Quito

I have traveled a bit in my life, Europe, North Africa, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize... and I never felt as much "at home" as when we traveled to Quito, Ecuador. On a recent trip my brother Tucker had a great experience in Ecuador too. There must be something going on.

Quito is a city located near the equator in Ecuador, up about 10,000 ft above sea level. The Spanish made it a colonial capital back in the day so there is plenty of Spanish architecture in the old part of the city.

Our stay was greatly enhanced by staying at The Secret Garden Quito, a backpackers hostel. There we took Spanish language classes, and our teachers were also tour guides to a lot of the city. I recommend that if you have time to spend in Ecuador you spend some time in Quito and take language classes. The language work helps create a sense of belonging that is hard to feel when you are just traveling through someplace.

If you check out the Secret Garden website, we think the picture on the home page has my son Andrew in it, he is the guy way in the back in the red t-shirt.

JB