Two days - one in the City one out

Another two casual days, yesterday we spent in the City, well a bit of it considering that this place is sixteen kms long. Three taxi trips and we now may be veterans of that mode. The first was a negotiated price, the hotelier jumped in and made his buck and skimmed one off a four dollar ride, the next one was a surprise. We had made our way to the largest Mall in Quito, also the poshest one, so that meant we didn't buy but looked really closely. After a couple of hours and a cheap coffee from Dunkin'Donuts we wended to the Banos and then looked for an exit. Coming across what we thought was the valet parking the suited gent said he could get us a taxi. Paying four dollars to the neatly dressed female valet, remember this was a swanky mall, a large new SUV pulled up driven by an equally smartly dressed older man who spoke no English and had not been told where to go. Broken Spanish managed to tell him we wanted to go to the Artisans' market in Marisco. And we did!

We have been to many many markets in our travels and this has been the best - price location, cleanliness, the lack of aggressiveness and overall enjoyment we will recommend this market to the world. All of us bought something some of us bought a couple of things and we all received value for our money - cheap, cheap. Note the first purchase of the day shown in the pic below - a Panama Hat for the burnt head.

The first ripoff, of the trip,came at this market but not by the marketeers. I was accosted by a scruffy looking street urchin who had spotted that I was wearing leather shoes. Producing his shoeshine kit he mumbled a price and proceeded to work away. At the end he very clearly stated - in English; "Three Dollars", somewhat shocked I paid.

Leaving the Market we walked a couple of streets looking for a cab, finally spotting an empty one I asked "Cuanto a Plaza Santa Domingo" he just pointed at the meter and said, "Meter". OK we were in heavy traffic so we feared the worst. Turned out to be cheaper than we had wanted to pay. 

Of course we wanted to eat at the time the eateries are closed - beween lunch and dinner. Finally finding a pizza shop we entered and ordered Calzone for me Lasagna for the girls and Pizza for Stuart. All too much food and less than ten bucks apiece with drinks. End of day four.

Day Five

Today was a trip out of Town, using our trusty guide and getting in the middle of a dispute about the fares - Hernan, the hotelier, put the price up but kept the difference for himself cutting out the driver - Charlo. We fixed that by upping Charlo's tip. 

Off to Mindo a town eighty kms North and famous for being a mecca for backpackers who want to zipline or tube down the river. We went for the Butterfly farm and the Chocolate factory tour.

Stopping halfway for a pee stop Charlo took us to his friend who owned the "Armadillos" Cafe. This was an immaculate facility famous for its birds. The humming birds were plentiful and demonstrative. but the piece de resistance of this place was the WCs - the cleanest and most hospitable any where in the world. Arriving in Mindo after leaving the main road and driving seven kms down into the valley we found a small Town in the early stages of tourist overload, but very nice.

The Butterfly Farm was small compared to others but it had a table that actually showed the chryssali emerging from the case. Hundreds of varieties were there but we only appeared to see a few different varieties. Staying awhile we then crossed the road o look at the river. This is the river that the 'tubers' ride on and we were glad not to have done that considering the speed of the flow, the size of the rocks and small width of the river.

Onto the Chocolate factory but not before inspecting the lunch facilities in a magnificent lodge by the river. The Chocolate factory is world famous despite being a very small producer. Wikipedia description here. The tour cost six bucks and lasted an hour where we were shown every aspect of the production and given a comprehensive sampling session, it was probably that long to induce guilt and to ensure purchase of the product from the small sales shelf.

Driving back, on the same road, it seems that all of the trips we have taken are in the North and there is only one road out, the ninety minutes passed quickly - I fell asleep! Back to the hotel and a bit of relaxation and then an exploration of the La Ronda, the street that the hotel is on. It is a short street but the cultural resurrection of the City. Four years ago it was the seediest place in Town but having cops and social thrown at it has made it the place to be seen. One hundred yards long in each direction the stores and cafes inhabit little cubby holes or are entrances into larger patios each containing a restaurant of some kind. We entered a place three doors down from the hotel and were immediately greeted by English, "Hello what would you like?". Didn't even have to attempt broken Spanish, but I did. Sucking back on hot chocolate and striking up conversation with a couple from Phoenix who were backpacking through Ecuador by bus or cheap planes. Nice folks.

