Operation "Find good cerveza"

enjoying a Stout at St. Adrew's in Cumbaya

Coming from Colorado where there are lots of microbrews, Ecuador has been a huge letdown. There are 3 local beers (Pilsner, Club and Brahma) and they are all watered down and light. I'm a dark beer fan so they just don't do it for me. The local beers are cheap, about $0.70/beer (regular 330mL or 11oz) or $1.25 for a large beer (550mL or 18.6oz) at grocery stores and about $1.25-$2.00 ($3 at a restaurant/bar is about the most expensive I've seen) at restaurants and bars. Even though they are cheap, they are all light and just don't have enough flavor for me. Out of the 3, Club is my favorite, it tastes like a watery Heineken. Since I've been here, I've been on a quest to find better, darker beer in Ecuador and here is what I've found so far (ranked in order)

Turtle's Head - #1

They have 2 locations, one in Quito off of Amazonas and La Nina(a block south from the JW Mariott) and the other in Cumbaya. I've been to the Quito location twice now. Its an English pub and it has a nice ambience. There are some T.V.'s to watch sports, 2 dartboards, a pool table and a foosball table. The place is a bit dark though as they are only a few windows in the front.

 

They have 3 types of microbrews, a pilsner, red and a stout. Their pilsner is nothing to rave about, the red was okay but the stout was pretty good. Its pricey though at $6/pint. Even the local Pilsner is $4.40/pint. They have a large licor selection, mostly whiskeys but they are pricey. Their food selection is okay and I had the fish and chips and it was one of the best I've had. It was seabass instead of the usual Cod (I think thats what they normally are). I've been here twice now, once on a Monday afternoon around 5:30pm and the place was nearly empty and again on a saturday night at 8pm. It was empty that night till about 10pm. People tend to go out late here and don't really do the after work hour happy hour thing. I don't think they have happy hour deals here anyways. So far this is my favorite bar in Quito. Btw, Finn McCool's (irish pub in Mariscal that is so popular), doesn't have any good beer. They serve local beer or they have Guiness (in a can) for $14! Turtle's head is way better in my opinion. Better beer and better ambience.

Its located on La Nina and Amazonas, prety close to the Marriott hotel.




This is the Cumbaya location, it was closed when I was there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Corner Pub in Mariscal #2

I just stumbled into this place without ever hearing about it. They had a decent stout at a decent price (for microbrews in Quito anyways). Pints for $4, pitchers for $12 and a jirafe (1.5 liters) for $15. Their stout was not as smooth as Turtle's Head but it was almost as good and definitely cheaper ($6/pint at Turtle's). Its a pretty simple bar, a "corner pub" as you will. They had some outdoor seating as well. Their food menu is pretty limited though, like 5 things. Its pretty centrally located in Mariscal off of Amazonas and Jose Calama.

 

Hotel Savoy - #3

This place is a bit of a hidden secret. No one I talked to had heard of it but they have good beer, probably equal to Turtle's Head, just not as good of an atmosphere. The restaurant is located in the basement of this hotel, which is kind of old and in an odd part of town kind of near the airport.
They also have 3 beers, a light, red and a stout. I found the stout tasty and smooth but didn't care for the light and the red that much. The beers were $3.50/12oz. Its a hotel restaurant and not a bar so don't expect a happening scene. I went there on a Monday night around 7pm and we were the only ones there. They have 1 T.V. but thats about it. Come here for the beer, not for the bar.

 

 

 

St. Andrew's in Cumbaya - #4

This place isn't in Quito but in Cumbaya, a suburb just outside of town. Getting there was an adventure. I took a bus there and didn't know where to get off and went past Cumbaya and ended up in the next town Tumbaco before I asked someone on the bus. This place also had
the 3 beers, light, red and dark. I had the stout and it was okay but not as good as Turtle's Head or Hotel Savoy. It was also the most expensive at $6.50/pint but they do have happy hour (Mondays 4-11pm, Tue-Sat 4pm-7pm) which is 2 x 1 draft beers. They have a good Scotch Whiskey selection (Glenlivet 12 yrs $14) and a decent food selection. Its located right in the central park (Turtle's Head is on the other side of the park).

