Acclimatising!!

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After a 2 day tour of Madrid, where we did very little other than drink sangria and snack on tapas, we arrived in the capital of Ecuador, Quito.

The most striking feature of Quito has to be its setting, with every view framed by the imposing slopes of the Andes.

Feeling fairly spaced out, we ventured out on a walk of the city and began to find our orientation. Quito has 2 main parts, known as the Old Town and the New Town.

The Old Town is far more attractive, with old colonial buildings and public squares in which to watch the world go by. However, it is also located adjacent to the poorer housing and on most of the street corners there are beggars. This is not an area you would want to stroll around after dark.

The New Town, where we are staying, is a far more eclectic mix of traditional Ecuadorian restaurants and shops, alongside internet cafes and backpacker haunts. Good for easing us into the travelling lifestyle.

While here, one of the musts was a visit to the Equator, which reputedly lies only a 20 minute bus ride away at a place called ‘the city at the centre of the world’. After two buses and almost the same number of hours (NOT 20 minutes) we arrived! Here we straddled a yellow line that signified us standing in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

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