Ecuador and... COLOMBIA!

Ecuador was quick, but we should be back. After spending just a night in Guayaquil (not much for tourists), we headed to Montanita. Montanita was another beach town with a lot of tourists, but still really small. Unfortunately, it was cloudy the whole time we were there, but we managed to meet some fun people and enjoy being on the coast... We escaped Montanita for a day to Salinas, which is a beach town just an hour from Montanita more for Ecuadorian vacationers. There we enjoyed the sun that hid itself in Montanita, ate the best ceviche I've had so far, and rode on of those banana deals that was pulled behind a boat (and got a big 'ol bruise to prove it...).

From Montanita, we bused it back through to Guayaquil and straight north to Quito. If I were to move to anyu city we've been to, Quito would be it. I loved how it was built into the mountains. It seems like you can always go higher. We did a lot of wandering and played our new favorite game of jump in a random city bus, take it as far as we want, and get back. We picked a really good bus and got way up into the hills to get an amazing view of the city. We got to the market for lunch day 2 and caught a horrible movie at the theatre at night. In case you're wondering, don't bother seeing Women.

On Sunday, we headed further north from Quito to the Colombian border. We started the trip thinking that we would never have time for Colombia, but changed plans after so many people we've met (peruvians, ecuadorians, colombians, other travelers...) have RAVED (I mean seriously gushed) about how amazing Colombia is. It means a bigger commitment to spending time on buses, but it should be worth it. We're in Cali right now, which is supposedly the salsa capital of the world! The plan is to make it to Medellin and Cartagena (on the caribbean).

If you're still checking this, thanks for your commitment...hasta luego!