Advertisement
Published: December 20th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Quito- President building at night
Off of the balcony of my hostel, the President building lit up at night Ecuador is an amazing place. First i was in Quito which is pretty decent. Lots of street merchant-venders and stray dogs, kids running around, most places are safe, but as i found out once crossing certain roads it definitely is not as safe. I found a hostel with very very nice people running it. The weekend i was there, the President of Ecuador was doing something i never quite figured out, so loads of people were about and shouting praises, and the one way crowded streets were even more crowded! what would normally take a taxi 5 minutes to drive took about 20-30 minutes. They were just one laned with buildings on both sides with shops inside them selling food, Ecuadorian merchandise, or plastic toys and items you´d find in the States and probably made in China. Most the people were nice and in many streets there were multiple police every block. The first day i was exploring just around my hostel, the second day i went to this massive, beautiful church building (Basilica del Voto Nacional) is extremely tall and very large, intricate carvings and gargoyles and beautiful massive doors- in it, i climbed to the top of the Belfry
for a nice view of the city and then crossed a rickety wooden bridge to get to the tower which i had to climb and that was scary but well worth it! i also went to the "new town" in Quito where i saw a botanical garden and aquarium with reptiles and amphibians. Had some wonderful food along the way and no diarrhea yet!
I took buses to Puyo, which the public transportation in Ecuador is interesting- the buses could be massively loaded, seats full, people in isles and on other´s laps, people crowded around, some buses have people on the roof and even dogs and still they are cramming new people in it! Venders will hop on the bus and try to sell things from foods, fruits, sweets, toys, even exotic magizenes! The 6 hour ride to Puyo was soooo lovely! the view amazing! Rainforest on all sides, very narrow winding roads i don´t know how buses managed to not fall off of the cliffs! It was so green and lush and incredible... Occasionally we would drive through towns where most were pretty much how some "poor" inner cities look, with shamble houses, rusty tin-type roof, no windows
Quito- President event 1
The President was giving a speech in the Plaza, I never figured out quite what was going on... on some or bars on them, kids playing in dirt, more stray dogs, graffiti on some walls, etc. but some cities were a bit nicer and more "westernized" with the way things were built adn that, many people have electricity, ipods, cell phones, cars, etc.
The centre i am at is real cool- i am in a team in charge of cleaning and feeding a capuchin monkey, wholly monkey, 2 tayras (similar to otters), a coati and a kinkaju. There are lots of other monkeys, parrots, peccaries (pigs), a guard dog, some cats, and other animals. We do that in the morning, have lunch, then do construction and repair around the sanctuary. Nights we eat and lounge in hammocks by a fire and hang out. The other people there are great- i share a room with a Brit, there is also a Welsh couple, another Brit girl, a Scottish man, a South African girl (Gloudina-manages the centre) and an Ecuadorian family that helps at times.
We get Saturday afternoon off and all of Sunday so this week me and the Welsh couple went to Baños, which is a VERY touristy town with lots of nice people who all
Basilica del Voto Nacional 1
Stained glass window inside the church want to help you even when you don´t need it! the town is famous for waterfalls and hot springs which i don´t think i will do whilst i am here. I am not too fond of this place, it´s lovely and the scenic drive here was amazing but far too touristy. i will probably wander about a bit, get some food, find a cheap hostel, then tomorrow wander some more until get bus back to centre.
Well my hour is almost up and i don´t want to pay for a second hour so more writing some other time....
Brosandi!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.261s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 9; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0887s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
bobby
non-member comment
we should get married
hello vanessa, i am glad ur having fun and that ur safe.. i really miss you and i hope to see you when u return to the u.s. even if i have to fly to michigan i will dammit.. az is alright i just miss everyone more than i thought i would.. even spendin that day with you made movin suck a lil more, even though u were outta here a month after i left.. shout me out in ur next journal.. i love you and be safe...... Bobby