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Heart of the Andes
"My home for two years, Quito is a magical place. Situated at 3000m above sea level in the valley of two volcanic corridors, the city is a gateway to the Oriente (jungle) Six hours west and you are in primary rainforest, six hours east and you find yourself on the Pacific coast, an amazingly diverse country and very small by south american standards. Loads of spanish schools, exchange students and good universities, Quito is a good 'jumping off' point if you're planning to travel around the continent. For the more adventurous, lots of excursions and extreme sporty sort of things to do, never a dull moment. Surfers and the like head for Montanita on the coast, very, very tranquilo.
Very safe compared to most other countries even though recently things have become a bit hairy with ecuador suffering its worst economic depression in fifty years. In Quito head for hostal Centro del Mundo run by Alex and Lee for decent cheap accomodation, and they'll sort you out with any help you need. For a night on the town look for Zulu, easily the best club in town, and Arribar, an english run pool bar.
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