Report from Quito—Where the hell can I get a drink?

Report from Quito—Where the hell can I get a drink?

It was last Sunday in the Mariscal, I walked up to Finn McCools, a popular Irish pub in Quito’s Mariscal with the mind to order a Sunday roast and indulge myself.  The waitress tells me there will be no roasts and that they’ll be shutting in 30 minutes.  Normally the beer would be flowing  at 4:30 in the afternoon, with the mixed crowd of locals, tourists,  and expats watching sports, eating, or playing pool, but the new law had kept pretty much everybody at home.  Quitos’ new drinking law had gone into effect and we were feeling it here at ground zero in the Mariscal, Quitos main party zone.

I looked back outside contemplating where to get Read more

Uncle Ho’s: West meets East way down south in Quito’s Mariscal

Uncle Ho’s: West meets East way down south in Quito’s Mariscal

Few places in La Mariscal, the center for Quito’s gringos, draw me in as does Uncle Ho’s.  It goes beyond the food or the cocktails, rather it comes down to the personality behind the bar.  Meet Kevin Sheehy: a five foot ten Irishman with a distinctive braided goatee dangling down below his chin who can be found most nights serving up  martinis, cracking jokes with the local clientele, and checking the baseball play-by-plays on his laptop.  Popular with  Quito’s English teacher crowd and local gringo business owner alike, Ho’s intimate bar provides a great place to catch the game and have a chat.  Kev’s a typical Irishman with a riotous sense of humor; he quickly friendlies up to anyone Read more

Casa Del Sol, A meditative hop from Montanita

Casa Del Sol,  A  meditative hop from Montanita

The first time I came to know the hotel Casa Del Sol was in Whitney’s yoga class.   Back then—about ten months ago—the hotel was being revived after the California surfer who’d opened the hotel in the mid-90′s, had drifted off.  The hotel was coming alive again with the daily yoga classes and constant work being done to prepare the hotel for the upcoming season.  Imagine drifting into an Asana in the open aired studio with the crash of waves as a meditative guide.  Sounds like someplace you’d like to stay, right?

Flash to the Reef Latin Pro Championship of Surf this last January and the beach bar is full of competitors and and guests from the beach front hotel Read more

Cambridge CELTA Course in Montanita

Cambridge CELTA Course in Montanita

Want to stay active while in Ecuador?  Why not teach English and get paid?  Cambridge institute, the worlds most esteemed teacher training program, through Southern Cross teacher training centers has just opened up a new campus on the outskirts of Montanita, in the haven known as Kamala.  Here Cambridge has teemed up with dive center to provide teachers in training with an all inclusive 5 week package including  instruction, in-class, assessed teaching time.  Also included for the price is room and board–your private bungalow by the beach and Ecuadorian style home cooked meals poolside.

Important for anybody looking to gain their CELTA qualification is not just the certificate, but the

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