Ecuadoreans pls. help!!!
 

<BR>I am traveling to Ecuador (Manta) in April & would like to stay in Otavalas, any recommendations???

Hey Honey, <BR>Can I tag along? <BR>XOXOXO

Hi, I stayed right downtown at the Hotel El Indio, Calle Simon Bolivar 904, ph. 6-920-060. The hotel seemed new, I had rm. 210, double bed, carpet, big full bath, color TV w/remote, phone for $25. This included breakfast. They were very nice here and kept my luggage past check out time. This is one of the better hotels in town. There are some hotels right across from the market but I don't know anything about them. The El Indio was a couple of blocks away. I took a taxi ($3, I didn't want to wait on the bus and it was only about 15-20 min away) to the great leather town, Cotacachi. I bought beautiful handmade leather pumps for $13 and a leather jacket for $70. There's only about one street in this town and it's all leather shops. Don't miss it! You'll love Ecuador, it's great and I felt safe (I travelled alone). <BR>

stayat the La Luna hostal about 3 kilometers out of town. It is a beautiful place cheap and great hosts and fellow travellers. Lots to do around the area as well waterfalls etc. Have a good time I miss it already. tg.

Do you mean "Otavalo"? If so, Ali Shungu is just a few blocks away from the Indian market. Besides being very, very inexpensive, the accomodations are modest, but with a lot of Ecuadorean flair. You will not encounter busloads of tourists. It is a smaller, cozier hotel....but worth it's weight in gold. The owners are Margaret and Frank from New England. Check out their website at www.alishungu.com Be careful, as Ecuador's economy is "crashing", and there are a lot more "prowlers" than usual. I would also recommend going to the Wednesday market, not Saturday. The saturday one is waaaaay too big and overwhelming. It took us 3 hours for two days to go through the Wednesday one. But it was great...not too many tourists. <BR> <BR>Enjoy...Ecuador is a beautiful country! <BR>