 

 

Santa Espuma - #5

There was nothing special about this restaurant/bar. The beers were not that good. The stout tasted a bit bitter, they were out of the red and the light was just light. They didn't have that big of a food selection either and it was pricey. Beers were the cheapest at $4/pint though. The bar atmosphere was okay with a few T.V.'s but it was more of a restaurant. I went on a Wednesday afternoon at around 5pm and they were just opening up. It was empty till about 6:30pm when a few other folks walked in.

Its located on Whymper off of Orellana near the Pekin restaurant.

Cherusker- #6

I really wanted to like this place. Its located in Mariscal and its a big house that looks impressive from the outside. Inside, it wasn't that impressive. There are both indoor and outdoor seating but it wasn't really that comfortable. There were no bar games and no T.V.'s to watch games but just loud music. It was overly crowded on a Friday night and I couldn't find a seat. The beer (stout) was bitter and not smooth. It was also expensive at $6/pint (I think). After standing around, a table opened up. I sat down with my friends only to realize what looked like was vomit below the table. Yup and it was.
This place is centrally located (across from Finn McCool's) but its definitely a loud, party bar. Not my kind of place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of living in Quito Fall 2012




cooked pork for sale at a local market

I wanted to write this post to share my experience of how much things cost here in Quito. Before I moved to Quito (in June 12')  I looked at other blogs to get an idea of what the costs would be and to see if my new salary at the school would be sufficient (it is). These costs are based on my 3 months of living/traveling in Ecuador (mostly Quito). I think I'm living a comfortably life here, not like I did back in the U.S. but not that far off (but probably better then the average Quito resident). If I wanted to, I could spend more $ and live like I did back home but I choose not to. I'm living here with my girlfriend so some of my costs are split.

Total $943/month

These are monthly costs, a basic estimate.

Housing: ($579/split in half = $290)

Rent: $365

great view from my apartment

I live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment in a 3 story house in decent neighborhood of Quito (Batan Alto, right next to Metropolitan Park). A lot of other foreign teachers live in this neighborhood. My apartment is probably about 900 square feet. It is an older building and its not fancy like many of the high rises in Quito but its not run down. I have an electric water heater and no heating/AC (I'm not sure if that many people do, we don't need it). There is one shared garage space but none of us own a car. There is a small backyard where we can grill and hang up our clothes. I've been to a few other people's apartments and it seems like we got a pretty good deal. I know friends that are paying $600-$800/month for apartments a little bit nicer or a bit bigger. This includes the $15/month that we pay for our street guard.

We live on the main floor

quiet, residential street, the guard's shack is on the left,
there are multiple every block

Electricity: $30

Just normal everyday electric use. We do try to unplug appliances when not in use.

Water: $10

Drinking water: $10

I don't drink the tapwater here (but Liz started to with no ill effects) and I buy a 5 gallon jug of water (bidon) from a market a block away for $2.50. We probably go through 4/month.

Internet: $55

We have internet with TvCable. I've tested the speed with one of those free on-line speed tests, its about 4-5 mbps. I can watch netflix no problem and other stuff I stream works pretty well, most of the time. Its a bit pricey and I think they have cheaper plans but we wanted a good plan.

Television: $29

We originaly siged up for Direct TV since we could switch the audio from Spanish into English for many of the channels (but not all) and the package sounded affordable at $30/month. When we got the dish installed the picture quality was great, but not all the channels could be switched to English for audio and there were a lot of junk channels that I had no interest in. And when the bill came it turned out to be $52/month after taxes (15% and 12%) and fees (equipment rental fee of $9, administrative costs $0.50, extended warranty $2.60). When we signed up we weren't told of all the hidden fees. After just 1 month we cancelled it since we found another option.

We have now switched to ustvnow.com. You get the major U.S. channels and some cable channels (28 channels total) for $29/month, no hidden fees. You stream it and the picture quality isn't as good as Direct TV and it freezes once in a while but all the channels are in English since they are streaming U.S. channels (from Pennsylvania).

