last night/this morning five of us (two from the hostel + 2 of brendan’s friends) went out to the causeway in panama city. it’s very nice out there (great view of the city…plus a nice cooling breeze), although it is very spread out. we went to a decent restaurant then afterwards went to a small fenced in block with 10+ clubs. if you don’t count the 15 people working there, plus the people who’d wander in for a few minutes at a time, we were basically the only ones at the club (212). it was a lot of fun, though, and a fun group to hang out with. i don’t know how 212 stays in business….our bill ended up being $60 (including tax and tip)….and as we were leaving, they insisted on giving us free shots (to keep us there even longer?).

so, as the twitter feed shows…apparently i ended up booking a first-class ticket from panama to quito (it was the cheapest fare from kayak…which was still quite expensive, as you can imagine). it was nice hanging out in the elite lounge, even if the food was kinda weak (supermarket bagels, packaged muffins and apples). if you’re wondering if the spot gps messenger device works on the plane…the answer is no….but at least it didn’t crash the plane.

entering quito is definitely a start of part II of the sentradiaries….and the plane trip was a nice intermission. from what i’ve seen of quito so far (just a few hours)…it’s awesome. the people here (like maria, the ecuadorian from the hostel) are really friendly. ecuadorians also seem generally very happy and genuinely interested in the feelings of other people (from my own experiences and what i’ve observed). i don’t want to jinx it, but if the rest of ecuador is like this…i think it might be favorite country from the road trip thus far.

so what have i done in quito? i landed in the airport…went through customs/etc (5min from stepping off the plane to leaving the airport!). then caught a bus to the neighborhood of mariscal (25 cents!). from there, wandered around mariscal…and waited out the heavy rain storm. mariscal is a very cool place. it’s filled with bar/cafe/lounges which often have hostels upstairs and often have live music at night. the feel of the neighborhood is a bit like haight-ashbury….only clean and more chique (is that spelled right?) — the prices are pretty cheap too….my hostel is quite nice and is $10 for a shared room….although there were other decent hostels with private rooms (with bathroom) for as low as $8. i don’t think my pictures can capture the vibe of the neighborhood.