Quito again!
Trip Start
Mar 28, 2008
1
41
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Trip End
Mar 27, 2009
Quito,
Ecuador
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Today we did nothing! Had a lie in until lunchtime - what a luxury! We then went out for lunch.
We are staying in the new town in Mariscal, this is a place dominated by tourists but luckily the locals still go out in this area. There are numerous bars and restaurants - you are spoilt for choice. You are however warned about safety and to take taxis after dark even if only going 2 blocks. There is however a great security presence, be it private security or tourist police. We however felt safe and didnīt get any taxis!!!
Thursday
Today we were meant to be visiting La Mitad del Mundo (the centre of the World) - we were however stood up by John who had been out partying all night unbeknown to us! After going to his hotel to check he was still alive we spent another day doing nothing!
Yesterday, we had discovered a proper supermarket with aisles and proper prices so we decided to cook for ourselves with Emma. We made our own lunch and had pasta for tea. This was the first time weīve cooked for ourselves in 2 whole months!
We had bought a can of sweetcorn to then discover the hostel didnīt have a can opener. Julie however managed to use our pen knife successfully and without injury! It was nice not to eat out for once - you become very bored eating out every day.
We then chilled out in front of the TV with beer and wine but no chocolate. Claire had forgotten to buy some!
Friday
Today, Emma and us decided to go to the Teleferico, a sky tram which takes you up to Volcano Pichincha a height of 4,100 metres.
A view of Quito
You have great views over the city. Quito is only 5 km wide but makes up for it in length because it is in a valley so it looks huge!You can also hike to the top of the volcano to a height of 4,600 metres. It doesnīt seem that far and we read it takes 3 hours and we presumed it was a round trip but soon realised this was one way!
It is extremely hard at altitude to walk up hills - you are meant to breathe through your nose to get maximum oxygen but being at altitude gives you a cold so this is very difficult to do so.
We walked for 2.5 hours and we think we were nearly there but it became too cold. We had forgotten gloves and it felt like we were getting frost bite! Near the top you have to scramble which was impossible to do when you canīt feel your fingers. At one point Claire couldnīt hold her shoelaces to tie them! We have never felt pain like it. So, frustratingly we turned back but just at the right time because the cloud rolled in and visibility was greatly reduced.
Within 30 minutes of walking down we started to get pins and needles in our hands and they consequently swelled up.
However, Julie was over the moon to be walking down hill and quickly cheered up. She had been in a major grump all the way up!
The views from near the top were outstanding and well worth a visit with the right equipment. Some people managed to get to the top with trainers, shorts and GAP sweatshirts - we donīt know how they managed it!
Saturday
Today we visited the old town - a very pretty, colonial town with numerous churches, monasties and convents.
Amazing views of Quito
The old town is meant to be very dangerous but again we didnīt feel this. This is perhaps more obvious on a night time. Tourists predominately lodge in the new town because of this reason. We visited numerous Plazas but the main two were Plaza de la Independecia and Plaza San Francisco. On Plaza de la Independecia there is the cathedral, the government palace, archbishops palace and city hall.
Plaza San Francisco is home to the monastry of San Francisco, Ecuadors oldest church dated back to the 16th century and is also the largest religious complex in South America.
We then walked up a very steep hill to the Basillica del Voto Nacional, this is the tallest church in Ecuador due to its two 115 metre high towers. You can get to the top of these and thankfully there was a lift part of the way, the rest was by tiny spiral staircases and metal ladders (not the safest!).
The views are spectacular though and also at the top there is a cafe which serves alcohol, why donīt they do this at home?!?
The outside of the Basillica doesnīt fit in with its surroundings - it is largely built of concrete in a neo gothic design. The inside in comparison is relatively plain.
Tonight was our leaving do and Alvaro joined us even though he had started his new tour. Whilst he was at Otavalo a second time, he had bumped into Mark and Alison, a couple from our tour who had left in Lima and they joined us as well.
Mark and Julie reminissed about their special moment on the plane over the Nasca Lines! We then tried to go clubbing but due to extortionate entrance fees we ended up in a bar.
An actual shrunken head!
A good night was had by all though! Sunday
After our farewell to Alvaro and checking out his new tour group, we went to La Mitad del Mundo (the equator line). This is the only place in the World where the equator is in the mountains, this however is not technically true. It was discovered that the real equator line is actually 200m east which has its own tourist musueum, Museo Solar Inti Nan. We decided to visit both with John and Emma but the better one is Museo Solar Inti Nan, entrance here is only 1.50 pounds and includes a free tour. A serious bargain! We only had one hour here which wasnīt enough.
Here they do experiments which are apparantly only possible on the equator line. The first one was water going down the sink. On the equator line it went straight down, South of the equator it went anti-clockwise and north of the equator if went clockwise (we think this is the right way around - we canīt remember!) Basically, there definately was a difference!
We then had to balance an egg on a nail head which only John managed to do - he got a certificate for doing so!
The next was walking in a straight line with your eyes closed and arms stretched out to the side. We all veered off to the south for some reason.
You have to take this all with a pinch of salt but still very interesting.
She then explained about all the different cultures and Indians. One Indian group shrunk heads! We saw an actual shrunken head - quite horrid! The local Indians still practice this but weīre told with animal heads only, so they donīt lose the tradition.
We then had to waste 5 hours until we left for the airport. We found a very american mall - we were both healthy and had a Burger King and Taco Bell. Claire was over the moon they also had Cinnabon, the best cinnamon pastries in the world!
All the clothes shops are tiny sizes, they donīt even fit the manequins! Claire is sick of trying on grande clothes which still donīt fit!
We then said our sad farewell to Emma and John and headed off to the airport driven by a very grumpy taxi driver. He chucked us out on the dual carriageway next to the airport!!
1.5 hours later we made it through to the departure lounge, we had already pre checked in but it still took forever. We then had two plane journeys, one of which had proper cutlery and glassware!