Maid: $80

We have a maid that comes once a week for $20. We are just starting this so not sure if we will keep the service or not.

Food and household supplies: $480/split in half = $240




checkout line at megamaxi, sometimes its crazy
long, like 30 minutes

We mostly shop at Megamaxi. which is a pretty modern grocery store similar to a Super Target back in the states. You can buy electronics, clothes, car tires... pretty much anything here. They carry generic and U.S. brands (at a higher cost obviously).  We buy almost everything here. Its not necessarily the cheapest but its convenient and they give you a receipt (unlike the small stores that are on nearly every block) that I can use to tax deductions at the end of the year. This is everything from food, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, batteries, beer, wine, pretty much everything.

Once in a while we shop at Mi Comisarito which is slightly cheaper for groceries. We eat a lot and we like to buy beer/wine so we know our cost is high here. Megamaxi has 2 specials during the week, 20% off produce on Wednesday and 20% meat on Fridays. Definitiely sign up for their free club card, which gives you the cheaper price (there are 2 prices listed on every item, club price and non-member price. This used to be $50/year until the goverment made it illegal)

Here are some samples prices of items:

Chicken Breast = $6/kilo
ground beef =
bread = about the same as the U.S. $1-3 depending on quality
Banannas = $0.82/kilo
Tomato = $0.73/kilo
dozen eggs = $1.89
1.5L of Coca Cola = $0.83
Milk  = $1.05/liter
Beer Pilsner (regular 330ml or 12oz bottle) = $0.82 (sometimes on sale for $0.68)
Brocoli = $0.92/kilo
Doritos = $2.21
Bailey's Cream Liqueur = $44 (all imported alcohol is about double the price here, especially whiskey)

I would say things are about the same price as the U.S. except imported brands are more expensive and produce is cheaper here. Local beers are cheap here but imported (Budweiser, Corona, Heineken and Negro Modelo) are about $3/bottle/can. Those are the only brands I've been in Mega and usually any other place as well. So overall, I would say I spend about the same or a bit less then I did on groceries back in the U.S.

Misc. that I pay for myself only $403



one of the best sushi I've had in my life at Zao's
for $8/roll with 12% tax included

Eating out: $75

This is just a guesstimate since I'm not really keeping receipts. Just to give you an idea of how much eating out costs, U.S. franchises are about the same here (KFC, McDonalds's, etc). Local restaurants serving set meals (almuerzos = soup, a main dish with some kind of meat, rice, beans, and a drink) are about $3. Eating out for dinner really varies but I generally spend about $8-10 with a beer or two. There are plenty of expensive restaurants ($15/plates are expensive in my opinion for here) but I don't visit them too often. I would guess I eat out 2x/week for dinner. I just recently had Domino's pizza, it was $18.50 for 2 medium pizzas and a 2 liter of coke. Dinner for two at a Korean BBQ restaurant was $38 (which is on the higher side).



a typical set lunch (Almuerzo) menu

Cell phone: $10

I use pay as you go service with Claro. I put $10 on my phone and it seems to last me at least a month. The rates here are pretty complicated depending on if you call a cell phone (and which company Claro or Movistar) or landline. I have Claro and if I call another Claro cell phone/landline its $0.18/minute but its $0.25/minute for Movistar. Claro has promotions so that 1 favorite number I call (my girlfriend) is only 1 cent/minute (but only for the first 5 minutes then its 8 cents). Anyways I've been here for a few months and have recharged my phone only twice (each time for $10).

Spanish Class: $68

I started taking private 1 hour spanish class at Dos Mundos Spanish school (in Mariscal) 2x/week at $7/class.

Health insurance: $0

This is covered by my work 100% for me. My girlfriend purchased a yearly insurance from IMG Global for $800/year.




