World Tour of Quito

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written by Miss Wendy O

After an overnight bus from Huaraz to Lima then a flight to Ecuador, we have finally arrived in Ecuador, our last stop in South America.

Our first impression of the country was an unexpected one. With the busy streets of Quito lined with 'fancy pants' shops, funky restaurants and bars and modern cars it was the most developed country we had been to since Argentina! The wealth of the country mostly comes from their production of oil.

But of course we soon noticed the huge inequality too. We befriended a young shoe shine boy in one of the plazas in Old Town who was trying to earn a buck so he could eat! Yet there were crowds of smartly dressed kids walking to school in their pretty uniforms while the shoeshine boy set to work. The sadness in his eyes sank my heart!

Another surprise to us was that Ecuador uses the US dollar as their currency. When their economy collapsed in 2000 not only did they peg their currency to the dollar to stabilise it, they adopted it. It's hard not to notice the American influence on Ecuador despite the denial of the locals. The Ecuadorians are a very proud race!

Stuart and I stayed at a swanky hostel called Hostel San Franciso de Quito in the old town, choosing to splash out a little on our last S American stop. It had a hot tub room too ... nice! We also found the best funky restuarant in New Town called La Boca de Lomo (the mouth of the Wolf). It was Absolut sponsored so we enjoyed a couple of cheeky cocktails.

We had a few days to explore the city. Old town is full of gorgeous colonial buildings, churches and plazas and new town is a mess of offices and McDonalds. I went on a city tour with my tour guide Stuart (he had a strange Scottish accent!). He took me to the old town sites including the cathedral where Sucre, the independence hero of S America, was buried.

We also took a trip to Mitel del Mundo, the equator line, just outside Quito. It was less than interesting with the half finished museums full of rubbish we were charged to enter over and above the park entry fee and a plethora of junk shops.

So this brings us to the end of our South American adventure. It's sad to be leaving such an awesome continent. We've seen and experienced so many amazing things here but we're equally very excited about travelling around the states for a couple of months - the next chapter in our adventure .....

Ciao sud americano amigos
Xxxx

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Photos

Sad eyes
Shoe shine boy we befriended in the Plaza in Quito

Catholic influence
Ancient church in Quito

Wendy At the Middle of the world
The Equator in Ecuador

At the Middle of the world
Standing on the Equator

Quito architecture
Statue at the top of the hill

Catholic influence
Church in Quito

Hendrix getting a work out
Wendy getting down with Hendrix

Comments

[Del the Man Mendonca]

How Come????
So how is it that in every picture, Wendy looks gorgeous and Stuat looks like the Don from Italy. How many people did you shoot along the way? Glad to hear that you are having a great time and new and wonderful experiences. Take care Del Boy!