Back in Quito - Sep 4, 2004

Kevin: We returned to Quito and tried a new hostel, L'Auberge Inn, still mostly Old Town but a bit cheaper and roomier, and with a private bath again. On Monday, September 6, we planned to leave Quito, and packed everything up, but after a visit to 2 different eye doctors and a pharmacist we decided to stay in Quito for another couple of nights. This time we opted for the New Town, and the nicest place we have stayed yet in Quito, called the Amazonas Inn. As for all the doctor visits, turns out Ellen has the beginnings of iritis again, the same thing that laid us up in Bergen, Norway for a few days while she took cocaine eye drops. Nothing so exciting this time--having caught it earlier, she just has to take regular old non-cocaine eye drops for 10 days. The real downside is that she doesn't get to wear her contact lenses, which is driving her CRAZY! Not to worry though, she is fine, her vision won't be affected, and she will be back in contacts again in no time!

Ellen: Yes, my glasses drive me CRAZY!!! The second doctor in Quito, (the one who didn't tell me my problem was cataracts and therefore make me get a second opinion), told us to have me checked out in Lima to make sure the drops worked. Fortunately, these visits are only costing us $20 - $30 bucks a pop.

Travel Notes: L'Auberge Inn (Av. Colombia & Yaguachi, Old Town), $17 for double, private bath with hot water. Huge room and pretty nice hostel overall, with pool table, TV w/ VCR in common room, and a restaurant, but there were ants in our bathroom and eventually we noticed them in our room, too (no. 210)

Amazonas Inn (Av. Amazonas & Pinto, New Town), $22 for huge corner room (no. 103), 'king-size' bed, 2 balconies, cable TV, private bath with hot water, just down the street from high speed internet and the Gringolandia part of New Town. Nice cafe downstairs, and a small book exchange, too.