Quito

Driving back to Quito from Mindo, we realized that we had crossed the equator already several times on our journey through Ecuador without giving it any official recognition!  So we stopped at the “Mitad del Mundo” (Middle of the World)… and here it is (drumroll please) – the requisite Ecuador picture standing with one foot in each hemisphere, straddling the line that is drawn on the earth marking the Equator.

 

Ha ha, ok, the truth is that we pulled in to the parking lot of the “Mitad del Mundo” tourist trap, took one look at the long line of elderly gringo tour groups waiting to get in, and decided to just draw a line in the parking lot and pass it off as the Equator.  And no, there is no actual line marking the Equator; in fact, we had passed over it so many times without knowing because there is no sign or marker designating it, except for the “Mitad del Mundo” complex, which we had read is not actually on the equator anyway…

But to get on with the story, we were now officially in the southern hemisphere.  We had heard good things about Quito and wanted to spend some time there.  Unfortunately, most of the few days we spent there were occupied with non-blogworthy things.  We had to replace the car's radiator (yes, we thought we had fixed it a couple weeks before, but turned out we needed a whole new one).  We also spent almost an entire day trying to pick up a package from the Quito post office - after hours of waiting, trying to convince the post office officials that a pocketknife is used for camping and NOT a weapon, and driving around to receive special permission from the military to pick up a package containing a pocketknife.  In the end we got our package but had to pay more than $70 in taxes.  Not worth it!!

Luckily, through all of this, we had friends Linda and Dario still traveling with us to cheer us up. Besides being awesome people, these guys can cook!  Here we are in Cubby, cooking up a storm!

 

In between all the mundane tasks, we still managed to do some sightseeing in historic Quito.  Here are some of the highlights:

The Basilica del Voto Nacional - a beautiful neogothic church.

 

The coolest part is the stone animals that appear to be leaping out of the church.  Anteaters, monkeys, iguanas, Galapagos turtles... at first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!  They are all native animals of Ecuador, apparently.  Cool.

 

Museo de la Ciudad - this museum has a good history of Quito and Ecuador.  There are cool wax figures that you can pose with (ok, maybe that's not encouraged, but...)

 

 

Ricardo felt right at home when he found the street called Chile.

 

The Virgin of Quito statue is up on the hill.  We wanted to walk up there, but never had the time!

 

 

The historic buildings lining Quito's streets...

 



 

Enjoying the warm sunshine on the plaza.

 

Quito is a beautiful city.  We had a great visit!

 

 

After Quito, we drove south toward Cotopaxi National Park...and yes, this is the story you've all been waiting for: involving a volcano, a South African we nicknamed "Jab", and a donkey!  Stay tuned.