We actually arrived the previous evening, but it was late and we were exhausted, so we didn't do much.
Our first day we started at the market. It was huge, and somewhat similar to markets in Chile. Other than the merchandise, however, the major difference here is that as soon as you walk by, they are talking to you and trying to get you to buy their stuff. It's overwhelming and a little annoying until you figure out how to ignore them completely unless you actually want to buy their stuff. One guy told me my eyes were beautiful (not a whole lot of blue-eyed people down here), and then said, "Only 10 dollars." I have no idea what he meant. We walked away.
We then went down to a park. This was all in New Town. Quito is enormous and the streets are very small and I honesty don't know how there is not a wreck on every corner and intersection. Anyway, there is significantly more green space in Quito than in Santiago, so that's nice.
You can tell we're not huge city people.
Anyway, the best thing we did was the Traferiqo, which is a tram up to the top of a volcano, the Little Pichincha. Quito is at about 9300 feet above sea level, so we were already feeling the altitude change from an island to the middle of the Andes. Pichincha is at about 13,000 feet. We definitely had to take it slow. But it was beautiful!
We went over to La Basilica, a huge church built in the Gothic era, so it's really cool. We just went to the inside of it downstairs. The upstairs was closed by the time we got there.
We walked down to Plaza Santo Domingo, which is typically filled with street performers, but again, we were a little late to the game.
We tried to take some pictures of the city, too, as we walked around. It is a neat place to visit, very interesting and big and colorful.
We caught a cab just before it began to rain, and we had a chill evening back at the hostel. Oh, but we ate first. The food is really cheap here. The two of us can get a huge meal each for about five bucks. And Ecuador uses the American dollar, so it's the same budget. And the food is delicious. We have not been disappointed one bit here.
Day 2
Our first objective was to get our stuff mailed back home that we bought at the market. We've heard the mail service isn't super reliable, so we wanted to go with a private company like FedEx. So we looked it up, got a location, and went there. No FedEx. They partner with an affiliate cargo company, which we did find, but they were closed, even though the website said they would be open.
Well, we hadn't eaten, so we decided to get some nutrition before carrying on. Oh my god the food here is so good!!
Restaurant: Mama Clorinda
It was a bit pricier, but it was totally worth it. We started with a humita, basically an Ecuadorian version of a tomali, but with it's own twists. Tanya got lamb, and I got steak, and everything was incredible. If you come to Quito, EAT HERE.
Okay, so on to the post office - we decided to chance it with the regular one. This proved to be the most difficult process ever.
1. We found it (finally) - yay!
2. We'd like to mail our stuff, but we need a box. How much? Oh, you don't have any boxes? Okay...
3. We found a box at the internet/xerox place a few doors down. It's 50 cents. We don't have change, and neither does the nice lady at the internet/xerox place.
4. We had a beer and a crepe next door to get change for the box. We packed the box, everything fits nicely. Back to the post office. Do you have tape? No tape? What the hell kind of post office is this? And we have to wrap our box? Okay.
5. Back to the internet/xerox place where the nice lady kindly sells us brown wrapping paper and tape. All done!
6. Back to the post office. Great, right? Wrong. We need a passport?? Two copies?!?!? Tanya has a copy of hers, fortunately. So yes, back to the internet/xerox place to make two copies of her passport. But we've run out of change. So I must wait while Tanya runs to find change.
7. Done. No for real, that was it.
Ridiculous.
Now that it is 1:30 in the afternoon and our stuff has been mailed, we can start touring Quito. First, La Basilica to go to the top.
Oh, I did not mention, but Quito is super hilly. Everything is on a hill. It is, after all, right in the middle of the Andes. So up a big hill to the church.
It is beautiful. We pay our ticket and make our way up and up and up the stairs. Lovely views!
We get to the top where typically you can cross an old wooden bridge thing and go up a rickety ladder to the very top of the tower. Unfortunately, this is closed for 15 days.
On to the museum, the Museo de la Cuidad - Museum of the City. This is a really old building from the 1500's that was used as a hospital up until like, the 1970's. It now tells the story of life in Quito from then until now. In case you weren't sure, the church played a huge role.
Still, cool to see and learn a little more about Ecuador's history. It isn't so different from ours. The Spanish came in, destroyed the natives, took over, brought in slaves, and created a ruling class.
We also took lots of pictures of the city today. I love how colorful it is here!
Tomorrow we head out early, so it's an early evening for us.
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