sudden we are getting on a plane tomorrow morning (Sunday). Our trip is 4 days / 3 nights and we visit 5 islands aboard an 8 cabin catamaran (16 passengers plus crew). We had previously considered going there but decided the cost was a little high.......you have to make some sacrifices when you go away for 4 months! Anyway it should be a blast (and Caity, we promise to make our carbon footprint as small as possible). I am hopeful that this catamaran has satellite TV so we can see the Gold Medal hockey game!

Today we took a bus 2 hours north of Quito to Otavalo where they have one of the largest markets in South America. The streets were closed for 6x6 city blocks, along with 2 other large market areas. There were thousands of stalls selling food and traditional handicrafts. Our backpacks are now a little heavier. A few pictures are attached.

NOTE: I just saw the Chile earthquake report on CNN. We are about 3 weeks away from ariving in Chile and we will see some of the devastation first hand in Santiago which is on our list (for the time being). I just googled the Galapagos Islands and there was no significant damage reported from the ensuing tidal waves today so I am presuming our trip is still on.

We will likely be out of internet range for the next several days so do not be alarmed if you do not hear from us.......we are safe and will only be travelling to places that are currently safe.

Sleepless in Quito

We arrived safely Monday evening and checked into our hostal for the week......Chicago Hostal, a lovely family run place on the border of the Old Town and New Town which is great for exploring the city of 1.4M that is 9300 feet above sea level. We have the nicest room in the hostal for the week and we are certainly paying for it.........$20 a night for a private room with bathroom and a TV which we didn't expect to use but found out last night we can get 3 channels with the Winter Olympics on so we were able to watch the Canada hockey game, ladies figure skating and the ladies bobsleigh. We are 3 hours ahead of Vancouver so the timing works out to be the end of our day for prime time viewing. Our hostal is up a small hill and we have a wonderful view of the city from our balcony. It is on a small street but the traffic seems to echo up into our 3rd floor room which isn't helping Rhonda's ongoing sleep deprivation. I have been taking advantage of the $1.25 600 ml cervezas at our hostal and not having any problemos!

Yesterday we walked around Old Town checking out the local market (Mercado Central) and San Francisco Church and Museum. We also came across a local civic demonstration which was loud and peaceful although the police were out in full force in case it turned ugly. Today we took local buses north of the city to the Centre of the Earth (Mitad del Mundo) which is situated on the Equatorial line.....actually the park and monument are 240 metres too far south which can be validated with a GPS but there is now a new museum in the correct spot were we had a great tour.

I am now known as Miguel on this continent.......we're not sure about Rhonda but for now we will go with Pocahantas which is her alternative neighbourhood name.

Buenos dias..................miguel & pocahantas