I will travel to one city for a month . I plan to rent an apartment to write away from tourists. I have altitude sickness (above 4,000 feet) and don't like cold weather. My Spanish sucks.Where should I go inland? Loja? Cuenca? Zamora?
I don't want to spend days getting to my destination but I'm open to bus travel. Thanks for input.
debwriter
1
pboae
Cuenca is 8,000 ft.
Loja is 6,500 ft
So out of your list Zamora is the only one below 4,000 ft, but getting by without Spanish there will be a challenge. So will finding a monthly rental, especially if you need internet access, as you mainly find that type of accommodation in tourist areas.
2
azbuceadora
How sucky is your Spanish? Can you at least communicate basic needs and buy groceries, or request services? You might take a look at the western slope of the Andes which will be lower in elevation. Santo Domingo is a sizeable city so it will have amenities, but it's not a tourist destination so probably few people speak English. If you're determined to stay away from tourists and expats, you might need to hire someone to help you find an apartment, get utilities and Internet connections, and show you where to shop.
3
fieldgate
I can't believe anyone could have problems with altitude 4000 ft. Or, did you mean metres?
Actually, that sort of altitude, or higher, is pleasant if you want to avoid heat and high humidity.
4
jgcp
Well if you want to avoid tourists do you also want to avoid expats as Cuenca is crawling with them? You don't get many at all in Loja which might suit except for the alitude. Have you considered a city on the coast like Manta if you don't like cold weather? The sierra is colder at night but very pleasant during the day so what do you consider cold?
5
klaush
Manta
It is at sea level and has a warm climate.
It is a large modern city where apartment rentals and internet acces are no problem.
It is not on the usual tourist trail so tourists are not going to bother you.
6
jgcp
Thankyou Klaush for agreeing with me and really Manta seems to be right for what she wants doesn't it..
When are you returning for a visit to Ecuador? We are moving there soon and it would be nice to put a face to a fellow poster...lol
7
willemspie
Ibarra is a nice town with lots of possible day excursions in the area. You don't have to worry about altitude sickness anyway, after 2 or 3 days you will feel fine.
Zamora is only a very small town, it is subtropical.
8
jgcp
Unfortunately the OP says that they get altitude sickness over 4000 feet and Ibarra is over that - I looked it up before I posted as I thought of that too. It seems the OP has a low tolerance for altitude because I wondered about their low tolerance and being unable to adjust after a couple of days like most people....
9
debwriter
Thanks everyone. A friend assured me that the issue was 6,000 feet altitude sickness. So if I go to Cuenca, I will probably adjust after a couple of days. Now what neighborhood do I want? Close enough to English speaking but in a local neighborhood. I am checking out Ibarra as well. What is OP?
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