Blogs from Mitad del Mundo, North, Ecuador, South America - page 3

Well after Colombia, it was another very early flight into Quito. Before arriving, almost every person I had spoken to had a bad word to say about Quito, and only for one reason. Crime. They had either been mugged or pickpocketed, and in one case, ended buying their stolen camera from a store the following day! But for me, I loved the city straight away. I can't tell you exactly why, but it just seems really laid back and there is so much to do. I suppose it could also be the lack of oxygen to my brain due to the altitude. Either way, I like it. After I had checked in and dumped my stuff, I went and explored a bit of the New Town and got things ready for when my tour starts in ... read more

Today we visited Mitad del Mundo the equator line and it took about 1 and a half hours on rickety Ecuadorian transport to get there. It was a tad dissapointing as it was just a monument with a globe on. We did take the necessary photos though straddling the equator and i am glad i went even though it was such a long journey. We have moved today to our new hotel to meet the tour group. the hotel is fairly basic, very brown and old feeling. Have met a few of the tour so far, a couple of girls who are 18 and seem nice, about 6 kiwis and a few others. We will meet them properly later as have a group meeting and arethen going out for dinner. There is not much to report ... read more

With heavy hearts, we left the Galapagos and flew to Quito. Darn it. After six months of soil-treading around South America, covering every blade of grass, flake of snow and grain of sand along the way, we finally cheat and miss a chunk. But what the hell, it doesn't really matter in the long run, and besides, Ant loves flying. Shame Jen doesn't. Every flight sees us display polar opposites of emotions. As the plane gathers speed on the runway, Jen frowns so hard her eyebrows meet as she pretends to read a book, only to be yanked out of her meditation by Ant squeezing her hand and going, 'There can't be much runway left, hope we leave the ground soon!' According to various reports, one thing far more dangerous than flying, is Quito. It seemed ... read more

An unserem ersten Samstag in Quito machten wir einen Ausflug zur Mitad del Mundo. Nach langer Suche nach dem richtigen Bus kamen wir 2 Stunden spaeter dort an. Das Areal der Mitad del mundo ist einfach nur extrem touristisch. Es war ganz nett, das Ganze mal zu sehen, mehr aber auch nicht. Von daher gingen wir recht schnell weiter in das 200m entfernt liegende Museum Inti Nan - dem wirklichen Aequator (also der ohne Kommerz, mit weniger Gringos). Dieses Museum hat uns absolut begeistert. Wir hatten eine Privatfuehrung mit Pablo, einem absolut lieben, lustigen Kerl. Ganze 2 Stunden verbrachten wir dort, bis die Sonne uns fast verbrannt hat. So praktisch ja die kurzen Haare sind, der Sonnenbrand auf der Kopfhaut war recht unangenehm. Nachdem wir uns beim Pfeilschiessen zum Affen gemacht haben, konnten wir aber nochmals ... read more

So, today we got to sleep in a bit and had breakfast here at the Hilton - non descript western breakfast buffet. As we were herded on to buses and around the colonial part of the city, I felt like a member of a herd of sheep. We drove by La Basilica (newest church in old Quito, only about one hundred years old.....). As expected, we hit several spots we had already seen: The Plaza Grande, San Francisco Cathedral, El Panecillo, etc. It was basically a 2 -3 minute visit at each spot, and that seemed to satisfy most of the herd. Actually the part that I was looking forward to the least, a visit to the equator, was the best. I thought it would be entirely too touristy, and of course there was that element. ... read more