Waiting at the Ecovia bus stations, $0.25/ride

Transporation: $30

My school provides a bus daily so I only take transportation (bus/taxi) when I need to go somewhere else. The bus is the cheapest at $0.25/ride (I can get to anywhere in the city for this price) and taxis are pretty cheap (usually, unless I get ripped off). Not sure what the official meter rates are for taxis but a 35 minute cab ride to my school in the northen part of Quito costs me $5. This estimate is probably on the high side.



enjoying a dark stout at a scottish pub

Entertainment/misc. food/beer: $100

This is a tough one to estimate since I pay for almost everything here in cash. I spend a few bucks here buying some snacks at a small tienda all the time. I don't go out to the bars much but I will usually grab a beer or two while I am out sightseeing. Local beers (Pilsner and Club) are usually about $1.25-$2 at a bar/restaurant. At the popular Finn McCool's irish pub in Mariscal, they charge $2.75 for a Pilsner which is on the high side. For microbrews, I've paid as much as $6/pint but its definitely expensive compared to local beers. This is probably on the high side as well.



enoying a microbrew ($4/pint) at Santa Espuma
with some co-workers

School lunch: $50

My school has a pretty nice selection of food in the cafeteria. I can get sandwich's, salads, junk food and even sushi. I usually just go with the set lunch for $2.58.

Storage Unit (back in the states): $80

I have a 10 x 10 storage unit for my stuff back home.

didn't eat here but I guess I need to

a set lunch (almuerzo), soup, main dish, and
a drink (juice) for about $3

dinner out with friends

eating an Humita, a corn tamale like thing filled with cheese

 

shoe (males) selection at mega

 

 

 

 

liz trying on snorkel fins at mega

Ciclopaseo - traffic-free bike riding through the city of Quito on Sunday's

 

 

 



airline damage of my rim

Quito is a big and congested city. As a biker (coming from Colorado where I had hundreds of options of trails and relatively friendly car traffic) finding a place to ride has been a challenge. I mostly mountain bike (but I occasionally road bike) so i had my friend bring my mountain bike with him on his visit since I didn't have any more room to check it on the airplane when I first came. My friend had very carefully taken the bike apart and packed it well in a cardboard bike box from a bike shop. Unfortunately, the baggage handlers at United airlines didn't take good care of it and my bike was damaged. Not sure if they took a chainsaw and hacked my box for fun but it sure looked like it. I had to replace the front rim and tire and headset while the frame also took damage.

I did some research before I moved to Quito and knew that bikes were going to be expensive due to import taxes and since I've been here I've stopped at about a dozen bike shops and prices are about 30-50% more then back in the U.S. so I'm glad I brought my bike down. But I was pleasantly surprised that a block from my apartment is a high-end Specialized bike shop but they are pricey of course (about 30% more then back in the U.S. but thats with the 12% local tax included).You can get road bikes here but most people have fat-tires, especially beefed up downhill bikes.


The traffic here is pretty horrendous and since traffic signs are optional, riding on the road would be a gamble. So my bike riding has been limited to 2 locations, Parque Metropolitano which is right next to my house and the weekly Ciclopaseo through the heart of Quito.








Every Sunday from 8am to 2pm, a route of 30km (18miles) is created from North to South Quito for bikers/walkers/runner/other pedestrians. I've done this twice now and most people bike but there are a fair number of walkers (most of them with dogs) and some rollerbladers/skateboarders/other modes of wheeled transportation. Since I only have my mountain bike with me thats what I ride but the majority of the riders are also on fat tires and a larger number of them are on downhill bikes (wearing their downhill helmets as well which is a bit odd).

renting a bike from a guy on the street near the park entrance

The first time I did the Ciclopaseo, Liz rented a bike from a guy parked on the street (at the entrance to the Metropolitan Park by our apartment) for $2.50/hour. We biked south to "Old Town" and back to our apartment in about 2 hours. The next time I biked north past the airport till the road closure ended, about 6 miles from my apartment. While on the route, we noticed plenty of other places to rent bikes from.