Onto bed.

Sore bums and burnt heads

This vehicle - an open top double-decker bus was our home for three hours yesterday. A lot of fun, sun and sights. Taking us around the City we saw most of the places we had seen on the internet and brochures. We try to do this tour in all of the cities we visit and learn as much as we can about the place. This time being Seniors we paid half price - $6 usd. That amazing price is indicative of the prices we are paying for all of the tours we have taken and those we intend to take. A similar tour in a similar bus in Rome cost $37 and in Milan $42. So Quito's bus is a bargain. Perhaps because it is not owned by the Viator conglomerate. 

The first sight we saw the first morning at first light was the ninety foot statue of the Virgin Mary, located high above the City, well we visited it on the tour and stayed twenty-five minutes to gawk. A visit to the Chapel and shrines was the princely sum of one dollar - cheap at half the price.

Quitenos are very proud of their open spaces and the Parque Carolina is no exception. Full of recreational sports users - soccer players, tennis players and even some boaters all enjoy this park which most compare to Central Park in NYC. The Public Art on display at the North end was a series of full size Hollywood level Dinosaurs. These really lifelike models entranced the kids, specially when they moved body parts.

Another marvel of the trip was being on a large bus that could actually manoeuvre the skinny streets and sharp turns without holding up traffic. Traffic in Quito is not a hectic one but the small streets and the three lane arterials do get clogged very quickly but the 401 at rush hour is much busier. One of the things that sticks out to a tourist is the large number of Police on the streets. Almost every intersection has one and community policing is taken to the Nth degree with strolling pairs almost every hundred yards. Apparently one of the first things the popular President did when achieving office was to remove Police corruption and reduce crime. He obviously swamped the place with cops; none of whom appear to be over twenty-five years old.

As an example, when we walked to the bus stop yesterday we noticed squads of riot police around the Governor's Palace. Buses of heavily armoured cops who looked like trekkies in their plastic flak jackets and holding shields. Prudence dictated that we take no pics of these guys. Not knowing what was going on we just got on the bus and took the tour. When we

passed the Grand Plaza, on the way back, we realised that the show of force was to contain a protest by the tribespeople being displaced by the massive contract given to the Chinese who will be drilling for oil in the Amazon.

Back to the Hotel to chase up the hot water problem, and after standing over the hoteliers we actually did get it back. Next problem - get the TV fixed. 

Across from the Hotel is one of the two restaurants that advertise Cuy (guinea pig) a national food. We wanted to see one and Stuart wanted to try one. Seated and ordered the food arrived and it was definitely local food, the vegetables were hard for me to eat, I don't like corn cobs at the best of times and this local one was obviously right off the village farm, Stuart loved his quarter of the Cuy, it arrived complete with head and feet but not much meat to chew on - put it down to an experience. Again another  meal for ten bucks a plate! Seeking out dessert we wandered uptown and came across a bakery. Two coffees, two hot chocolates and and three pastries - eight bucks - amazing.

Tomorrow we explore the markets.

If we see everything today what will we see tomorrow?

It certainly felt as though we were going to see all of the sights in one day when the guidemaster told us about the tour. Cable Car - check, Real Equator - check, Volcano - check, the fake Equator - check; we saw them all. What will be left for the other days?

We rode in a van through the City of Quito, it is sixteen kms in length and runs from North to South. The Historical District (where we are staying) is in the South and the trip took us twenty five kms North so we saw most of Quito through the window, trouble was it wasn't all of Quito as we rode the main roads and they skirt the City. But what we did see was the same as other South and Central American urban sites we have seen roads lined with the day to day life of the average worker. Shops, garages, bus stops and all the places that cater to all. But none of them anything but scruffy by our standards. And lots of dogs - no cats! 

The Telefériqo starts at the edge of Quito and ascends about three thousand feet to the start of a mountain range where one can hike or horse ride to another one of the many volcanoes that surround Quito. Wikipedia description is here. The temperature of the place was about ten degrees lower than the start and it was windy as heck. Nothing much up there except some concession stands, only one was open on the Monday we went but all would be open on the weekends. The eight minute ride was not scary as the cable car hugged the mountain side and didn't have any long spans - pretty tame. But still a worthy site. Onto the next sight.

