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Peguche in Imbabura, near Otavalo. There are instrument makers there. The charango is a specialty…
Daniel, there are plenty of pet stores in Ecuador — some more sophisticated than others, so the available products will vary depending where you decide to live. If I were you, I’d bring a year’s supply with you. As for heart worm medication, I’d guess that would be wise anywhere.
Right, ask Sandra Baqueiro: Sandy_Baquero@hotmail.com
There is also a non-US brand company called Simon www.simoncarrental.com/
I have never rented from them so don’t know anything about them, but they have large billboards at the airport.
Irving, I’m sorry Amy wasn’t more helpful. Maybe she didn’t understand what you were asking. Aslo, keep in mind that there are so many people interested in all things Ecuador these days that lots of inquiries are made by people who don’t have a serious interest but are just “kicking the tires.”
The easiest way — in my personal opinion — to get to Salinas from Cotacachi is to fly from Quito to Guayaquil. From Guayaquil you can take a bus, taxi, rent a car or hire a private driver to take you to Salinas. You can drive from Cotacachi, of course, but I am guessing that drive will take you a good 10 hours. (In the itineraries section of this website — under the TRAVEL link — you’ll find a driver over there.
Jim, you may or may not be able to book that far in advance. If you’re willing to make a deposit and/or pay in advance, just tell Amy that. February is Carnaval and the beaches will all be crowded, so you’re probably wise to think ahead. You might also want to take a look at websites like vrbo.com, viviun.com, homeaway.com and flipkey.com (The first two will likely have vacation rental properties in Salinas while the others may or may not.) And understand that a short-term vacation rental will cost more.
I agree with Edd — no traveler’s checks. And we don’t have a local bank account in Ecuador either. We use our ATM cards and pay cash for most everything.
There is no foreign currency exchange fee as Ecuador uses the USD. But… your bank may charge you a foreign ATM fee — and these can be hefty. That’s why we switched to Capital One for our debit card account. They don’t charge foreign ATM transaction fees and they often credit you the local bank fee as well. (I was paying $10 to $15 per transaction to my previous US bank — scammers!)
Good news: malaria has recently been eradicated in Ecuador. Unfortunately there is no vaccine for dengue — and you can get dengue anywhere from Florida south. We don’t have many mosquitoes at all in the mountains so as long as you are careful and you use repellant, window screens and nets, etc. — your chances of catching dengue are low.
As for crime, I’ve lived — and traveled all over the region –in Latin America 12 years and NEVER felt concern for my safety. I take common sense precaution and I avoid dangerous areas of cities. I do the same in the U.S. (By the way, how must the state departments of other countries caution their citizens about travel to the U.S. these days??!)
Truthfully, if it were overly dangerous, I wouldn’t be living here.
See you soon, David — no apologies necessary. (My name is pronounced as Susan, by the way.)
Hi Juliet, one we used way back when in Quito is Bruce Horowitz: http://www.pazhorowitz.com/professionals/bhorowitz.php
He’s a nice guy, but we’ve lost touch with him over the last decade so this is not really a recommendation… but you could chat with him and see how you feel about him. Someone else on this forum may have a better suggestion for you.
Hi David, there are LOTS of shippers in Otavalo. They specialize in that sort of thing. One we used is on Salinas Street just off the corner with Modesto Jaramillo, steps from Poncho Plaza. I wish I could remember the name – -but there are many of them so you should not have trouble finding one.
Daniel, if you listen to some of the “advice” flying around out there, you’d never leave home. 🙂
The Marriott is one of the nicest hotels in Quito. I have stayed there AND at Cuba Vieja (also a GREAT place) and I would not worry about leaving my laptop at either place. They both have safes. I’m not sure they’re large enough for a laptop, but they are also very secure hotels. If you’re worried about it, ask the staff to put it in safekeeping for you. Personally, I wouldn’t worry about it, but I’d tuck it out of site in my luggage when I was gone. (The cleaning staff will leave the room door open when they clean — they don’t want to be accused of pilfering anything and I would not be concerned that they would.)
If you should decide you want a customs facilitator to help, you Sandra Baqueiro comes highly recommended by those who have used her services. She’s good about answering questions by email, too. (Not always fast, but good!) She speaks English.
SANDRA BAQUERO PEREZ Sanestar International Shipping Services Guayaquil, Ecuador Tel. +593 (4) 501-8970 or (in the U.S.) (855) SANE-STAR (7263-7827); cell +593 (9) 969-0583 E-mail: SanestarInternational@gmail.com
Email Amy Pinoargote (apinoargote13@yahoo.com) of Spondylus Real Estate in Salinas. Mike Sager (redwulf3@juno.com) may also be able to help you.
Many of Quito’s main thoroughfare have bicycle lanes and on Sunday Av. Amazonas (and perhaps some streets is other neighborhoods) is closed to vehicle traffic so people can ride safely. In the last year they’ve started the program that many large cities throughout the world have adopted, where they have stations of bicycles in various places that can be rented and returned to the same or different station.
Here in Cotacachi where I live it is much more common to see bicycles used for transportation. I also often see bicycle tourist groups here. And on the Panamerican Highway, I’ve often seen more ‘professional’ riders in all the gear. I’m sure there are clubs/competitors in Quito who come this way on the weekends.
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