Leave me alone

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- FOOD: Pizza with a grey crust, Indian that took ages to arrive so many cuba libras were our starter, banana and nut pancakes that didn't cure the hangover, Thai food which was just ok.
Typical Ecuadorian dish of sausage, mash and cheese and avocado.

- AREA: New Town Quito has small streets similar to Soho but they don't feel too safe at night. Old Town Quito reached by tram is nicer with plazas, many more people and a fantastic high cathedral with views of the whole city after climbing the steep dodgy stairs.
Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) - very touristy area where people straddle the ecuator line for photos. Some crap museums.

- PEOPLE: Annoying fellow bus passengers, taxi drivers that rip you off, more Aussie guys, fewer indigenous, more black and some rather large ladies that wear clothes way too small for them.
Hassle, hassle, hassle from the local men and some of the kids.


Fri 1st July: I slept so well even with the rain beating down onto my scummy room. Had a nice egg and bacon breakfast at the bus terminal and then set off on yet another bus to Quito. The bus was a bit manky and didn't have a TV but did have crap music. Thank god I'd stocked up on snacks as there weren't any 'sandwich' sellers.
My fellow passengers consisted of a family that wanted ME to move halfway through the journey and as I refused, I got the pleasure of the oldest member of the family huffing and puffing next to me the whole way. A baby behind decided to kick my chair lots which I suppose I should of considered a good thing - a free massage. The bus broke down but luckily not for long (a nice break from the 10 hour journey) and when we eventually arrived at the terminal, it was the dodgiest yet.

It wasn't easy to get a taxi and when I did, he did their usual trick of pretending not to know the way - even with me directing him from my guide he stopped to ask others. SO annoying and I almost shouted but instead just kept repeating the directions firmly. He faffed around with the one way streets so I just got out and was overcharged. Instinct took me to a hostel that was very friendly with a TV area and hot water (oh the joy of having hot water at last). I also got a cheap room to myself that was nice so Ecuador is going up in my estimations slightly.
The New Town area I was staying in has lots of small streets which felt a bit like Soho's back streets but none felt hugely safe so I went to the nearest restaurant which happened to be a nice Italian with PROPER pizza which was thin but with a grey crust (looked like mould but was very tasty) and a nice big glass of wine.

Local people were dining in the restaurant and staying in the hostel so it felt like a good sign. I had a slight moment of regret when I discovered 2 Aussie guys were staying there who were very drunk and talking about cocaine and women a lot (bad memories of the Pantanal cam flooding back) but they seemed very sweet.


Sat 2nd: A good start to the day with a lie in, hot shower and I booked a Galapagos trip - HOOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately it's not straight away but that means I can chill in Quito for a bit.
Had a nice breakfast in a gringo place and then caught a tram to the Old Town. The tram was heaving and hot - more feeling like I'm in England on the tube.
The Cathedral had a really nice wooden carved ceiling and lots of huge paintings. But no statues? - no, of course not, they were just hidden away in rooms. The plaza was nice and I visited a few more churches and 2 smaller plazas.
Went to the oldest road in Quito and walked away quickly and it was also the dodgiest road in Quito. The population struck me in a number of ways - only a few people in traditional dress with bowler hats, lots of black people compared to the other countries except Brasil and lots of overweight women in incredibly tight clothes too small for them.

I made my way to the huge cathedral (Basilica del Voto Nacional) between the Old and New Towns - it towers above the towns on a hill and looks stunning at night with its two 115m high towers and neo-Gothic spires. It's in quite a deserted looking area but after climbing the dodgy narrow steps and iron rung ladders to get to the top (not advised if you're scared of heights!), the views are spectacular and the flying buttresses of birds and animals can be seen clearly.

I went back to the dead New Town and had food in a typical Ecuadorian place - sausage, mash and cheese and avocado which was ok. The currency here is US dollars and I don't know why, but I seem to end up with lots of small change. The 50 cent coins are also really big so it made it easy to give money to the kids.


Sun 3rd: I dragged Simon and Dave (Aussie boys) to Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World). Dave was not happy as he was very hungover and wanted a beer but Simon was like an excitable child as he'd been under Dave's bad influence for too long and so hadn't seen much of places in the day.
It took ages to get there on trams and buses and was incredibly touristy but we found the plaza where we had lunch (2 Cuba Libras for Dave) and watched a live band. Then we ventured to the equator line dividing the North and South hemispheres (how Ecuador got it's name - it means equator) that has the latitude 0,0'0". So tacky but also quite cool and Greenwich is mentioned on the monument too.
We paid to climb the monument where the views of the mountains and volcano were ok but the museum inside was crap and then went to the planetarium which was also crap but very relaxing and the music was calming and so was the woman's voice. It was all in Spanish and Simon and I fell asleep.

The bus journey back was more fun as Dave had livened up at the thought of going out for food and booze and a local man was on the bus with a chicken under his arm. SO cute - we let him sit down and the chicken fell asleep on his thumb! Ahhh, we figured it was a pet and not his dinner as he took such care of it.

We went for an Indian but got drunk before it arrived as it took about 2 hours. Not the best way to lign the stomach for more drinks...


Mon 4th: I had a lie in to shake off the hangover but it didn't work and I spent most of the day walking around in a daze being indecisive. Not even the banana and nut pancakes from the gringo place helped. It rained all day so I slept more and then went out for a Thai meal with the boys and had an early night. What a wasted day, I remember now why I don't drink much!

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