We got to Quito in time for dinner. We had decided to stay somewhere a little nicer for our last two nights, so we made a reservation at what was termed a "midrange hotel" in the book and had a very nice description. It sucked. So much so that for the first time this trip, I looked at Dair and stated that I wouldn't stay there. We started plodding along with our packs and bags, which after a day at the market had grown immensely, looking for a place to sleep. As ...

We had a leisurely last morning in Banos and then got onto the long bus ride up to Otavalo. I had been good and patient the entire trip and not once dragged Dair shopping, but this was our final weekend in South America, and one of the biggest and most important markets on the continent was taking place the next day. It was time to make some purchases; however torturous the outing may be for my travel companion, I was on a mission.We arrived in the dark, checked ...

The day after the San Pedro we spent relaxing in Vilcabamba. As a happy side note, the restaurants had their table rights reinstated; they were now allowed to each have a total of two tables on the sidewalk, but as many chairs as their little hearts desired. It wasn't perfect, but it was a compromise that they were settling for. The next day we headed to the airport in Loja to catch our flight up to Quito. Internal flights were fairly inexpensive and we were feel...

We woke up on the Saturday morning, ate our breakfast and then sat and whimpered about wanting lunch. It was a long day, and we both got a little stabby by late afternoon. We were in the middle of having our second fight of the trip regarding a heated game of euchre (the first being over who would get which side of the bed one night), when Leslie arrived to take us to her home for the San Pedro ceremony. We got into the car not speaking to each other- which is al...

We arrived there in the evening and checked into the nearest hostel. It was a quiet lazy little town and luckily we were staying right off the main square. We dropped our bags and had a bite to eat at one of the restaurants at an outdoor table in the square. We didn't realize that this would impossible to do the next day.The next morning we moved up to the "back-packer resort" (the best oxymoron I'd heard in ages) that was two kilometers out of town. It was absol...