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I am writing this blog now for a second time due to the fact that I had my laptop stolen on a bus travelling from Quito to a small village called Mindo. I have not had the best luck so far on this phase of my travels as a few days ago I was bitten by a dog and, as a result, have had to undergo a series of anti rabies vaccinations. I am just hoping the third thing won’t be contracting swine flu!
However, the good things so far have counteracted the bad as Ecuador is a beautiful and exciting country to visit. The weather is basically warm but pretty variable depending on where you are and Quito is usually sunny and warm in the morning and raining in the afternoon at this time of year. The capital is also the second highest city in South America at 2850metres high, after Le Paz in Bolivia. As a result we felt pretty tired for the first few days as our bodies tried to get used to the altitude. We also felt tired due to the long flight we had from Christchurch-Auckland-Santiago-Quito. The flight was so long we actually lived the same
day twice as we left Christchurch at around the same time, on the same day, as we arrived in Santiago due to the fact that we went back in time. It was rather surreal.
The first few days were spent in Quito wandering around and getting used to the Latin atmosphere that prevailed on the small streets between the old colonial buildings. Quito is divided into two parts, the old town which is a UNESCO world heritage site and the new town which is the commercial district full of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. After spending over 6 months in peaceful New Zealand it was perhaps a little strange being back somewhere a little louder and a little crazier. However, in comparison to some cities in Asia, it is positively tranquil. The old town contains some stunning colonial architecture including the Basilica which is a beautiful, dramatic gothic style building with gargoyles peering down at you from the outside and huge stained glass windows. The centre is dominated by a large Plaza named Plaza de la Independencia with many streets interconnecting from and around this area. We visited a couple of museums which, were sometimes for want of information because
our Spanish is not at its best and generally spent some time wandering the streets and soaking up the atmosphere.
While the old town has a feeling of antiquity surrounding it, the commercial new town is quite different with its busy streets full of cars, beeping horns and people lining the pavements or dodging cars going about their daily lives. We stayed in La Mariscal which is an area heaving with funky cafes, stylish restaurants, quirky bars and salsa clubs blasting out music 24 hours a day reminding me of certain areas of Barcelona. One day we visited Cerro Panecillo where a huge statue of ‘El virgin de Quito’ looks upon the city. Travelling away from the city centre and through the suburbs really gives you a perspective of the everyday life of the average Quitonian as you see kids on their way home from school, buses crammed with people on their commute home and women opening up the front of their houses to sell local specialties to passersby.
From Quito it is possible to visit ‘La Mitad del Mundo,’ literally translated as ‘The middle of the world.’ The equatorial line runs right through the country and ‘La Mitad del
Quito
the statue of El virgen de Quito in the distanceMundo’ is the tourist hotspot to stand on either side of the line in order to say that you have stood on both sides of the world at the same time. However, apparently the line is wrong by about 150 metres which is something the tourists like to forget as they pose for the pictures (I did this too so I can’t really say anything.)
After spending our first few days in the capital city, we made our way to Otavalo which is a small town a couple of hours north of Quito. This town is well known for its Saturday market which sells everything from traditional ponchos and other textiles to food. It is a fairly touristic place but has a quaint charm about it as many local indigenous groups still maintain their identity through their colourful traditional dress. The Otavalenos are also known for their production of woolens and are quite a prosperous indigenous group. After spending a day wandering around the large Saturday market that sprawls through all the narrow streets of the town, the following day we caught a local bus to the small village of Peguche which is much smaller than Otavalo, just catering for
the local people’s needs. We walked to Cascada de Peguche which is a lovely waterfall, although very touristic as it seemed to be a hotspot for Quitonians to come on holiday for the weekend. Lago de San Pablo was pretty and the surrounding villages based near the lake were interesting to see.
The next stop on the itinerary was the even smaller village of Papallacta which is a couple of hours east of Quito. This town is visited by tourists due to the fact that it has the best hot springs in the whole of the country with many pools of different temperatures which made for a relaxing and very pleasant afternoon…until I got bitten on the leg by a b*****d dog. We were just walking back to the guesthouse from the Termas de Papallacta (thermal pools) and, due to the fact we were crossing what it thought was its territory, it just runs out barking at us and bites me on the leg! It wasn’t a big bite as it was just a small dog but it did draw blood which meant that I had to go to hospital and get a tetanus and rabies jab. So back we
went to Quito and the doctor told me I had to have a course of 5 injections over a month which changed our plans a little as it meant staying in Quito for longer and planning our trip around rabies injections. It hasn’t been too much of a hassle though as it meant that we went to Museo Nacional del Banco Central del Ecuador which featured lots of colonial artwork and showed how local art changed through colonization and the break away from Spanish rule. I think I perhaps enjoyed this more than Fabrice but at least he went! We also managed to witness the Ecuadorian football spirit as they played Argentina and won 2-0 which was a real surprise. We thought we might go to the game but decided not to as we wouldn’t have been able to get tickets so we watched it in a bar in La Mariscal instead. Despite torrential rain just before the match started, everything else went to plan as Ecuador won and victory reigned through the streets all night.
