Review of Montanita, Ecuador

I was expecting Montanita to be the kind of place that I wouldn’t want to leave. I had heard it was a young, fun, and cheap place and as I like to believe that at least two of these adjectives could be used to describe myself, I thought I would fit right in. Instead I discovered that really I’m only cheap. I am no longer young and fun, at least by Montanita’s standards.

The first disappointment was the beach. Since it is regarded as THE beach party town in Ecuador I was assuming that the beach would be a destination in itself with a large expanse of fine sand full of lithe, tan, mostly naked bodies. There were the bodies, as I described, but the beach was kind of blah. It had yellow, grainy sand, was actually kind of small, and lacked the high bluffs which make Canoa so beautiful. Also, it was really dirty and there were dead jellyfish everywhere.

The second disappointment was the town. It feels really artificial and forced with what looks like pre-fabricated tiki-style restaurants and hostels. Even worse, it wasn’t really that cheap. The restaurants were similar in prices to the US, but without really good flavor. Sure you could get pancakes and eggs or whatever, but for the same price as a night in a hotel anywhere else in Ecuador.

The third, and most disturbing disappointment was that I felt old. Everyone seemed like they were either in late high school or early college with the white girl dreads and hemp necklaces and gypsy skirts. People were braiding hair and offering massages and it was all a little too much for me. I felt like this was where I had fantasized about being when I was 13 and now that I was finally there, I was too old to enjoy it. You know what it was? It was Reggae on the River, or any of the other hippy festivals, except on the beach and without anyone over 25.

We stayed at Hostel Ricky, which was the cheapest place we could find with two big beds and a private bathroom and it was $15 per person. It looked into an interior lounge room without any natural light, our toilet broke, and people partied a few feet from our heads into the wee hours of the morning. Although, on a high note, the fan they gave us was so incredibly loud (seriously sounded like an outboard motor) that it did mostly drown out the shrieking of drunk young women and the laughter of young stoned men.

We didn’t stay long, but what I will say is if you are between the ages of 17 and 23 and fancy yourself a hippy, or want to sleep with someone who fits that description, you will have fun in Montanita. When we went out to breakfast at around 8am, half the town was still raging from the night before. I wish I still had it in me, but I don’t. I so don’t it’s sad.

Nightlife on La Ronda Street, Quito

La Ronda Street used to have a bad reputation and outdated guidebooks still warn tourists away from the street at night. Unfortunately, this also means they are warning tourists away from the only street in Centro Historico that has some good nightlife. Don't listen to them!




In fact, the best time to go to La Ronda is on Friday and Saturday nights at around 7:00. The pedestrian-only street becomes full of people strolling along listening to live music flooding out of trendy restaurants and bars, eating skewers of chocolate-covered strawberries, and sipping steaming cups of homemade canelazo (sugar cane alcohol) or blackberry wine sold in vats on every block.



The streets are incredibly well-lit, crowded, and have policemen on either end who will help you call a taxi when you want to leave, if you feel the need. We walk home. There are families with little kids, teenagers too cool to walk close behind their parents, kissing young couples, and cute grouchy elderly couples. Street performers pop up in intersections...

...and dancers twirl through the streets. Sometimes there are firecrackers and magicians.

Everywhere you look there is either a musician or a street performer.



All the art galleries and stores are open so be careful...




as the more canelazo you drink...




the more you just have to have one of these bizarre paintings of old people you see everywhere.

Like these.

Medical Care in Quito

I have a bone disease and need to test my blood every 3 months or so. In the USA the test is $529 or more depending on the lab I use. During a typical visit to the lab I often wait in the waiting room between 2 and 5 hours for my turn and then the doctor calls me with the results in about a month.

In Quito, I go to Hospital Voz Andes de Quito near the Y trolle stop. The same test costs $3.63, I normally wait about half a second for my turn, and get this, they email me the results of the test THE SAME DAY! It's pretty freaking awesome and saves me close to $2,000 per year. It would seriously be cheaper to fly to Ecuador from the US and do my big six-month checkups here.

I had some hesitations about moving to Ecuador since my disease is very rare and there are only 3 specialists in the entire United States with experience treating it. Fortunately, it has been very easy for me. In order to manage my disease while living abroad in a country where I don't speak the language I got a copy of a Universal Test Requisition from my wonderful doctor, a copy of a prescription for my medication, and just showed up at the hospital and mutely handed them the Test Requisition. 5 minutes later I was out of there! 2 hours later and I had already read my results myself and forwarded them to the specialist at Georgetown.

Next up I have to refill my prescription and get a bone density test. Once I'm finished I'll post the differences in cost.

Hospital Voz Andes de Quito
Av. Villalengua OE2-37 Y Av. 10 de Agosto
Tel: 226-2142