Quito

So Quito was the last stop before heading back to the delights of Dudley and the freezing cold northern hemisphere. After finishing my volunteer project in the jungle I spent only 5 full days here before returning, and to be honest I think this was more than enough.

Quito's a strange city. I couldn't make up my mind whether it was ok or just plain dodgy. It seemed, at least to us anyway, that the majority of people in the city had a “don't-make-eye-contact-or-they'll-rob-you” kind of look. In "Shoestring" it says to take taxis later at night even over short distances, and after staying in the city a few nights I'm kind of inclined to agree. Whereas Lima in Peru had the safer and more lively areas of Miraflores and Barranco, Quito didn't really seem to have anywhere "safe" and as a result the streets were largely deserted after dark! It's said that Quito makes a good place to learn & study Spanish, but I could honestly think of a few places that would be far better.

Another thing I thought of Quito was how completely foreigner unfriendly it was. A lot of the notable sights and museums are out of town and aren't exactly easy to get to given Quito's way over-complicated transport system. Almost a week and I still didn't totally figure out their "Trole" system... the network of buses that run through the city.

Quito's split into two parts... the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town was relatively interesting although it became a wee bit stressful after a while of competing for pavement with Sunday afternoon bargain hunters. A lot of the architecture is nice and the plazas are pleasant enough. The New Town was, well, a bit of a shit hole to be honest (considering it's called the "New Town"). We found a few nice restaurants and it was a handy area for making cheap calls, but apart from that it was pretty uninspiring stuff.

On the Monday Miche and I vacated the well-overrated "Secret Garden" in the Old Town for the much better and cheaper "Casa Bambu" nearer the new town. Once settled we went off to Mitad del Mundo... the place just north of Quito where the Southern Hemisphere joins the Northern. Considering it's supposed to be a major tourist attraction finding the bus stop was a feat in itself. I was expecting some kind of actual "Mitad del Mundo" stop, but it turned out to just be a random street corner! Our first thought after entering “La Ciudad Mitad del Mundo” (the mini little town created around the monument) was just how quiet it was. I guess its low season for tourists, but we were pretty much the only people there.

The monument in the little town was built by some French dude and a line was drawn to represent the Equatorial line. The only problem is that it’s in the wrong place, D'oh, and the actual Equator is 240 metres further north, a fact known by the indigenous people over 1000 years ago before having handy little GPS systems. The monument provides some nice photo opportunities but unfortunately the whole thing is in the Southern Hemisphere. I can't help feeling a little sorry for the guys who built it. So after a wee while we went in search of the real equator popping into a random museum along the way to listen to an emotional Ecuadorian dude speak to us about the importance of balance in nature and the preservation of resources for future generations. We thought the wee fella was gonna break down at one point! He wasn't a fan of tricks or gimmicks (ala balancing eggs on nails, or watching water flow down a plug hole), and so passionate was he that we decided not to pay the $3 entrance fee for the real equator "museum" but had a little glance at it and made our way back to Quito (and feeling slightly prouder with ourselves).

I managed to spend one of my days in Quito visiting Santa Martha Rescue Centre to check on the progress with the Puma cage I had been helping build whilst I was there. The last I had heard was that the pumas would be put down should the cage not be built in 10 days. So I was pleased to see when I arrived that the cage was almost completely finished, and I was told that the pumas would be arriving from Quito zoo the following day. I was happy to hear this, and it was great seeing the cage finished and knowing that I'd contributed to its making.

After this little visit there was just enough time to have a great massage (all that sand carrying in the Amazon did my back in) and soak a little in the thermal baths at Papallacta, a couple of hours east of Quito. The massage was fantastic and I feel like I should advertise the place, so here it is:

Rehabilitate:
Av. Colon E11-58 Y 12 de Octubre

As for the baths... they were great, if a little annoying to get to. I thought it a little cheeky of them to charge the full admission price ($7) given that a good half of the baths were empty, but having said this they were still way better than the baths in Baños and after a couple of hours soaking, my cuts had healed and I felt cleaner than I'd felt in a long time!

On Friday it was off to the airport... interestingly located right in the middle of the city. No wonder everyone was scared when an Iberia flight failed to stop on the runway. I hear they're making a new airport outside the city, but in my books this doesn't justify the extortionate $41 airport tax!

After a bit of a delay (caused by fog) I was on my way back the good ol' England, probably to hear everyone moan at how crap the English football team is. If you've been reading my blogs then well done. If you've just been scanning the pictures looking for sexy women then shame on you.

Photos can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14643121@N05/

***Muy Feliz Navidad a todos***

***Yo os deseo un feliz año nuevo***

Nos vemos pronto en Madrid.

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