My original plan for Monday was to travel. I have not left Quito for the two weeks I have been abroad but Carnaval means my intended destination, Banos, is fully book. Instead of travel I did the next best thing and changed hostels to the Secret Garden at the opposite end of the city. A tip for all travelers is if you find yourself not liking a place then move to a new hotel or hostel for a completely new perspective of a place. Everything changes. I was not immediately impressed with my new hostel. The streets nearby were empty and the hostel was not as nice I had heard. Dinner on the rooftop terrace changed all of this with amazing views of the entire city.

Shots from the roof during the day

The atmosphere completely changed as a few dozen travelers gathered at a big long series of tables for communal dinner. The food was alright but the sparkling city lights and great people made it perfect. This was a wow moment. At dinner I chatted with a few older Americans for a pleasant conversation about Ecuador and life for them back home where they live in the wilderness to make their rafting hobby possible. After dinner I played Texas Hold’em with two Americans and a Dutch guy. The Dutch guy had never played so it turned into a learning experience for all four of us. The most interesting point in the night was someone from the hostel approaching me to say they I looked familiar. Myself and this guy tried to figure out how for a few minutes until we figured it out. The guy, Paul, had been on my 4 day Salar de Uyuni tour in Bolivia last July. While I had finished my trip and gone home for 4 months Paul was still on the road. But for now working at the hostel in exchange for room and board. Paul’s birthday was also that night so by midnight Paul phoned a taxi service to call for a bus.

Paul and I

A school bus that is. The school buses here moonlight as taxis so ten of us (the entire staff and a few of us travelers) rode the school bus to La Mariscal to celebrate. We wound up at an Irish bar and there it was a mini reunion of practically everyone I met in my two short weeks in Quito. I ran into Rafael, the 3^rd culture kid from Italy, Bolivia, and Argentina. Then later on I ran into the American roommate who thanked me for waking the snoring guy one of my first nights. It’s actually not strange I would run into all these people. We as travelers are not as unique as we think and most of the times will go to the same cities, same hostels, and same discos because we hear they are the best. I was not surprised to see people I thought I might never see again for this reason.

I leave in 7 days, more or less. I never officially announced here that I was accepted into the Universidad de Belgrano’s Semester in English program in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Despite my worries, my application arrived in just a few days and I was accepted just a few days later. Since that time, I gathered all of my crap to fit into 1 backpack that I will live out of for the next 8 months, bought a one way ticket to Colombia for $105, and a round trip flight from Colombia to Argentina for $650. I fly into Bogotá with the intention to spend around 2 months enjoying the country, followed by 4 months of studying at an Argentine University (more on this in a few months), followed by an undetermined amount of time back in Colombia (1 month?), and then back home to the United States where I will continue at my current university in Pittsburgh.

Similar to the past two years, I am spending my few weeks before the big trip lounging around being a bore. I wake up at 12am, drink what’s really just a poor excuse for coffee (it’s so bad), read 20+ Colombia/Argentina travel blogs I keep in my Internet favorites, write a resume ($$$), process some orders, and hang out with whoever is around the house while I continue to browse the net. But in just 7 days, my life will drastically improve.

I will begin my 8 month trip in South America, beginning in Bogotá, Colombia.

I look forward to meeting new friendly people, both locals and the general respect you get from fellow backpackers, as well as old (more like 2 years old at most) friends who fell for the beauty we call Colombia, and now live and work there. Or the beautiful girl I spent weeks with in Medellin who I hope to see again soon. Not to mention the succulent fresh juices (guanabana, mora, and more) or powerful tasting coffee I will soon drink straight from its origin.

I cannot forget about the abundance of cute women I will soon have the pleasure of meeting or the world class discotheques with dancing midgets and perfect 10 models.

The excitement of every new place I will visit and building new memories revisiting old places. Speaking my poorly accented but improved Spanish (B- in Spanish 4 baby!), kamikaze bus drivers, and the favorable exchange rates ($2,180 to $1).

Most of all, I look forward to being in Colombia because of how much the locals enjoy life.

