Miami to Quito, Ecuador

Quito - April 10th 2008

I arrived after a quick 3:55 hour flight from Miami. I was greeted by a nice girl who sold me a taxi voucher ($6 USD). My driver Eduardo was very patient with my Spanish and we chatted about my trip and when mi novia will arrive in Quito en Mayo and what temperature to expect.

The Hostel Jhomana offers a single room ($18 per night) with a private ensuite, WIFI access, and complimentary breakfast. It feels very safe here as I can lock my room but I still use my travel locks. There is a much nicer feel to this hostel compared to the Miami Beach Hostel. This almost feels like a cheap hotel.

I am off to trek around Quito and perhaps eat some local fare if I dare. I took my acidophilus this morning and I am equipped with my grapefruit seed extract, let's do it!

Mama Clorinda Ecuadorian Food

To my surprise I am situated quite close to some night life in Quito. It was 9PM and I poked my head in a few restaurants: Mexican, pizza, and café-type establishments. The doorman at one night club tried to lure me inside with the offering of his “sister” who apparently loved me at first sight. I kept walking.
Mama Clorinda is where I enjoyed my Ecuadorian roast chicken mama’s style. The Chilean wine was very fruity. For dessert I tried something advertised as “Ecuadorian dessert”. Higos con queso translates to figs with cheese. I quite liked it but wondered how my body would deal with the bacteria cultures that make up this foreign queso. So far, so good.


Off to bed I go to start tomorrow’s adventure and sleep off this sun burn.

April 10th 2008 - Morning in Miami

Miami Beach

I had a sunny stroll along the infamous South Beach of Miami where my expectation of Miami-bass blasting around big-booty hoes was replaced with well-oiled beauties basking their nude breasts (40% real, 60% fake) amongst a playful crowd of families.

During my walk, I checked out a Pro volleyball tournament that featured the best of Miami versus that of California.

After checking out, I made up for yesterday by figuring out how to take public transit to the Miami Airport and averaged down my 'to and fro' travel cost by paying a measly $2 USD. Travel time was a bit longer and the airport was a little hectic with the crowd but I got lucky with a partial flight delay.

My bags weren't going to make it on so I had to carry them on expecting to lose my bug spray and sun tan lotion; security confiscated my Swiss Army knife and let me go on my way.

I am flying to Quito as I write this on my ultra-portable Asus EEE PC that folds up like a book. Here is a shot of Miami South Beach from the airplane.