I arrived in Quito jetlagged and ragged, and didn't sleep well despite that. The first day was a slog. It was bright and sunny in the morning, so we took advantage of the weather while it lasted and did a self-guided walking tour of the Old Town. This part of Quito was beautiful. The colonial churches dominated the squares. We went in to a few of them- it was a good way to dodge the raindrops. The Metropolitan Cathedral was beautiful, as was the Compania de Jesus- wow, the gold! Quito reminded me a lot of Cusco. We had some great traditional food for lunch, lots of corn and potatoes. Unfortunately, by afternoon it had started to rain. After waiting for the worst of it to pass, we walked back to the hotel. We passed through the Mariscal Sucre neighborhood, stopping for chocolate samples at a Republic of Chocolate store. For dinner we went to Crepes and Waffles, a recommended restaurant from a friend. Oh, the Sopa del Soul was delicious.
Day 2 in Quito once again started with sunshine. We went to the Teleferico de Quito, a gondola lift up the mountain to the summit of the Pichincha Volcano. The ride was pretty, up into the clouds. It was definitely getting harder to breathe at the top. We didn't to the final hike up to the peak- neither of us were acclimitized to the altitude or prepared for an alpine trek in terms of food and water. But the views from the top of the lift were definitely worth the price of the trip.
After descending, we drove up to Mitad del Mundo, or Middle of the World. It's the equator! There were some interesting scientific explanations (the water draining differently is mostly a myth! Gah!) and LOTS of photos standing in two hemispheres. We had lunch there, and wandered through the shops. For dinner we turned to Lonely Planet for a recommendation near Plaza Foch. It wasn't great.
Overall, two days in Quito turned out well. It's not a place I need to go back to, but it was nice to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment