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Published: July 20th 2009
Here we are back in Quito! Ecuador is a little different to the countries we´ve visited so far mainly becuase it really involves wheel and spoke travel with most destinations ending in Quito and leaving from there....especially if you are in the north of the country. We´re back in Quito miainly as we leave from here to go to the Galapagos Islands and also because Lucy, Ann´s sister is coming to visit and spend a few weeks backpacking through Ecuador. She´s also bringing some additional supplies (ie really good insect repellant and more tummy pills!). With Lucy here we have 3 days in Quito to do some sightseeing. Situated at around 2800m Quito is at altitude and is pretty hilly. From a tourist perspective its divided into 2 parts, the Old Town and the New Town! The Old Town is the colonial heart of Quito and retains more traditional architecture, the narrow streets, traditional stores and typical Ecuadorian Almuerzo´s! The New town is worlds apart.....a very modern metropolis with wide streets, tall buildings, neon lights and bars and restaurants that rival Western ones both in terms of of food and price!
DAY 1
Anyway, we collected Lucy from the
airport and despite her being suitably shattered from the flight from London her and Ann still managed to natter until the wee hours. The next morning we breakfasted and made a start on the 3 day Quito itinerary. Day 1 was all about the Old Town. We started at the Basilica church, a huge church which we could see from the terrace of our hostel. It is an imposing sight and the guidebooks said that it offers some remarkable views of Quito via the belfry and the steeple. The guidebooks weren´t wrong. They did however underplay the somewhat hairrainsing means by which one accesses these views. The steeple climb is via a series of very, very steep stairs on the outside of the tower and though there is some safety wires they aren´t the sort that fill you with a great deal of confidence! Once in the steeple tower the heart pumping feelings of vertigo refuse to go away, mainly because the railing really is built for Ecuadorians and sits at below waist height for us vertically challenged Westerners! The views, once the vertigo is broght under control is spectacular! The fun though doesn´t stop there, since after negotiating very
steep stairs down, its possible to climb the Belfry.....you guessed it a spiral staircase (at least this was internal), and a series of ladders to eventually get you onto a landing at the very top of the belfry which is just a series of beams, no wood panels....we called it quite before here!
From the Basilica we wandered through the Old town the the Plaza Grande, enjoying the views. The old town has numerous colonial churches so we visited a few of these and it also has the Santa Catalina Convent......a real nunnery where the sisters spend 23 hours a day in silent contemplation. We paid the entrance and took a tour through the museum where we saw numerous works of art, some with interesting depictions of flagellation and purgatory. We were also taken to a viewing balcony where we went nun spotting. The balcony overlooked the convent´s courtyard and curious tourists (ie us!) are able to watch as the nuns walk around. The museum of course wouldn´t have been complete from a Quito perspective without the opportunity to climb out of the bell tower onto a ledge and take int he views of Quito from the roof of
the covent.......this time there was very little in the way of a safety railing though at least the fall would have been onto the roof from which a mad scramble would have enabled the chance that you could grab hold of something.
Given our penchant on day 1 for all things high, we figured that taking the chairlift up to the Telerifico at 4,100m would be an even better way to ensure that Lucy´s altitude acclimatisation was rapidly assured. The journey up was in a glass gondolar and afforded us both a fantastic vierw, but also protection from the wind which we had not anticipated at the significantly lower city level of Quito. We didn't linger long at the top. Dressing for the warm city climate meant that we were ill prepared for the cold wind which greeted us at the top. Also, once at the top there isn´t a heck of a lot to do other than look at the view of Quito (something we´d done from a couple of other vantage points) or go on a hike to the Pichincha Volcano (something we weren´t going to do mainly on account of our lack of warm clothing). In
any case we had an appointment at the Atahualpa Stadium in Quito.......we had to buy our tickets for the World Cup Qualifier between Ecuador and Argentina which was on the next day. Mission accomplished on that front and it was back to the hostel for a rest......our new arrival was feeling a little jaded!
Day 2
Well the agenda for day 2 was pretty simple....Mitad del Mundo in the morning and then football in the afternoon! The Mitad del Mundo translates as "the Centre of the Earth". Ecuador derives its name from the fact that the equator passes through it and the point it passes is about an hour and a half from Quito! Yes its a little cliched tourist attraction but there is something fun about standing with a foot in each hemisphere. The complex itself has a number of museums including and ethnographical museum of Ecuador´s people which were quite interesting. The only issue though is that thanks to GPS technology its now been proven that the line which the Mitad park calls the equator is actually a little off and the real equator is about 200m further North......oh well! We didn´t manage to find the
true line as we were in a rush to get back for our other priority of the day so there's no picture of a spinning egg attached as you'll see on others.
Visiting the equator was the first part of our second day in Quito, the second half was going to the football! Both Ann and I had desparately wanted to see a game in Argentina but the timing was never right (and the one time it was were were strongly advised that going to see San Lorenzo play was not a great idea). Everywhere else we just were never in the right location but finally the football Gods had saw fit to ensure that we were in Quito when this very important game was on. Ecuador v Argentina.....it doesn´t get much better, with both under performing in qualifiers so far and both needing a win, the game was set to be a cracker. Not even an unbelievable downpour an hour before the game could dampen anyone´s enthusiasm....though it must have scared off the Argentinian supporters since you couldn´t see any section of the stadium which had the blue and white......it was Ecuadorian Yellow all the way (including us!
well whe in Rome n all). The crowd were amazing, they cheered, they sang and of course obligatorily abused the referee fro some mystifying decisions culminating in a penalty to Argentina in the first half......as Tevez (now ex-Man U to Gordon´s delight) stepped up to take the spot kick there was complete silence in the stadium.....he shoots and the Ecuadorian keepers guesses correctly and saves.....causing a HUGE raw to erupt. The look on Maradona´s face (the Argentinian manager) must have been priceless.
To be fair, Ecuador looked great when in control of the ball and there passing was a delight but it always seemed as though it was a matterof time before the Argentinans got a ball through to Messi or Tevez......that however didn´t happen. In the second half Argentina faded and eventually, Walter Ayovi broke the deadlock with a long range speculative effort which surpirsed everyone with its power and the keeper with its accuracy as it curved and dipped and went into the back of the net! The eruption was incredible. Even the police standing behind us were jumping up and down. The photographer gallery in front of us had given up taking pictures and were dancing
with delight and we all ended up in group hugs as the Ecuadorians around us just went mental! The chant of "Ecuador, Si Se Puede" was taken up in earnest and the hugs got better when with about 10 minutes to go Pablo Palacios stretched the lead to 2-0......group hugs again, raptures and more dancing! The chant this time changed to "Y llora! Y llora! Y llora Maradona! There were two very happy English girls on either side!
Day 3
Hard to top the first two days and with our flight to the Galapagos scheculded for the next morning we decided a day relaxing would be in order so we hopped on a bus and went to the thermal springs at Papallacta. There we indulged in hot pools, super hot pools, bubbling spa pools and a cooling chill down pool. All this with the surrounding views of the beautiful hills and streams - something of a paradise. All very relaxing.......until we had to leave and get the bus back to Quito.....by this stage the weather had changed and was decidedly cooler.....maybe packing a little more than shorts and a t-shirt would have been a good idea Gordon!.....especially when
the first bus didn´t stop! So Gordon stood there freezing and ranting (not to be repeated on this "U" rated publication) for an hour until the next one. Of well that´s South America!
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