I rarely go to museums anymore. Thy tend to put me to sleep. All that walking around and looking at stuff. TV has given us all we need to look at and 86ed the whole walking around thing. But there was one museum I had to take in. And so after a year in Quito I finally got to see the museum of her most celebrated artist, Oswaldo Guayasamin.
So I’ll round out our little mini guide to Ecuador’s second city with my top three tourist attractions. Like I said before, Guayaquil is easily passed over because it seems like a humid quagmire of noise and rush-hour traffic. But get beyond the grud and you’ll find a few places worth seeing if you are stuck for a couple of days in transit or sorting out visas.
Vagabond Explorer Magazine challenges you to get outside the rounds of conventional tourism, get into the open air, and look the world directly in the face. Serving as the official magazine of Vagabond Journey Travel, in each issue we strive to give you the best on the ground travel reports, biting vagabonding narratives, tactical and money saving tips, and reviews of the top blogs, books, and gear made for the traveler. Look inside at Vagabond Explorer Magazine
Quito has always collected its fair share of foreign traffic, but Guayquil, the economic portal of Ecuador and the ever-bitter rival to Quito, is quickly becoming a hub to tourists and expats alike.
Before me sat an empty plate, practically licked clean, where once rested a fine piece of steak, sausage, slices of grilled potato, freshly-made artisan bread….In my post-binge state I was seriously considering the hammock slung from a nearby beam while from the stereo emerged Anthony K’s melodic chant from some Chili Peppers song.
Sitting on the balcony of Montanita’s best hotel I watched as the sky rapidly tranquilized the days harsh glare. Purples and lavas were coalescing and mellowing the evening. The tiny silhouettes of surfers could be seen catching their final waves in the ocean below. Hotel La Barranca
Ever wanted to feel like Butch Cassidy or Sundance riding free over the Andean hills of South America? Well, you don’t have to be a bank robber in exile to do so anymore. The Folks at Ride Andes have it all sorted for you. Just book online, fly down and they take care of the rest. Airport transfers, accommodation, horses—and you won’t have to worry about the cops tracking you down. Ride Andes is one of Ecuador’s most distinguished outfitters for Horse tour holiday adventures. Don’t know how to ride—don’t let that stop you. Ride Andes even gives riding lessons.
Most popular amongst the tours is the Colonial Hacienda tour. Imagine setting off on beautiful grassy tracks taking Read more
Want to come meet the author of the Ecuador Gringo? Come to Bungalow 6 in the Mariscal. That’s right everybody, I have been working upstairs in the famous Bungalow since I got to Quito 3 months ago. Bungalow is known as the Mariscal’s prime party spot and you can tell by the lines of people waiting to get in outside. Bungalow started becoming a cornerstone of the Mariscal’s party scene about 3 years back when John Ott and Sean Carter, a couple of American expats, took it over and began transforming it into a popular hangout, popular with both Ecuadorians and Foreigners alike. I heard one local Ecuadorian describe its secret as being a sort of melting pot Read more
If you come to Quito, the place to stay is in the Mariscal. Gringolandia it is, but it is the happening place town. All the good bars, the ethnic varieties of food, the extensive travel agencies and outfitters, etc, not to mention its central location between the airport to the north and the historical city to the south. Calle Calama one block over from calle Fosch(the center of it all) is home to the best restraunts, bookstores and clubs. Pretty much the hub of it all. Villa Cayetano location on Calama puts the guest in the thick of it all with a natural, open ambience, quality rooms, reasonable rates, and plenty of amenities.
It was last Sunday in the Mariscal, I walked up to Finn McCools, a popular Irish pub in Quito’s Mariscal with the mind to order a Sunday roast and indulge myself. The waitress tells me there will be no roasts and that they’ll be shutting in 30 minutes. Normally the beer would be flowing at 4:30 in the afternoon, with the mixed crowd of locals, tourists, and expats watching sports, eating, or playing pool, but the new law had kept pretty much everybody at home. Quitos’ new drinking law had gone into effect and we were feeling it here at ground zero in the Mariscal, Quitos main party zone.
I looked back outside contemplating where to get Read more
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