We had a few days to kill before my 3rd rabies shot so we decided to go to Mindo, a small town a couple
of hours west of Quito surrounded by lush cloud forest climbing the western slopes of the volcano Pinchincha. It was on the bus leaving the Quito terminal that I had my second bout of bad luck - my laptop was stolen! There was hardly anybody on the bus but a lady selling water kept coming on to try and sell some bottles. It is really common for people to get on public transport, selling drinks and homemade snacks in an effort to make a few dollars. However, it is unusual for the same person to repeatedly come onto a very empty bus. Anyway, my bag was under my feet on the floor and my attention slipped from it as there was only about 3 others on the bus. Looking back I had no idea that this lady was still on and she obviously sat behind us and got into my bag. I didn’t realize until about 20 minutes later by which time she was long gone and the bus was full. It was actually quite amazing how the whole bus started discussing it and voicing their own opinions about what we should do. Some were saying we should turn the
La Mariscal
Near where we were staying whole bus back and others were saying we should get off and go to the police station, whilst there was one lady who was obviously blaming me for being a stupid gringo - their nicknames for Americans, but it seems to apply to any westerner, for not looking after my things. Good things come out of bad situations however and we met an Ecuadorian guy about our age called Edwin who couldn’t have done more to help. He got off with us when the bus stopped, even though he had a long journey to make, and helped us find a police station so I could get a report. He waited with us for the next bus, which was completely full and, although the guys that worked on the bus let me sit on the step by the door, Edwin and Fab basically stood for the majority of the 2 hour journey as the bus swerved around corners along the winding mountains making us feel quite nauseous. Edwin gave us his details in Puerto Rico which is a fairly large town west of Mindo and which we weren’t originally planning to visit but ended up changing our minds as we wanted
to say thank you to him by staying at his accommodation which he was telling us about. Therefore, while staying in the pretty town of Mindo we changed our plans a little.
Mindo was a small, rustic but lively village with a fair few tourists which I wasn’t expecting. After spending a day in the Bosque Protector Mindo-Nambillo which is a reserve that contains a wide variety of beautiful flora and fauna. We did a few hours of walking, a lot of it which was uphill, and were pretty tired (and muddy because I fell on my arse) by the end. There was a great contraption used to get us from one side of the river to the other where you sit on a plank of wood in a kind of cage that feeds through a few ropes therefore enabling a pulley system. How I love South America….We got back safely however and after spending one more night in Mindo we made our way to Puerto Quito to see Edwin.
The couple of days we spent in Puerto Quito were great. It really makes a difference if you know a local and Puerto Quito is not a tourist town although
I think it will slowly start to develop in the near future. The accommodation we stayed in was brilliant. It was basically a very rustic hut on the lake with mosquito nets and the sounds of the rainforest all around. It was definitely a place we would never have gone if we had not have known Edwin. We spent a fair amount of time with him and got to practice our Spanish which was great. He took us to Cascada Azul which was a beautiful waterfall where it was possible to swim. No tourists, just us in the middle of nowhere swimming in a random waterfall. It was much needed as it was so humid and the waterfall provided an extremely refreshing break. After Puerto Quito and saying our goodbye’s to Edwin we had to get to Santo Domingo de Los Colorados for my 3rd jab. However, when we got there and after asking at about 3 hospitals and clinics, I was told that nowhere in the city had the vaccine I needed and I would have to go back to Quito. And so we did¬- just in time to get to the Hilton for my birthday!
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Rosemary Lenanton
non-member comment
Can't think of one!
I was completely exhausted after reading this latest blog! Glad you seem OK and hope the injection course is nearly over for you. You seem to be having a very quiet time and I think you should fill your days with more sight seeing - ha,ha.....Your birthday Hilton visit must have been quite something. Wimbledon is nearly over now - it has been great. The roof was closed one evening when Murray played. Quite an experience. Mens' semis today and finals on Sunday. We think this will be Federer v Murray but who knows. Very hot weather - cooler today. Beaminster Festivalis on until Sunday. I went to a really brilliant piano recital last night. The Beethoven Patheique was awsome - packed church. John Lill was the star -superb, very well known pianoist. Take care - LOTS of love GM.xxxxxx 'Ello 'ello to Fabrice - hope he is coping with you all right!! Is Helen joining you?