5 Days in Quito

I'm finally getting around to posting an entry. We've stopped in internet cafés a few times, but only stayed long enough for me to check email and Vols news. Magge is currently suffering from a bout of what I assume is Montezuma's revenge, so I have all afternoon to do whatever I want. Naturally, I'm at the computer right now. We do have pictures to upload, but I don't know where the USB cord is and didn't want to wake Magge up to ask.


We got into Quito Thursday night and went straight to the hotel. This city doesn't have the best reputation for safety, so it was a little unnerving when the city block where the hotel is located was out of power and there didn't appear to be any employees manning the station. We asked the taxi driver to escort us inside because we (i.e., me) were scared to go in alone.  We ended up checking in safely and the rest of the night was uneventful.

Friday was spent wandering around the city, sticking primarily with the old city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Quito is one of the more beautifully located cities I've visited.  It is situated in a narrow valley surrounded by mountains and volcanoes.  If forced to come up with an American comparison, I'd say Denver is a poor man's Quito, at least in terms of the geography/topography.  The old city is a fairly sizeable collection of colorful colonial buildings, attractive plazas and narrow, hilly streets.  What separates it from other 'old cities' or 'old towns' (or 'olde', if you're Philadelphia) I have visited is the lack of a touristy feel.  I haven't come across any international chain restaurants or hotels; it seems to be a place where the locals live and work.

On Saturday, we visited El Mitad del Mundo (The Center of the World), Ecuador's monument at the equator.  It turns out, the calculations made by the French were wrong (of course), and this spot is actually about 200 meters south of the real equator, but it doesn't matter as there's a whole fake town built around the monument to sell you postcards, cheap trinkets and overpriced food.  Probably the more interesting part of the day was taking the public transportation to get there (costs $0.40 per person to travel about 15 miles), as we got to see more of the city.  Leaving the old city, you go from very distinct, centuries-old architecture to a sprawling mass of generic-looking buildings spread out on the valley floor and up onto the mountainsides, with stores blasting latin music into the street on every corner.  It reminded me of LA without the ocean or fake breasts.

To close out the weekend, we visited a botanical garden.  It was more for Magge than me, and she took many pictures of flowers that we'll link to later.

We've spent this week taking Spanish classes while staying with a local family.  Given that I don't know any Spanish and we'll be spending the next four months in South America and one month in Spain, I thought it was a good idea to have some basic español skills.  So far, I know how to say 'my wife is boring'.  Magge already speaks Spanish pretty well, so she's just trying to sharpen up.  She has actually been the trip MVP so far, communicating and negotiating for the both of us.

Magge's gastro problems aside, the food here has been great.  The cuisine in this area is primarily meat and potatoes, which is right up my alley.  To make it even better, it's pretty cheap.  You can get an almuerzo (set lunch) that consists of juice, soup, rice, meat, vegetables and fruit salad for under $2.00.  They are big on juice down here and make it with fruits I've never heard of before (e.g., naranjilla).  I still don't know what some of those fruits were, but I have liked most of them.

We're going to spend the rest of the week in Quito taking Spanish before heading south towards Cuenca.