| Oct 7, 2005 - Quito, Ecuador
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 | | show all 8 | | Virgin of Quito Statue in Background | | Quito's Independence Plaza | | Plaza w/ Statue | | |
| Quito, Ecuador. A sprawling, bustling city at 9,200 feet cradled among the majestic Andes mountains. The start of my trip.
I had a nervous exitement on the way down, coupled with the fear of "What the hell am I doing?" It had been so much fun to plan and dream and wonder about this trip, and now I can only hope that the reality can live up to the fantasy. As the plane made its descent, I could see flickering lights from the city through thick clouds that were draped, motionless, along the sides and valleys of the different peaks. The airplane lights hit the clouds and created an orange glow, as if they had a fire blazing withim them. I arrived at night, and it wasn't until this morning walking around that I realized how fully surrounded by towering mountains this city really is. And how modernized too. The only real travelling I have done was in Ghana and Nepal, or throughout the US, and Quito reminds me much more of the latter. Everything you imagine in a devloped city is evident here, and while food and housing are pretty cheap, it is not the $1-2 a day living that I am accostomed to when travelling in those other places. This whole journey will be an interesting comparison of where I am, where I've been, and where I'm from.
After much sleep, and a great brakfast at the hostel, I set out solo to explore. The city can basically be broken down into Old Town with all the old churches and museums, New Town, the tourist trap where I am staying with bars, restaurants, and internet cafes, and then the surrounding area, which do not have tremendous interest value for foreigners only in town for a short time. So I decided to take the trolley down to the end of Old Town, and just walk around slowly making my way back about 1.5 miles to New Town. I get to the trolly though, and the ticket person won't let me go. Now, I know this goes to the Plaza de Santo Domingo, so what's the problem? A very friendly woman came to my aid and explained, in English, that there was a protest going on in Old Town, and so the Trolley was not stopping there, but I should wait around and it would be over within half an hour. Actually, it was more like 10 minutes. I get down there, and spend the next few hours walking through Quito's many parks and plazas, and viewing the churches and museums from the outside. I stop to eat at a food stand in the city's largest park, and realize after ordering that this was probably a bad idea, and I may be paying the price later on. But too late now. She brings me a bowl of soup, that I only pray was boiled first, with some potato and chicken in it, and I think "not a bad deal for one dollar." Then as I start eating she brings me a banana, and then another plate with rice, some type of pasta, avocado, and a few big pieces of fried chicken. All very tasty, and all still one dollar. I can get used to this, as long as my stomach holds up.
I then finished the walk through two of Quito's biggest parks, and back into Old Town and the area around my hostel called El Mariscal, but also known as Gringo-Landia. All told it was about 3 1/2 hours of wandering. October starts the rainy season here, but although it was overcast and foggy, it stayed dry the whole time, and was a very pleasant afternoon. Very interesting, but not at all that scary feeling of being in such a foreign place, which was very nice and welcome.
By that point I was pretty tired, having not completely adjusted to the altitude. I took it easy around the hostel the rest of the day, and went out to sample the nightlife with some others from the hostel after dinner.
The next day, Friday, was more of the same. A bit of exploring, a bit of relaxing, and a bit of trading adventure stories and advice with the many other travellers staying in my hostel. It certainly is one of the busier, noisier, and more crowded hostels in Gringolandia, but has a great commmunity feel to it that the others are lacking. Later in my trip I may want a private room and some peace and quiet, but for my first few days, this was a great way to start. I also officially became a member of the South American Explorers club (www.saexplorers.org), at a reduced price, whose membership fee should pay for itself with the discounts I will recieve.
All in all I enjoyed Quito (never got sick from that meal in the park!), and I look foward to returning here at the end of my trip. |
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