Quito
Day 234 Fri 22/4 – 241 Fri 29/4 Quito
I left early enough on Friday from Cuenca anticipating a long ride. I wasnt wrong, as the travel time was increased by a breakdown as well. It was well after 7 pm when I got into Quito. The bus wasnt very comfortable either! I managed to get directions to the hostel from the lady at the tourism desk, and hopped on the metro. When I got off at the stop, it was late and I walked up to a policeman to ask him for directions to my hostel. He didnt know the place and flagged down a police car and asked them for directions. The two cops in the car kindly offered to drive me to the hostel. I add that to my interesting modes of transportation in South America!
Saturday morning was spent exploring Quito (old town) city centre. Quito is very pretty, and can be quite charming. I had a lovely day and to top it off, had “Indian” food lunch at a restaurant run by a family from Bangladesh.
I had been debating doing a 4 day trek around Laguna Quilotoa and some surrounding villages (the so called Quilotoa loop), but the weather dissuaded me and I ended up heading out to Laguna Quilotoa from Quito. The drive there and back was through some extremely pretty regions. The Quilotoa lake has to be among my highlights of Ecuador as it is excrutiatingly beautiful! By the time I got back to Quito, I was too tired to even get some dinner and headed to bed as soon as I had a shower.
After spending 3 nights in the old town, I decided to change hostels and stay in Mariscal, which is the new town and has the reputation of being dangerous at night. However, during the day, it is a place bustlig with life and atmosphere, with restaurants, bookstores, bakeries, bars, etc. I walked around quite a bit of Mariscal in the afternoon and settled in to watch the Argentine movie “El secreto de sus ojos” after my return to the hostel in the evening. A great movie to wrap up a nice day.
The next day I ended up heading to Mitad del Mundo with a couple of Argentines I met in the hostel. Mitad del Mundo is a bit of a kitchy tourist trap. However, it is kind of fun and one likes having the illusion of being on both sides of the equator at the same time. The real equator apprently passes a few 100 metres North of Mitad del Mundo. Didnt do too much in the afternoon except eat and read a bit.
The Wednesday started off with a downpour of rain and I got wet as I was wandering in the neighbourhood. I decided to spend the morning in the hostel and managed to watch the UEFA semifinal between Barcelona and Real Madrid. I was happy that the fairly dull match ended with a victory for my favourite club team.
I had put off the best of Quito for the last day of my stay in town. The Guayasamin Foundation and Capilla del Hombre. I loved Guayasamin’s paintings and spend 3-4 hours in the museum and Capilla del Hombre. I dont recall having been moved so much by a painting since I saw the Guernica for the first time in Madrid! After having expended so much emotional energy, I spent a quite lazy afternoon, watching some movie.
Tags: Travel
Damu