Best Air Fare from MidWest

Hey All,
I'm new here and have a ton of questions. Number one: We have to get from Minneapolis Mn. to Cuenca Ecuador. We have not done extensive travel outside of the states, so we are looking for help in booking a flight. Being retired, the dates make absolutly no difference to us. We would like to schedule ASAP, but the actuall dates are not a deal breaker.
What we are seeing for the most part, are like 4 day packages, and we want to be able to spend at least 10 days to travel and investigate different communities.
What airline is best from Mid West? ( Minneapolis MN ) Are we better off booking with a travel agent? Again, we hate the constaints of the short periods we're seeing. Is there a way around that you folks may know of?
Any and all info is much appreciated. I realize we are going to be asking some pretty basic questions, but we are pretty clueless.... please be patient. < BG >
Thanks In Advance
Neil

I'm from Mendota Heights,Mn Lived here three 1/2 years.I can help you, Email me
Jim

Hey Jim,
Thanks for the quick reply. It would be especially great to hear the perspective of someone that has been there awhile, and comes from a community stateside that is mere miles away from us.We are in South Mpls., right by Lake Nokomis if you know that area? Are you seeing many Minnesotans there?
Again, nice to meet you.
Stay Well,
Neil