Airfare:

I took about a week to find airfare researched it using the following websites.
StudentUniverse.com
http://www.aa.com
Latindiscounters.com
Latin travel Specialists Discount tour and travel packages to Latin America
Airfare and Travel to Peru,Chile,Brazil,Colombia and all South America
STA TRAVEL

http://www.airgorilla.com/ surprisingly found the cheapest airfare. Once I found the best airfare went through Delta, i went to the Delta airlines website and searched for the airfare and it was about $10-$30 cheaper then AirGorilla. The best strategy is probably to check airfare on a discounter website and then book it with the actual airline.

My total airfare with taxes (Philly-Atlanta-Quito) round trip is $638.00. I unfortunately found that the prices dropped two weeks later but there was nothing I could do.

Travel Insurance
I visited the Lonely Planet forums to research this and browsed through various threads to find anecdotal evidence about certain companies. I decided on World Nomads for $158.00 which covers three months because it seems like they offer quality customer service, have good reviews, are fair, have good policies, and when I called them to test them out they answered immediately.

Passport
It expires in late 2008 so I don’t to worry about it at all! I will also make copies of my passport before I leave.

Medical
I still need to visit a travel doctor and see if I need any shots before I go. I already got some when I went to Bolivia a few years back so I assume i’m good to go. The only thing I may need is Malaria medication (i have some left over from Bolivia) because I am probably going to the jungle at some point.

Visa
I will get the 90 day Tourist visa that they issue when I arrive in Ecuador. This will cover my time while working in Ecuador.

I still plan on traveling in Ecuador for longer than 90 days so i will try to extend my visa at a later date. If that does not work, I will stay in the country past my visa date, and when I plan on leaving the country I will have to pay a $200 fine, then they give me two days to get out of other country.

Where Will I live In Quito?
I have a list of apartments and homestays that I can do. My plan is to arrive in Quito and stay in a $5 hostel for the first week while I search for an apartment. I will then be able to see what I am getting myself into and better negotiate a price rather than renting sight unseen. I was told that its best to find one when you get there. I expect to pay between $150-$200 a month for an apartment.

How Will I Pay For Things
I plan to bring 4 different debit cards. I will need to notify each company that I will be using them in Ecuador before I go so they don’t freeze them.

3 Month Budget (I am overestimating (I think) everything to be safe,)
Airfare=$638
Airport Exit Fee= $31.60
Insurance=$158.00
Apartment= $600.00
Food= $840.00 ($10 a day)
Toiletries=$20.00 (complete guess)
Transportation in Quito=$420.00 ($5.00 a day-1 Taxi/day +bus rides)
Nights Out=$540.00 (3 days/week)
Weekend Trips=$1,440.00 ($120/weekend)
Souvenirs=$200.00
Miscellaneous Expenses=$400.00
Total=$5287.60 (wow this adds up)

Packing List (Prices are for Items I need to Buy)
1x EMS Long Trail II Backpack
1x Ogio Metro Style Backpack
1x Foldup Bag (for laundry/souvenirs)

1x Sleeping Sheet (stitched together like a sleeping bag)

2x Jeans
1x Sweatpants
3x T-shirts
2x Polo Shirts
1x Swimsuit
1x Khaki shorts
8x Underwear
8x Socks
1x Track Jacket
1x North Face Fleece
1x Sweater
1x Long Sleeve Button Down
1x Belt
1x Sneakers
1x Shoes
1x Flip Flops
1x Umbrella (will buy there)
1x hat (will buy there)
1x Gloves (will buy there)

1x Ecuador Guidebook
1x Book
1x Mp3 Player
1x Laptop, charger, mouse, connection cables, microphone
1x Glasses & case
Contacts & Solution
1x roll toilet paper
1x KATADYN Micropur Tablets
1x Bottle of Pepsid AC
1x Box of Pepto Bizmo Tabs
1x bottle suntan lotion
1x Shampoo/soap
1x razor & extra heads +travel size shaving cream
1x toothbrush/toothpaste/floss
1x Deoterant
1x Nail Clippers
1x Comb
1x Towel
malaria tablets
1x bottle insect repellent
1x chapstick
some bandaids
1x Nalgene
2x pens
1x pocket phrasebook
bunch of ziplock bags
alarm clock (need to buy)
1x duct tape
1x earplugs
1x passport & copies
Wallet w/License & debit cards
2x Personal Checks
1x Camera
1x memory card (need to buy)
batteries
1x small calculator
1x rubber door stop

That should do it. I am excited to look back on this post in August to rate my planning