Best bargains in Ecuador

On the coast, by the beach (Atacames). The famous "ceviches" - sea food cocktails prepared right in front of you. Choose yours,  from: shrimps, fish, conchas, oysters, squid   etc. etc.  Average price $6,00.  The portion will be served with roasted corn, or patacones , or chifles ( fried green plantain),

That sounds lovely and indeed a bargain. In Quito, we don’t have such variety and prices for decent ceviche de camarón will cost $8-$14. The higher price is at Zfood pescadería, which is arguably the best in the city. But since this thread is about bargains, Mar Adentro next to CCNU or any cevichería on Tomás Berlanga will do.

For my first post, I forgot to post the price for the wash, dry and fold. It’s $0.60 a pound.

I might have to go with almuerzo at the Golden Prague, in Cuenca. You get the standard almuerzo, plus an artisanal beer for $4.50. Good beer, good meal. Can't go wrong. No, it's not the cheapest almuerzo, but it almost always includes a decent amount of veg and the plate is never drowning in rice.

My local lavanderia has a different policy, which is "fill this basket" for $2.50. We use two baskets. Not as accurate as weighing, but it's still cheap. We don't need to use the lavanderia because we have a washing machine (but no dryer). However, coming home from a long trip on Sunday and no time to wash before work on Monday means we use their services for $5. I remember I paid around $20-$25 for the same quality of service in Ohio, fifteen years ago, when the last minute laundering was needed.

Another bargain for me is having a local seamstress make simple alterations. The woman my girlfriend takes her clothes to is charging $5 to hem three pairs of pants. I paid $8 to $10 per pair in Ohio. Typically, I never bother hemming things like pajamas and sweat pants. But at these prices, everything gets altered to fit!

PEI Red wrote:

I might have to go with almuerzo at the Golden Prague, in Cuenca. You get the standard almuerzo, plus an artisanal beer for $4.50. Good beer, good meal. Can't go wrong. No, it's not the cheapest almuerzo, but it almost always includes a decent amount of veg and the plate is never drowning in rice.

That is an excellent deal, especially if the beer is good. 

lebowski888 wrote:

My local lavanderia has a different policy, which is "fill this basket" for $2.50. We use two baskets. Not as accurate as weighing, but it's still cheap. We don't need to use the lavanderia because we have a washing machine (but no dryer). However, coming home from a long trip on Sunday and no time to wash before work on Monday means we use their services for $5. I remember I paid around $20-$25 for the same quality of service in Ohio, fifteen years ago, when the last minute laundering was needed.

Another bargain for me is having a local seamstress make simple alterations. The woman my girlfriend takes her clothes to is charging $5 to hem three pairs of pants. I paid $8 to $10 per pair in Ohio. Typically, I never bother hemming things like pajamas and sweat pants. But at these prices, everything gets altered to fit!

That’s a good deal, do they also fold? My clothes goes directly from them to my drawers. Yup seamstress prices are also great bargains and that's how it pretty much works here. Almost everything that is serviced based is much cheaper than developed countries.

Hi,
Where is the best place to buy frest fish in the Viclabamba area?
Thanks!
Robin

Occasionally you'll see some come through, but I think your best bet for fish is the market in downtown Loja.  Not sure if he's still in Vilca (I live in Malacatos now), but you might want to check with the guy who runs Akemi Sushi... If anyone in Vilca knows where to find fresh(ish) fish, it'd be him.