Blogs from Historical Center, Quito, North, Ecuador, South America - page 8

Hello all! When we found our way to the park we were slightly disappointed when it wasn´t surrounded by cages and guards, surely they wouldn’t allow endangered lizard beasts to roam around without some sort of protection? It turns out yes they would. Although the Iguanas were not quite man-eater size it was certainly odd to watch them walking along the path in front of you, or be surprised when one decided to sit under your bench. Much more interesting than pigeons! From Guayaquil we returned to the Andes and visited a colonial town called Cuenca, the definite highlight was seeing human shrunken heads in the museum, though they were seriously creepy! Our nightmares were only made worse when we saw shrunken heads for sale in the marketplace afterwards; sloths and monkeys, not tourist... at least ... read more

Sunday 11th March - Otavalo to Quito Our host at the Hostal Rincon had been a lovely Ecuadorian man who we later found out was called Edgar after we read a disparaging review about him on trip advisor where a woman travelling alone had remarked he was a little over familiar with her. I couldn't have disagreed more as we were both very fond of him, especially after he tried to serenade us with his guitar playing. After a bus ride of 2 hours and we were in Quito, the capital and I'd completely forgotten that on our trip we had passed the centre of the earth and yet no sign of Doug McClure? On the city buses into the centre of town it was refreshing to meet 2 australian girls who pointed us in the ... read more

So here I am in Quito, Ecuador. In less then 3 hours I will be on a night bus to Coca, Ecuador, officially known as Francisco de Orellana. It is a small oil town named after the Spanish explorer who first conquered the Amazon River. Francisco de Orellana started his journey in Quito and then traveled east overland to the Coca River then to the Napo River before reaching the Amazon River, which he rode all the way through Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. I will be taking pretty much the same path except for the fact when I reach the Atlantic Ocean I will be making a right turn, or I mean I will be heading south while Orellana headed north. Coca is off the "Gringo trail." Travelers do go there but usually fly in ... read more

Our first and only time in Ecuador was in 1973 when Kevin and I were on our honeymoon. Our flight stopped in Quito en route to Buenos Aires, so we really haven’t seen much of this small country. After crossing the equator, for which Ecuador is named, we arrived in Manta on a rainy Sunday morning. Regent planned an overnight excursion to Quito for all of the “rounders.” Because of the rain and fog, the airport was closed in the small port city. But after several hours wait, we were able to board our charter flight to the capitol city perched high in the Andes Mountains. At 9300' elevation, Quito is surrounded by some very active volcanoes and is located in a lush valley. The city, which runs the length of the valley, is 35 miles ... read more

Your correspondent has returned from a rum soaked few weeks and is ready to blog again, this time solely fuelled by beer. Travelling in Ecuador requires a level of drunkenness so I complied. After the Galapagos it is quite a culture shock to return to Quito. Sprawling is an apt and properly spelt word for the place. We had many tales of terror about it and you certainly need your wits about you and 360 degree vision. We did not have any untoward moments, but our friends had loose stools thrown at them followed up by people rushing over to them with towels to offer a cleaning service while emptying their rucksack. Quite nasty. Anyway, our plans were to see Cotopaxi, the middle of the world and other delights that are only available in Ecuador. To ... read more