Adventures in South America: Quito, Ecuador

If Leticia was our most adventurous destination, Quito was my favorite.  We had perfect weather; the sights were wonderful; everything was remarkably cheap; our hostel was comfortable; it was easy to get around . . . I could go on, but enough said.

We stayed at the Secret Garden hostel, which is owned by an Australian family and very well run.  It was relatively expensive as Ecuadorian hostels go, but in my opinion, well worth it.  The best part, by far, was the rooftop patio, which provided stunning views of Quito and the volcanoes to the west.

We arrived late from Leticia via Bogota, and we just had enough time to get some dinner at a restaurant down the block.  My first inkling that I would love Quito came when we were charged $2 (Ecuador uses the US dollar) each for big plates of chicken, rice, beans, vegetables, and juice.

The next day we ascended Quito's famous TeleferiQo up the side of Pichincha Volcano.  We had to wait for over an hour in the line up to get into a cable car, but once we finally got to the top, we absolutely loved it.

We had great views of the city below, and the other mountains around the valley, but the best part was simply hiking around the terrain behind the look out area.

It was beautiful and quite secluded, with some very unique high-elevation vegetation.  We also found it difficult to breath, especially if we moved too quickly.  It was also significantly colder up there than it had been in the city.  At times we could see our breath, even though it was something like 20 degrees Celsius in Quito.

In fact, my brother was especially impacted by the cold and the light air, and once we got down the mountain, he needed to rest for several hours.  

Meanwhile, I went out to buy a postcard and get a shave.  I walked into a feminine-looking salon, and used gestures to communicate what I wanted.  I was actually expecting the lady to point me to a barber, but instead she showed me to a chair and twenty minutes later I was shaved.  It was quite the experience.  It also cost me $2, and involved countless creams and lotions and a real pampering.  I walked out feeling like a king.

Later that afternoon we went to see the Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco, a centuries-old monastery and church.  Neither my brother nor I were especially excited to see it, but it turned out to be a really breathtaking place, with more gold paint and art than the vast majority of churches I've been in.

The next morning we went to the La Estacio de Ferrocarril Chambacalle to catch a train to Ecuador's most famous volcano, Cotopaxi.  Ecuador had a train system many decades ago, but for decades it basically was unused and in disrepair.  Recently some of the tracks have been repaired and now trains run occasionally for tourists.

Well, we found out the trains are really popular, both with foreign tourists and locals.  In fact, so popular, that it had sold out, and we were out of luck.  We had to turn around and leave.

I was tremendously disappointed, but the day turned out alright anyway.  We caught the Trole (Quit's rapid bus system, which costs 25 cents to ride) back to our hostel and had breakfast on the rooftop.  The Basilica del Voto Nacional had been beckoning us from our first time on the rooftop, as it absolutely dominated the view to the west.

It was a short walk down the hill and back up to the church.

It was Sunday, so there was a mass, but we were more interested in the roof and the clock towers than the sanctuary, although we visited it too.  It cost us each $2 to climb the clock towers, but it would have been worth ten times that.  The views from the towers were spectacular, and the insides fascinating as well. 

We must have spent over two hours inside the basilica in total.  

From there, we caught the Trole again to the Jardin Bontanico in the Parque La Carolina.  We had hopes that we would get to see some Ecuadorian wild animals, especially since we hadn't been able to visit the zoo in Leticia.  But the botanical gardens had little beyond fish and some birds.  Nonetheless, the flowers and plants were quite something, and it was a very peaceful place to spend the afternoon.

After we left the Jardin Bontanico, we walked through the park which was teeming with people.  There were numerous street food vendors, and we ate freshly cut mango and barbecued kebabs, which consisted of  a fat piece of sausage, an eighth of a banana, a small potato, and a 1/4 of a chicken.  They were quite something!  

Unfortunately my brother was really feeling sick now, and he spent most of the rest of our time in Quito in bed, or not far from it.  

April 7, 2014

My brother spent much of the next day on the Secret Garden's roof and drank tea and read his book in the sun.  

I wasn't too sure what to do, but I had enjoyed Quito transit so much, I decided to go on a bit of an adventure to a place called Midad del Mundo--the "Middle of the World," the location of the equator. 

By bus, it's about an hour north of where we were staying.  I did enjoy the ride, especially towards the outskirts of the city, but Midad del Mundo is basically a tourist trap.  

It cost a few bucks to get in, which I wasn't too worried about, but really it was a waste of time, especially since I learned that the markings for the equator are not even quite right, and that the "real" equator is actually just outside the compound.  Anyway, I took a picture of myself straddling the yellow line, because I figured I may as well.

From there I headed back to the Secret Garden to meet up with my brother and then on to the airport, where we caught our flight to Lima.

More photos from Quito are here.