HOW TO: STAY COZY IN QUITO

Destination: Quito / Lodging: Casa Bambu, $7 person / Transportation: $4-5 taxi / Food: $2.50 crepes

This time around, we made the effort to plan and really look for a nice place to stay in Quito. Casa Bambu is an AWESOME hostal, highly recommended by Lonely Planet for backpackers. We walked in and our jaws dropped - this place is beautiful inside and out, and just to get there is a hike on an incredibly steep incline that leaves you sweaty huffing and puffing at the top. The road is cobbled and reminds me a lot of the infamous Lombard Street in San Francisco. 

The people at Casa Bambu are fantastic - super friendly, nice and chill. The prices are reasonable and budget friendly, and amneties include shared or private showers, access to a shared communal kitchen with your very own shelf in the refrigerator, a locked locker for your food, a safe in your bedroom, community game room with pool tables, hammocks strung everywhere, ping pong, a rooftop balcony that overlooks the entire city of Quito, a movie theatre room, DVD rentals, basic groceries, Internet access, FREE WI-FI, and plenty of bathrooms and showers for free use throughout the hostal alllll saturated with the smell of yummy incense and friendly travelers. This hostal is HUGE - it has tons of rooms with tons of different options, and one of the best parts is the little breakfast cafe on the rooftop where you can order crepes on the spot and watch the mami linda make them for you with homemade ingredients. Their fruit juices are all freshly squeezed, and they even have nutella to smear on your baked goods. You really can't go wrong in this hostal. It's sort of like a little nature getaway, surrounded by plants and vegetables growing in pots for you to feel at home in the midst of the city. 

If you go to Quito, you HAVE to stay at Casa Bambu. This by far was our best hostal experience of them all, and we'd go back in a heartbeat. Put it on your list. When you're down South, make your trip to Ecuador comfortable by staying in a friendly and free-spirited environment where you leave with a smile and get to run down the hill instead of hike up it. They even call taxis for you free of charge to take you to the bus station or airport or wherever you desire. It is such a social hostal that you are bound to make a handful of friends in a short amount of time, too! CASA BAMBU = TWO THUMBS UP!