Quito - New Energy

I did not have much expectations about Quito. After being in Medellin, I thought it was just another South American city. While that is true, I was surprised. Maybe not pretty per se, I saw a charm in it that I did not expect.

Nestled similar to Medellin in a valley, the view over parts of the city from the rooftop of my hostel were stunning. The moment I saw it, some unexplained new energy rushed through my body. I quickly signed up for a free walking tour through the historical centre to get my bearings and learn about the history of the city - it was the first city in the world to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO!

After the tour, our guide, her boyfriend and I went to eat Encebollado together, a local dish, which is essentially a hot fish soup and - yes, you read it right - raw onions, popcorn and chips in it. Weird, but hey, it actually works.

Anyway, the rest of the day, I was wrapping my head around how to best travel through the Galapagos Islands and Cotopaxi and with my newly found energy and help from the hostel's travel agency, I managed to get that figured out relatively quickly.

On my last day in Quito - I only stayed here for two full days - I signed up for the Middle of the World Tour, which is probably the most popular thing to do in Quito. So, we drove to the middle of the world, where the equator passes through. I mean, it is called ECUADOR for a reason. While nothing spectacular - after all, it is just an invisible line - we did some cool experiments such as balancing an egg, etc.

That was already it. A quick visit to a city that sits 2850m above sea level and is in fact the highest capital in the world. For some reason, the city meant a little bit more to me than it maybe should. Possibly, because here, I found new energy and was really looking forward to my time in Ecuador, namely Cotopaxi and Galapagos. Let's bring it on!Read more