 

 

my rippin it with the kiddos on a bmx course at Carolina Park

biking through old town

 

free concert

weekend art fair at a park

approaching old town

Counterfiet bills, most luxurious bus ride, last week in Peru



A local paper had a centerfold layout
of "Elizabeth Wilson"

(this was the last week of July 12', I've been slacking on posting this blog)

For the 8 hour bus trip from Lima to Trujillo, we paid for what is considered the best bus company in Peru. Here, there are dozens of bus companies and varying costs and qualities. Cruz del sur was the most expensive bus ride we took during our trip by far but it was worth it! Normally, bus tickets cost about $1.50/hour of travel so this trip on a cheaper bus would have cost about $12 but we paid triple that for nice bus company. It was like flying first class, we had luxurious leather seats, served meals and a button for attendant assistance. We even had Wi-fi. As soon as we got to Trujillo we took a 20 minute cab ride to the beach town of Huanchaco where we would stay for the next couple days.

The reed "tortura" boats of Huanchaco

 

The town is know for 2 things, surfing and the traditional reed boats use by fishermen. I liked this town as it was pretty chill and the  surf was pretty good. There were a few surf shops right on the beach so it was easy (and cheap) to rent a board, cost me about $5 to rent for a few hours. The odd thing about the town was that at night, most restaurants were closed and there were hardly any people out, definitely not a party town.

On one of the days we were there, there was a parade involving all the schools, not sure why but 1000's of kids were dressed in their different schools uniforms and marching through town, it was chaos. They don't actually march for more then a block but stand around and being kids, making ruckus until its their turn to march the 1 block through a gallery of people.

We also visited the adobe city of Chan Chan just outside of Huanchaco. Most of it isn't preserved but it was still an interesting visit. At one time 60,000 people lived here in the 1300's. It was conquered by the Incas but later by the Spanish. It is the largest adobe city in the world I believe.

After a few days, we caught a short 2 hour bus ride to another beach town, Pacasmayo. We only spent 1 night there and the waves were too small nor could I find a surf shop to rent a board. We hardly saw any other tourists in town and we actually spent a lot of time in our hotel room watching tv.

 

 

one of them is counterfeit, guess!

Next was the 5 hour travel to Piura where we would spend another night before continuing north into Ecuador. Nothing too interesting except that I encountered a counterfeit bill for the first time. We were at a fairly fancy department store buying an item for less then $10. I handed the clerk a 20 sole bill ($8 or so) and the clerk examined the bill like they pretty much always do. The bills come in denominations of 10 ($4) 20, 50, 100 and 200 ($80) soles and even with the smallest 10 sole bill they always examine it. It turned out that I unknowingly had acquired a fake 20 sole bill and just handed it to the clerk. She called security who came and told me it was fake and needed by documents for record. They didn't seem too worried about it and assured me that I wasn't in trouble but just needed my document for record keeping. I didn't have my passport on me so they just let me go. When I compared it to a real bill I couldn't tell a difference except for in the weight of the paper, the counterfeit was lighter weight but the print quality was nearly identical. Funny that they make fake bills of such small denominations. Now I have a 20 sole souvenir.

After a quick night in piura, our last in Peru, it was an 8 hour bus ride to loja, in Ecuador. We were a bit nervous about the border crossing since we had failed to register our visas within the required 30 days upon arrival into Ecuador.

crossing the border into Ecuador

When we arrived at the border (which was really non chalant and small), we stopped on the Peruvian side, got our passport looked at by the military and then crossed the small bridge (by foot) to the Ecuadorian side where our bus was waiting. Here we had to wait for Ecuador immigration and after about a 15 minute wait, our turn was up and he told us to cross back across the bridge to the Peruvian side to get our exit stamp that we didn't get. So we did, across the bridge again back into Peru, got our stamp, walked across the bridge again to Ecuador. This whole process took us an hour or so and wwere nervous that our bus would leave us since everyone else was already done (and strangely some never got off the bus). Ecuador immigration gave us our entry stamp without problems and we were off. Back in Ecuador after a fabulous month in Peru. Now I'm home for the next 2 years.



Pacasmayo, the waves were small when I was there but
its knows for good waves

Riding first class from Lima in the fancy Cruz del Sur bus

strangest coffee I've ever had, steamed milk and you
add a little bit of the dark stuff



another parade in Piura, they love to have the military
in parades it seems like

a student parade in Huanchaco