Quito

Hola!! After a failed attempt at breaking some USD (note for future - don’t take anything bigger than a $20 note!), we boarded the hop on/hop off bus to see the sites of Quito. It definitely doesn't feel like the narrow streets and low wires in Quito were made for double decker buses! We explored some different neighbourhoods at an elevation of 2850m, passing some colourful colonial houses and the cathedral (with gargoyles that represent the animals of the Amazon such as crocodiles and turtles) on our way to the Panecillo (statue of the Virgin Mary with wings crushing a snake). We took in the magnificent views of the Quito landscape and learnt about the construction of the statue (made completely of aluminium) before having some awesome bbq chicken for lunch on a skewer with veggies and rice and traditional hot alcoholic drink called canelazo.

We then took an extension on the regular tour to visit Mitad del Mondo - the centre of the earth (this included driving through rioting soccer fans of rival clubs who were playing today!). Quito is one of the few cities through which the equator passes so it was very cool to be standing with one foot on either side of the equator (so we were in both the Southern and Eastern hemisphere at the same time!) Our tour guide taught us about Ecuadorian history such as the customs of the three main different regions (highlands, Amazon and lowlands), including one which involved beheading and wearing the shrunken heads of their enemies; another was the medicinal powers of Guinea pigs ‘Cuy’. There was a musesum there which also contained a lot of information about Ecuador and we explored and took some photos around and Daniel bought his souvenir shot glass for Ecuador here.

We made our way back to where we were staying for a quick dinner at a cool rooftop bar/restaurant (where Daniel had a tiny bottle of Corona) and Gab had a huge glass of wine for a couple of USD. We then met our group of 17 people for the tour with G Adventures which starts tomorrow! Surprisingly, we are the only Aussies on the tour. The tour group members are mostly from the UK and there is also one American guy and 2 Dutch guys. Our tour group leader for this part of the journey is Guido and he will help us translate things from Spanish as well as lead our group. Looking forward to starting tomorrow!!Read more