Arriving at a National Park we were supposed to see a mountain range that shielded a volcano. But the volcano was a two hour hike and the fog obscured a good view of it. We did get to see what the 'oil money' had built - a modern vendors' shop and an interpretive centre.

There are two places to see the Equator. The actual Equator and the place the locals founded in the 1700s. They are about four hundred metres apart and are two completely different experiences.

The actual Equator runs through a place where there is a Museum and guides will run little click here for the reference But even if its not the right place it's close enough and gives the visitor a good time. They run scientific experiments to show that it is actually the Equator. The most impressive consists of a basin and a bucket of water. But just checking Wikipedia even this site is not on the line.

Enough for the tripping we were bushed and wanted to drink a glass of wine and relax, so the last stop was to a SuperMaxi (large modern supermarket) where we bought our wine and then headed back to the Hotel where we discovered that the plumber had not fixed the hot water and so another night without it. I wonder how much of a discount we could get for this? We haven't paid yet as the credit card machine was not connecting to the Bank when we were asked to fork out - we haven't volunteered to pay.

Eating the last meal of the day we all commented on just how cheap the food is here, another full meal for ten dollars each is a wonderment to us.

The landing and the first day in the Town

Day one:
The flight  down was peachy - half-full plane and free beer toss in a real meal and it feels like air travel twenty years ago. Copa Air is just as impressive this trip as it was the last trip, a traveller's dream; cheap fares with full service and real steel flatware. Arriving in Panama City, there were fifty-five minute to kill. Finding a gate, time for a visit to the bathrooms and we were ready to take the next leg (Amazing Race lingo!). we will be exploring this airport on the return trip. Back in the air for another ninety minutes, the lasting memory of Panama City airport will be the price of water demanded for 500mls of water - $3.75 usd. We obviously were taken for tourists!!

Snapped a couple of pics, one showing the airport concourse and an interesting one that tells all about the non-smoking law in public spaces. Onto Quito, another flight that featured frr food and beverages (Air Canada take note). Landing on time it was another half hour to clear customs and look for the driver who was going to be looking for us. The first surprise that the trip was not a normal air travel was when we retrieved the one checked bag, the new lock - a combination lock TSA approved, was missing. Normally we do not put locks on the bags but this time it was decided that we had better because we were going to parts unknown. Good job it was a sale price but it's still ten bucks down the drain just because some lazy customs inspector couldn't be bothered to put it back after looking through our jewels.

The Hostal LaRonda had promised us an airport pickup so we looked at all the waiting people holding signs - none for us. Waiting about thirty minutes we spotted a hurried man clutching a piece of paper running toward us. Speaking no English he pointed to the paper, where my misspelled name appeared and gesticulated to mean are we him. "Si", he then apologised for being late "Mas tardes, Senor" and then said the parked car was five minutes away, he seemed surprised to see four people, maybe he had to get another van. But out of the concourse and into the parking lot to a small van. Two bags and four people filled the van and we were off. Pointing to the looming clouds he said"Quito one hour and much rain." He was right the roads we travelled, all of them uphill were deluged with running water, I'd hate to be at the bottom of the hill. Next surprise: the driver's cell phone rang and I heard him say that he was half an hour away and then he said, "It's for you" The hotel owner was also surprised that four people were coming even though I had confirmation of two rooms. "I can put you in a big suite - two bedrooms and shared bath" What can you do and it wasn't as though we hadn't shared an apartment before. More rain and more hills and then we arrived in the middle of the Historical District to face a traffic problem. In streets that can take no more than one car at a time ther was a huddle of cars trying to turn around and move away - the Street had been closed for Saturday night. Well only a short walk to the hotel and then we found the room.

While the ladies settled in and acclimatised themselves to the Quito accommodation, which was large by their standards Stuart and I went of to buy some bottled water and look at the Street. La Ronda Street is the main pedestrian place in the District, every other doorway led to cafes and bars with restaurants - very much a people place. We found a little hole in the wall cafe that sold agua and we bought a couple of bottles each. How much you ask - seventy-five cents. Helluva lot cheaper than the airport price but still way over local price. Incidentally Ecuador uses the US dollar, so we handed over a couple of ones and received some strange coins - Centavos - they use American coin as well so we now have to use some funny money - still money.

