Blogs from North, Ecuador, South America - page 15

I woke up thursday feeling a little better. The altitutde was still rough as I felt short of breath all night while sleeping. But I was not going to let that slow me down. So I took a quick shower, through my backpack on my back, and headed out to the City. Not knowing really where to go I just started walking. I spent the day in New Town mostly which is the more modern part of the City. I check out 3 or 4 parks within the City. I never would have thought that another City could rival the parks in Portland. They are layed out much different but very pretty and quite tranquil during the week. Eventually I got hungry and stopped at some hole in the wall place that was packed. Payed $3.50 ... read more

Quito - Day 17 This was our last morning in Banos. We really enjoyed our visit here. The first morning at the hostel we didn't realize that breakfast was included, so we made our own. The next two mornings we were treated to rolls, yogurt, fresh fruit, granola and coffee. The staff here was very friendly and accommodating. We expected to call a taxi this morning, but the hostel manager drove us to the bus station. Today we headed back to Quito. We got to the bus station earlier than we expected, so got the 9:00am bus. The 3.5 hour ride was very reasonable ($3.50 per person), as is all transportation here. We had reservations far north in Quito, so we would be fairly near the Ofelia bus station. Tomorrow we go to Mindo, and this ... read more

On Friday we came across from Mindo to Otavalo in time to visit the famous Saturday market. Actually the market is every day, but Saturday is when it really cranks up and fills the pretty colonial town of Otavalo. It was quite an eventful drive from Mindo as the paved road was blocked for a public event, so we had to use the back roads which were dusty, narrow and steep, winding through river valleys and up over the Andes range. It was a really picturesque and enjoyably drive though a little uncertain at times (lucky we had Spanish speakers) and unsettling when at one point we traversed a densely foggy pass at 3400 metres. The markets in Otovalo are the best known handicraft markets in the Andes and have been a weekly fiesta since pre-Inca ... read more

We landed in Quito on a Friday night, into the midst of a crazy fiesta rampaging in the square outside our guesthouse - multitudes of people, fireworks, police in numbers, helmets and riot gear, music, dancing and lots of noisy action...... In the San Fransisco square at 9pm it felt very edgy, especially when our host had suggested we not venture too far...... in Quito's old quarter, or Centro Historico as the locals call it... the fiesta, we found out, is just a warm up for an annual festival which dominates early December, leading to foundation day on the 6th; it's a time of bullfights, flamenco dancing, outdoor concerts and non stop bus-top revelling....... Ecuador's capital is a remarkable city in an extraordinary setting. Declared one of the first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in 1978, ... read more

Quito - 11/26/2014 - Day 3 We both got a little sunburned yesterday. The sun is high and the air thinner, so more susceptible. Ate breakfast at the hotel, then headed out. Fresh tomato juice and papaya today. For the coffee, they give you a full cup of hot milk/cream. You then add instant coffee, cocoa, and sugar to taste. Today we decided to take the tram up the mountain (Volcan Pichincha). Our plan was to take a shuttle to the base, but because of limited Spanish we ended up on a city bus. But that's part of the adventure. Cheap ride at $.25 each. It wasn't a direct route, we drove through much of Quito before we got there. There are many buses and they are very crowded. Sometimes you see people hanging on the ... read more