South America

Up at 7AM, the day started with hotel breakfast. Marco picked us up at 9AM for our City Tour and Equator (booked through G Adventures - similar prices through private companies). First stop was equator line where we met up with Jolene and Dave for tour! Lots of tests to prove we were at the equator. We went to GPS-calculated equator, not the old line where the tourists go. We balanced an egg on a nail, did the water draining test (goes straight down the drain, not clockwise or counterclockwise), sun dial and strength tests.

After the tour, Marco drove to Old Town where we had a walking tour. Saw the Basilica, Grand Plaza, President Palace, Bishop Palace, University Building, Campeña church, San Francisco Plaza, Dominican church, stop for ice-cream at the oldest shop in town (guanoabana and chocolate), then to La Ronda (fun part at night), Av 24 de Mayo (nice views but lots of pickpockets). Returned to Vista Hermosa restaurant but decided not to have lunch here (nice views).

Back to hotel at 2:30PM. Shopped at Artisan market and bought colorful beaded necklace. Lots of fake alpaca products. Went to high-end store and alpaca sweater for Myron = $265! Foch Square for soccer game and drinks where there was a ton of energy! Ecuador vs. Spain was the game and Spain won 2 to 0. We went back to the hotel to pack. Laundry took 12-24 hours to dry depending on the size of the item, material and location.

At 7PM, we walked back to Foch Square for dinner at Mama Clarinda's, who advertised themselves as ecuadorian food and was recommended by Marco. Nice place. Ate on the 3rd floor. Ordered two humita (sweet corn mash with cheese wrapped in a corn husk). S: llapingachos con filet de pechuga. M: seco de chiro (goat stew) w/rice and pico. Both dishes came with avocado and bean salad. Got jugo de moro and lemonade.

Back to the hotel by 8:30 and in bed for early morning.

Overall Quito ended up being a nice city. We felt reasonably safe in light of warnings (common sense helps here). Know areas and know when and when not to go. Altitude sickness was mild. Airport between 45min to 2hr from hotel in new town (depending on route and traffic). hoHo not a good use of the day, should have done city tour. Missed out on cotopaxi volcano, telefico and octaval markets due to poor planning. Center of the World monument was interesting ~30min north of hotel, $4, interesting experiments, could be labeled as a tourist trap. Taxis were cheap, negotiate fare ahead of time. Lots of mass produced "artisan crafts" throughout the city. Need to use bottled water, but cheap at the pharmacy.Read more