Day two
after a long night for those who didn't sleep well, TripAdvisor had published reviews of the hotel that had said it was noisy because of the street. It was true. he street noise didn't stop  until 2am and the people noise didn't stop until three. As a heavy sleeper I never heard a thing I was just relieved that the music didn't have any big Bass speakers pounding away.

Down in the lobby/courtyard area the advertised WiFi was tested. A signal had been picked up in the room three storeys up but it was weak. In the courtyard a strong signal was found but the router was not linked and so we have no Internet link, Just another problem on the list of things we have to present the hotelier with when we see him during business hours. But the weather is cooperating morning temp is not bad and not cold - a cool eight degrees.

A long walk this morning exploring the many Plazas in Downtown Quito, ended up at the Basilica. A service was going on so we didn't see the interior but for two bucks we ascended (in the elevator) to the roof of the church. The next phase was a staircase to the Tower. we got halfway up, on the inside, using a very steep staircase. These stairs led to a balcony below the Tower and another two flights took you to the top. The pic below shows just how dodgy the stairs outside were - enough to make us look twice. This is where we lost our nerve and decided this was far enough.

Meandering back to the hotel took a while and we had decided to finish the afternoon with wine. Going into the local SuperMercado a couple of bottles were selected, taken to the checkout and then we were told "No wine selling on Sunday" Tracking down a place where we could drink wine led us to a five star swanky hotel. We got the wine --- for nine dollars a glass! The final surprise of the day - no hot water in the shower.

Quick update:
Second World  facilities clash with First World attitudes. When we checked in the first thing to be checked out were the communications - wifi and tv. The cable did not work despite the efforts of Hernan the faithful hotelier, the wifi came on but sporadically and we discovered that there was a free wifi zone just outside the window, so goodbye HOSTAL network hello FreeQuito network. The cable was knocked out by the storm we experienced the night we landed and it needs a techie fix - today (Monday) maybe. Next experiment is to see how many piccies we can upload at a time.

Ecuador in ten seconds

Taken from Wikipedia:

Ecuador (ⁱ/ˈɛkwədɔr/ E-kwə-dawr), the red stuff on the map, officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador [reˈpuβlika ðel ekwaˈðor], which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It and Chile are the only two countries in South America that do not have a border with Brazil. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland.
The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish (94% of the population). Languages of official use in native communities include Quichua, Shuar, and 11 other languages. Ecuador has a land area of 283.520 km2. Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America.^[8] The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country in size and economically,^[9] was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 for being an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish style colonial city in the Americas.^[10] Ecuador is also home to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos Islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the seventeen megadiverse countries in the world.^[11] The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.^[12]
Ecuador is a presidential republic and became independent in 1830 after having been part of the Spanish colonial empire and, for a much shorter time, of the republic of Gran Colombia. It is a medium-income country with an HDI score of 0.720 (2011).^[7]

Pre-trip excitements

Quito here we come: we are travelling again and for those few who follow our journeys I hope to have time to tell you what we have been up to. This time we are going to the Equator!

There will be four of us Doreen and Me, Doreen's sister Louise and her husband Stuart. Working to get the bookings and flights has been an ongoing process for five months now. Flying with Copa Airlines - a Panamanian airline is a great experience. It must be one of the last airlines to give you beer and snacks without a charge. The hotel was booked on the Internet by searching on Expedia and then booking directly with the hotel, a great way to get what you want and you don't have to pay the expedia fee.

Anyway Saturday we take off at 0930, land in Panama City - stay for one hour and then on to Quito.




Staying at the Hostel la Ronda for ten days piccie on right.



We hope to see many sights - the Equator, the Historic Centre with its sixteen public squares and many churches, and ride the cable car up the mountain.

Taken from Wikipedia:

Quito ([ˈkito]), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador, and at an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,800 meters above sea level), it is the highest capital city in the world housing the administrative, legislative and judicial functions.^[1] It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha,^[2] an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains. With a population of 2,239,191 according to the last census (2010), Quito is the second most populous city in Ecuador, after Guayaquil. It is also the capital of the Pichincha province and the seat of Metropolitan District of Quito. The canton recorded a population of 1,842,201 residents in the 2001 national census. In 2008, the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations.^[3]
The historic center of Quito has one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas.^[4] Quito, along with Kraków, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO in 1978.^[4] The central square of Quito is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.