Why did we want to open a hostel?

This past month has been a reminder about why the idea of opening up a hostel even occurred to us. Both of us have had our share of travelling stories as we have both travelled independently, with family or friends, winging it, or following a tightly timed schedule or staying at a resort, all of which have memories that stick out the most. Two of the common denominators of memories that last are great experiences with people. The other, bad experiences with people. You may travel to the most amazing place, but if you had one disgruntled person who treated you like crap during that trip, you will most likely never forget that moment.

The company you have with you, can make our break the travel experience. We both have nightmare travel companion stories, as well as nightmare host stories. But amongst those sour moments you’d rather forget, there are moments of bonding, sharing your soul to a complete stranger who simply lets you be. Listens, laughs, and shares with you. Those moments are the ones we loved the most. So opening up a hostel, where we can be that awesome host, and hear other travellers tell their stories and learn who they are, how they are and absorb all the good that people have, is what inspired us to open a hostel.

Our first guest

In February we had expected some friends to crash at our place so we had pushed ourselves to go out and buy some bunks, mattresses, curtains and clean up one of our guest rooms. They eventually had to cancel, but out of nowhere we got a call from a traveller looking to stay at a place where he could work some days in exchange for staying the night. He was referred to us by a friend of ours, Yanneck who owns a small bakery a few blocks away from us. This ended up working out really well as we were very busy brewing and prepping for our eventual trip to Colombia.

It really sped up working through some chores in our todo list which we kept pushing back. It was honestly a great learning experience as we were still in the middle of finishing up our kitchen. Half painted walls, no cabinets, stuff everywhere, but he was pretty chill about our under-construction mode. Two days after he arrived our bar was finally finished, and once the carpenter brought it in, it really made the kitchen feel so much more complete. He had said he would stay for a few days but ended up staying for three weeks. During that time we painted our walls, finished painting a used cabinet we refurbished, installed bedroom curtains and shelving, have nicely maintained grass, and very happy pups who got long walks and play time thanks to Ollie.

Our second official guest

How the universe works sometimes is a funny thing. One evening when we decided to go for a run across town with our dogs, we had been crossing the street and saw a truck pass by, so we waved thinking it was Yaneck, but it was his father driving around a backpacker looking for a place to stay. We already had Ollie at our place so having another guest wouldn’t require any more logistics, so we offered our place with the caveat that we were still technically not open to the public because our place was still unfinished. She was curious to see our place, so Roger hopped into the car while Malena ran back with the dogs. She ended up really liking the vibe, view of our place, and decided to stay.

Having both Vee and Ollie was great. We drank around a fire while sharing travel stories, we cooked dinners together and shared recipes, we went on dog walking adventures and generally bonded over those weeks. It was so nice to hear at the end that they felt like the were staying at a friends house. It reminded us again of why we moved to Ecuador to start a hostel in the first place. We really hope future guests are as awesome as they were.

A guest becomes a trusted friend who stays to watch over our hostel, dogs and cats.

So we had been planning on going on vacation for 18 days in Colombia, months ago, and for that time, we had arranged for someone to home sit while we were gone. Unfortunately that person didn’t work out so we had scrambled to find someone else. We did eventually find a person, but dog walking and doing other chores can be a lot for one person for almost 3 weeks so when Ollie had said he wanted to stay another week in Cotacachi, we had offered up our place for that time, while we were gone to take care of our place and animals. Two energetic dogs, two senior cats, and one new family member, a kitten we had rescued two days before we left on vacation. He agreed, and now we are both jealous he is the one witnessing our new kitty settle in.

We got a third guest (but permanent)

Life sometimes gets in the way of living but other times it brings you unexpected surprises that you appreciate. While prepping up a new brew already a couple hours behind schedule, Roger heard some dogs nearby going absolutely berserk. From the balcony he saw two smaller neighbour dogs in the field across the corner from us, crazily barking at something on the ground. Surrounded by long weeds at first thought it was a man sleeping out in the cold rain being attacked.

But when he got closer realized it was plastic sheeting, so he scared off the dogs and found a tiny ginger kitten hissing away and looking exhausted and terrified.

Malena brought a box and blanket and she quickly grabbed the little soaked ball of fur and put him in the box. Little thing had no fight left, it didn’t even resist.

We let him rest, fed him and Gandalf very quickly went into big sister mode sniffing and cleaning him. We gave him a bath because he was absolutely infested with fleas and even though he was soaked and scared jumping out of the bucket he was starting to pur. He loves to head but, hasn’t stopped eating and hides behind our chest freezer when he wants some alone time. He even attacked our pizza once. We originally name him Lluvia after the rainy day we found him thinking he was female. Then discovered he is male, so Raine it is.

He’s bonded with Gandalf and kind with tali even though she is a bit skittish of him still. Getting swatted by max and jup for almost two years now has made her wary. Max and Jup are Max and Jup. They’re old and cranky and don’t like being around Raine. They were the same with Athena at first too but eventually calmed down.

So our little furmily has grown again, and no regrets. If the dogs that day were our bigger neighbours like Beau Bae or Capitan (two large black aggressive alpha male dogs we love), Raine wouldn’t have made it far.