I packed most of our stuff last night; it's nice being able to pack and not have to worry about the weight for the airline. We went for breakfast at a different restaurant than usual, today we ate eggs, toast and juice at a sushi restaurant that is right next door to the hotel. It turns out that yesterday was the last time we have to climb the 89 steps since from our apartment we can walk up the road that the traffic uses to get into the old town.
After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, paid our bill and waited for our taxi. The apartment is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel going west along the Tomebamba river but since we had a bunch of luggagae a taxi was necessary this morning. The horrible little man ripped us off, he charged us $3.00 for a ride that should have been only $1.50; at least he had a smile on his face when he took our money.
When we got to the apartments there was no one around to let us in; most people here are not really early risers which suits me down to the ground. Sarah came hurrying up to us after a few minutes and Mike paid our rent and got our key. The apartment is nice, pretty basic, but clean. It has a kitchen (I doubt I'll be doing too much cooking on our little stove) and living area with the most uncomfortable sofa I have ever sat on; then it has a bedroom and bathroom. We have cable tv with about 5 channels in english, and hi speed internet. We are paying $475.00 a month for the place which incluldes all utilities the cable and wifi. We even have a little lady who comes in everyday to clean (she's really sweet but I can't quite catch her name) and they change our towls and sheets for us as well. Our apartment is on the upstairs level and we look out over the Tomebamba river; the view is beautiful, and the sound of the river more than drowns out any traffic noise we might have had otherwise. Can't ask for much more really.
We spent the rest of the morning unpacking and putting stuff away; we have lots of storgae space which is a bonus. Then this afternoon we took a walk around the area and into town. The apartment is in a perfect location, it only took us about 10 minutes to get into the old town, there were no steps to climb, and we only have to cross one road to get there. After we got back from town we headed to the supermaxi to get some food staples; we got a taxi back from there as Mike stocked up on cerveza and it was way too heavy to carry all the way back. I think we have a little of everything to be going on with now, at least we won't starve.

Mike: We have at least 10 stations in English and her name is Angilica! Pronounced (an-hil-ica).