MAPS
A map of the city of Loja can be acquired inside the Loja bus station, and the information office. Maps of Loja can also be acquired in the tourism office in Vilcabamba, in the main plaza; across from San Sebastian church and the Plaza de Independencia, and from iTur on Parque Central. Near Parque Central, you can buy a black and white map of the plano de la ciudad de Loja, but without a street index, at Apocopias copy center; ask iTur for directions. The Hotel Paris has a great color map of Loja city, with a street index.

TELEPHONES
Don´t buy a phone card. You could leave the card in a phone machine or loose it. There are plenty of places with manned phone booths, and the booths do not accept phone cards. Porta charges only 25 cents a minute for calls to the USA from a manned both, and you pay only for the fraction of the minute that you use; the rate is 12 cents per minute from a lone phone using a card. Be careful in a place with manned phone booths; not all of the booths will be for the same company, and rates vary signifcantly depending on the company. For example, other phone companies charges approximately 1 cent per second for calls to the USA!

LAUNDRY
To find a place with laundry machines and dryers, hop on a green city bus from the bus terminal, heading south (approx. 25 cents). Get off at the Los Paltas bus stop, 2 blocks south of a pedestrian bridge. You will see a sign for ¨Laundry II¨ on Manuel Agustín Aguirre street (formerly Iberoamerica), near Venezuela (called Catacocha) on the other side. Its hours of operation are, informally: Lunes-Sábado 8-13:00, 14-19:00; Domingo 08:00-13:00.

On the bus, if you reach the point where you see a Supermaxi supermarket 2 blocks to the east (also sign for ¨todohogar¨and ¨Centro Commercial La Pradera¨), you have travelled too far. Get off bus here and look for laundry service near Supermaxi, or follow bus route back, looking for laundry on the west side of the street (at some point while walking back north, you will have to walk a little bit towards the east, changing streets, to stay on the bus route).

¨Laundry Uno¨ exists on the street 24 de Mayo near José Antonio Aguiguren.

Hotel Miraflores has laundry service from 8 a.m. to noon for $1 per kilogramo.

SUPERMARKETS

A supermarket named Hipervalle is just off of Guayaquil street, which is also known as Orillas de Zamora (the road that heads towards Zamora), just east of the river, within walking distance of terminal terreste. It is on the first floor of a 3-story building with glass elevators running up the front.

Supermaxi is in the south part of town, just north of Parque Lineal La Tebaida. It is a 2-block walk from the north-south route of the green city buses.

INTERNET
$1 per hour in bus terminal, with long lines. Only $.80/hour at Tiwintza on 8 de Diciembre, 1-2 blocks south of the bus terminal. The computers inside the train in Jipiro Park have keyboards with keys that stick, and the computers can be very slow, and the price is $.50/hour. Another place charging $.50 an hour is on Manuel Agustín Aguirre, a little north of the street Mercadillo. Hotel Miraflores offers Internet at $.80/hour with long hours of operation, 7 days per week.

MOVIE THEATER
One is located at Guayaquil street, a.k.a. Orillas de Zamora (the road that heads towards Zamora), just east of the river in the barrio El Valle, within walking distance of terminal terreste. It is on the third floor of a 3-story building with glass elevators running up the front. It has a nice food court which offers traditional Ecuadorian cuisine (quimbolitos, humitas), and other cuisine. The cost of an adult movie ticket is $2.50 Monday-Thursday, and $3.50 Friday-Sunday.

OVERNIGHT ACCOMODATION
Because Loja gets cold overnight, it may be more comfortable to stay in Vilcabamba or Catamayo, which are warmer towns and are only a $1 bus ride away ($2 round trip).

VILCABAMBA:

Plenty of vegetarian meals exist in Vilcabamba. Plenty of laundry services exist in Vilcabamba ($3 per load), but many are closed on Sunday. Internet cafes close at 9 p.m. A room in an hostal costs $10-$11 with private bath and hot water, and breakfast with eggs included. Bus service between Vilcabamba and Loja runs between 5:45 a.m. and 8:45 p.m. (check schedule).

CATAMAYO:

Hotel Reina de Cisne for $6 total per night (no hot water in shower), located next to an Internet cafe and telephone place. Internet cafe on plaza closes at 10 p.m. A video arcade is in town, 1 block from the plaza. Buses between Loja and Catamayo runs every half hour from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and sporadically between midnight and 5 a.m. Several bus companies run between Catamayo and Loja, not just Catamayo express. For example, buses that travel from Loja to Macará, Piura, Catacocha, Zaruma, Piñas, and Guayaquil pass through Catamayo; ask the bus driver or bus´s auxiliar when in doubt.

BANKS

Banco de Loja ATMs charge $1.50 for a withdrawal from an account that is not with them.

Banco del Austro charges $1.50 for a withdrawal from an account that is not with them. The ATM provides $5, $10, and $20 bills.

CARROT JUICE

Carrot juice can be found in at least 3 restaurants in one blocks. The largest restaurant is called Alvinatu. It is located on 10 de Agosto, east of Bernardo Valdivieso.