A warning: The Rough Guide to Ecuador is about two years out of date (it was written pre-dollarisation!!). Consequently it contains a lot of misinformation with regards to restaurants, prices, locations, etc.

It also contains what can only be described as annoying "eccentric opinions". A detailed example: it lists the Plaza San Francisco ("vast, grey, cobbled") as being "perhaps Quito's most beautiful square". Now let's get this straight. The Plaza San Francisco is exactly how it´s described: big, grey and cobbled. It's also, empty, boring and smells of urine, is bordered by slums, and is dominated by the equally grey monstrosity, the Iglesia de San Francisco. A few blocks away is the main square, the Plaza de la Independencia, which is white, clean, has gardens, fountains, the Government Palace, Archbishops Palace, Cathedral and City Hall. I can only imagine the writers were on drugs that particular day.

Eccentricities aside, I think it's a bit poor that Rough Guides should have gone so long without updating their guide. When a country undergoes substantial economic restructuring, you'd expect some efforts might be made to take a fresh look at the country. I also have the Rough Guide to Peru, and only hope that that turns out to be more reliable when I reach that country.