Hello again everyone! I have a few minutes to write, so I figured I’d update everyone on the current state of affairs on our week-long transition from Ecuador to Panama.
Bottom line, all is well. We successfully made it to our 3-night short-term Airbnb in Quito, Ecuador, although it wasn’t without the expected amount of travel pain and suffering.
Here is how the last 36 hours have played out.
Getting to Quito, Ecuador from Cuenca
We left Cuenca, Ecuador by night bus at 9:15 pm on Wednesday (4/19/2023) without issue.
We chose to ride on Cooperativa de Transportes Flota Imbabura. Their website (few bus companies in Ecuador have a proper webpage) gave the impression that their seating was the most comfortable of all available options, being similar to business-class seating in an airplane.
For those who aren’t sure what I mean, check our last night bus experience when we rode to Flores, Guatemala from Lake Atitlan. It was pretty much exactly like that.
So the day before we were to leave we visited the company ticket office at the Terminal Terrestre de Cuenca and bought our tickets. At $15.50 USD each, I was a little worried that the seats would be of the normal USA Greyhound bus style, which would have been torture for a person of my height over a 12-hour trip.
It turns out that our guess was correct!
The bus was quite nice. But still, 12 hours is 12 hours!
And over that 12-hour ride we got a little sleep, but nothing truly restful.
We arrived at the Terminal Terrestre Quitumbe bus station in southern Quito at around 10 am a little bedraggled, but otherwise no worse for the wear.
Passing Time in Quito, Ecuador
Unfortunately, our Quito Airbnb would not allow us to check in before 1 pm, so we needed to figure out a way to pass the time.
Thankfully, our local friend Xime was between tour guide jobs and was happy to receive us!
So we hired a taxi ($20 USD) to take us from the bus station to her place in north Quito, where we were able to catch up on things over the last couple of months.
She made us a wonderful lunch of quinoa soup with a main dish of sauteed shrimp with vegetables. It was delicious!
We then all went out to get helado (= ice cream) with cheese, which is a common dessert in Ecuador. Basically, it is ice cream as you would expect, but with shredded cheese on top.
This was the giant helado with cheese sundae we shared last Valentine’s Day!
We suspect it is local fresh cheese commonly found in Latin America (which is white and slightly salty), but honestly, we aren’t sure! Even Xime didn’t know, and the ice cream parlor workers are careful not to reveal their secrets.
Believe us, it is delicious!
If you are ever in Latin America and see helado with cheese, you have to give it a try!
Eventually, Rhonda and I started to crash due to fatigue. But by then it was well past time to be able to check into our new Airbnb near Parque La Carolina in Quito, so we bid Xime farewell for the day. But it wasn’t a sad parting because we’ll be seeing her again before we leave!
Our New Airbnb in Quito, Ecuador
We used Uber to hire a ride from Xime’s apartment to our new place in Quito.
The driver was probably the most friendly we have ever had!
He was a super nice guy who was very patient with our level of Spanish and was eager to practice his English with us, which he learned back in his high school days! Although he was embarrassed at his level, it was shocking how much he could understand and say, considering how little English he uses every day.
We actually talked about a great many things, including how we are traveling the world, his family, learning languages, his love of rap music, and our mutual love of the band Iron Maiden.
It was easily the most entertaining Uber ride we have taken so far!
We arrived at our new place at around 4 pm. It is in the financial district of Quito, a very different neighborhood (read: swanky, sterile, and expensive) compared to our last Quito Airbnb stay.
It is a nice change of pace, but were we to stay again long term, we’d choose a neighborhood similar to our last Quito Airbnb, where more locals live.
So after making our way past two security guard checkpoints, we finally made it to our new Airbnb! And as I said, it is more luxurious than we would normally choose. But we figured for only a few nights, the splurge would be nice!
Our Airbnb is on the 11th floor of our apartment complex. We have access to a pool, gym, hot tub, sauna, and kiddie play area. There are also very expensive restaurants attached to the facility, that we will never go to.
Here are photos of our new Airbnb!
Entering the apartment we have a living room area off to the right. You can see the stair leading up to the second floor.
Entering the living room area and turning 180 degrees, you can see our kitchen/dining room area. And you can also see the doors leading out to one of our balconies!
You can see the seating area on the balcony…
Our kitchen is very well equipped, with our own washer/dryer for laundry.
And the 1st floor has its own bathroom, with the usual sink…
And toilet arrangement. Sorry for my hand!
Going up the stairs to the second floor…
You immediately enter the bedroom area, which has its own balcony.
The view from the 2nd-floor balcony.
The bedroom has its own bathroom…
With a big shower.
And if this weren’t enough, there is a walk-in closet!
And for all of this (including utilities and fiber optic internet) we are paying $38.04 USD per night (including Airbnb fees).
Were we to stay for 28 nights, the place would have been much more cost-effective, but still we probably would have gone elsewhere as this area of Quito is quite expensive in general.
Closing Thoughts
So we are finally settled into our new short-term apartment!
Our current plan is to visit some places that we weren’t able to the last time we were in Quito and spend time with our friend Xime.
And we are going to try to relax for a couple of days in advance of our next stretch of intense travel. We’ll be flying from Quito, Ecuador to Panama City, Panama at 3 am!
That won’t be fun.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
Leave a comment below and subscribe to get email notifications whenever we post!
