Quito

Thursday 24th February 2011
When we were planning the trip many months ago this was the first day we had planned. Day 1 in Ecuador had the single aim of booking our trip to the Galapagos Islands. Once booked, we could then start thinking about the rest of our time in Ecuador.

The way to book the trip seems to be to work out what boats and dates are on offer, pick what you want to do and then go round several agencies to see who can give the best price. After exploring a few options we decided on the 'Estrella Del Mar' (Google it if you want to see pictures). Partly based on costs and itinerary and largely based on the dates of travel, we booked up. In picking our agency one consideration was the credit card charge. At worst we were told an additional 10% would be added, in the end we went for an agency that charged 6% only on the boat part*.

Obviously paying a decent amount for the trip, we decided to draw out as much cash as possible to avoid the charge. Between our credit card being blocked, phone calls to the UK and then one of our cash cards also being blocked, the day pretty much disappeared. The good news is we're all booked and head off on Monday for 7 nights.

One advantage of a pretty lazy day was that it gave us a chance to acclimatise. Quito stands at 2850m above sea level and both of us suffered slight dizzy spells and tiredness, although touch wood, no real altitude sickness.

We enjoy visiting the supermarkets in each country, seeing what's available and sometimes buying some random fruit. This time was no different. We purchased some now familiar granadillas and also a pitahaya. It turns out to be a most enjoyable fruit, best described as a cross between a kiwi and a melon. We'll definitely be having more.

* It seems pretty standard in Ecuador to charge around 5% if you pay by card.


Friday 25th February 2011
Today's plans were to visit the old city and get a real sense of what Quito is like. We took the trole (electric bus) into town, being squeezed like sardines in a tin on the way. No complaints though as the trip was only 25 cents.

City of Culture 2011.

Quito is the Americas' city of culture for 2011 and you sense a lot of work has taken place to make the centre of the old city as attractive as possible.

Calle Ronda.

The prettiest street in the old city is Calle Ronda which has had an extensive facelift to bring back its old charm. This is a street where many of Quito's poets, writers and musicians lived and conversed. One popular meeting point was the Bat House Bar, a secret underground bar below a grocery shop.

Great value.

For lunch we went vegetarian, having possibly the cheapest three course meal (with drink), coming in at $1.80!

An afternoon visit to the well designed 'Museo de la Ciudad' took us through the history of Quito from prehispanic times.

In the evening we ventured a couple of blocks to try the local nightlife. Here that often involves paying for karaoke and we witnessed a few murdered songs, along with some pretty reasonable renditions of what we can only assume are Latin classics. Another feature of nightlife here is large beers. The standard 330ml bottles don't exist at night, replaced by larger reasonably priced bottles.

Green spaces.

Observations:
Police: As with Colombia there's a heavy presence both day and night. One difference here though is the number of sirens you hear. Not sure if that's good or bad...