Advertisement
Published: August 8th 2008
Edit Blog Post
From Lima we flew north to the capital of Ecuador, Quito. We had a trip to the Galapagos Islands booked and had a few spare days before that started so we just stayed in the city, and relaxed a bit after our travels across South America, which were coming to an end. We booked ourselves into a nice hostel and we were joined for a couple of days by a friend, Paula, who we had travelled with across South America.
The hostel we stayed at included a free tour of the old city which was good, although a bit short, but hey it was free! It is a beautiful old city, with many restored buildings and plazas, but no evidence of Inca ruins anywhere... it was one of their major key cities so we really thought there would be something left somewhere! We went to the main cathedral in the city, which is based on a similar design to Notre Dame, except that instead of the scary gargoyles on Notre Dame, there are indigenous creatures to Ecuador, such as the tortoise and iguana! We headed over to the main square as well, and sat around for a while soaking up
Voto Nacional cathedral
Styled like Notre Dame, except with animals instead of gargoyles the sun and watching the world go by... it was not that hot in Quito, which is surprising as it is virtually on the equator. It is quite high in elevation at 2850m which is why it was not really hot, but it was still nice and every bit of sun was welcome! We headed down one of the more famous roads in Quito, lined with about 7 colonial churches, all restored to their former glory. A testament we suppose to how hard the Spanish tried to convert the Incas to Christianity, and the ones we looked inside were stunning, with lots of gold everywhere.
Quito is actually just south of the Equator, so a visit to the equatorial line was a must. We first went to see the site originally thought to be the true equator, called the Mitad del Mundo, the Middle of the World. It turned out to be a massive complex, full of little gift shops and snack stalls, all built around a monument where the French originally thought the equatorial line was. It was a bit like a theme park, but without the roller coasters. We had a walk around the small museum on
site and took the obligatory photos of jumping from one hemisphere to the next... it had to be done! Further up the road was another museum which also claimed to be the real equatorial line, this time measured by GPS. Here, they do some cool 'scientific experiments' to prove that this really is where the true equator lies. We balanced an egg on a nail, and watched the water go round clockwise just south of the equator, straight down on the line and then anti-clockwise just north of the equator. We weren't completely convinced about the science part of it, although we were not sure how they would fake it, but it was a bit more fun than the other complex!
As the main aim of the few days in Quito were to try and relax a bit, we managed to find a decent internet cafe that served food and great coffee too, so we spent a bit of time in there trying to catch up and also working out what we would be doing in the USA for the first few days we were there. We also had a wander around the New Town, which was close to
our hostel and was full of bars, restaurants and internet cafes for all the backpackers like us who stay in town.
We found out another friend, Mike who we had travelled with in Patagonia, was also in town, so met up in one of the bars in a square nearby to catch up on each others travels since we had left Patagonia. As we were walking down the road to meet in the bar, we noticed everyone was dressed in football shirts, and banners and balloons were hanging from a lot of the restaurants and bars... we soon found out that the final of the South American Champions League was on, and not only that, but the local Quito team, Liga Deportiva Universitaria were in it too. It was the first time a team from Ecuador were in the final, and they were already winning 3-1 from the first leg, so the mood was really positive! The game was against Fluminense from Brazil, who have a real pedigree in the competition, so it was bound to be a good game. We were lucky to find a restaurant with a table in front of a big screen, so we all
sat there watching the game with the locals. The restaurant we were in had a $25 charge, but you could eat and drink as much as you like... great idea but could never happen in England, football and as much as you can drink would be a dangerous combination! We all had our fingers crossed that LDU would win, as the place was packed with very passionate fans! They all went absolutely mad when LDU first scored... but soon got angry when they conceded, and it didn't take long for that to happen again. The game ended up as a draw on aggregate, and went to extra time... there was more tension around now, especially as the restaurant had now run out of beer! Extra time came and went without much to mention, so it was soon time for penalties. The place erupted every time LDU scored or Fluminense missed. LDU eventually won and everyone went crazy, we have never seen anything like it... this was a football party South American style! It must have been the biggest party ever in Quito, and it was a great night to witness... although we definitely felt a little relieved that LDU won,
none of us wanted to be in the middle of it all if they lost!
Before coming to Quito we had heard a lot of mixed reviews, it had a reputation of being quite dangerous at night, and apparently a lot of tourists end up being mugged while in the city. We experienced none of this, and felt as safe as any other city we had been in South America and found the people to be really friendly. We only came to Quito because of our tour to the Galapagos, but really enjoyed the city and would definitely come back to see more of the country. There is plenty more to do in and around Quito, including a fantastic trek up to the crater of one of the surrounding volcanoes, Cotopaxi. What is it they say, always leave a place with something left to do... well it is certainly true of Quito, so we will just have to come back!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.124s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0921s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
cricri
non-member comment
quito too
Hi I'm here in Quito too and loved your comments c.f. Quito, but hey would you consider naming the good hostals, eating places, and bars so that the many others who read ahead in anticipation of their arrivals can benefit from your good discretion.