Quito Ecuador

Quito Ecuador. This is one of the oldest cities in South America and the 2nd highest elevated capital in the world. The 1st being La Paz, Bolivia. The elevation was 9350 ft above sea level and the air was thin. Not to mention this city is very hilly so being out of shape doesn't help. Bob and I skied yearly and I never had the High Altitude sickness before. I was miserable pretty much the whole time we were here but I tried to make the most of it and didn't slow down much. Quito was a beautiful city and so much to do. There are quite a few more tourist in this country than in Colombia and we heard a lot more English spoken in this city. They have an "old" city and a "new" city (La Mariscal District) in Quito. We stayed in both areas for a few nights each. The old city is where all the government buildings, churches, museums and town park are located. There wasn't a whole lot to do in the evenings. They say it can be dangerous to walk around after 9:00 p.m. but no problem; mostly everything closed by 9:00 anyway. The days were warm mid 70's while the evenings were quite cool in the high 40's. La Mariscal was lined with skyscrapers (banks, apartments, fancy hotels & casinos) tons of restaurants and bars, parks, and tour agencies. The energy level in this area was fun. This was one of the monasteries. Government building City view One of the many churches. They actually had a street nicknamed 7 churches street. This particular church was 450 yrs old. This was a beautiful hotel called La Merced. We stepped in to check it out and asked about some city tours. All the rooms in this place were "suites" and went for $500/night. Good grief, why? You can rent an upscale fully furnished apartment for $40/night. Maybe some people just don't do enough research when traveling. Who needs a tour guide? Not us! Once we learned the bus routes we were all over this city. Most folks book city tours w/a tour agencies. We learned what all that included and decided to do the tour on our own and at our own pace. We went to La Mitad del Mundo otherwise known as the Middle of the World. A must if you are in Quito. Quito is located 15 miles away from the Equator. A monument and museum mark the general location of the Equator. Bob standing on both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Picture taken from the top of the Monument looking down at Equator

What we learned that there is an error on the marking of the equator. Now that we have much more sophisticated equipment and GPS. The experts were slightly off. The actual Equator is 250 yards north from the monument. Near the equator there are no summers, springs, fall or winters. Also, the toilet water does not flow in the opposite direction when below the equator. So our poop flushes down in the same direction as you guys do back home.

While in Quito we took a cab up to the cable cars otherwise known as Teleferiqo. The cable cars take you up to Pichincha Volcano and from there we were able to take in some spectacular views of Quito. Bob sent me to the ticket counter in hopes that I passed for a "nacional". Someone who lives in South America. Most activities done around Quito charge "foreigners" double the price. So far so good; I've been able to get "nacional" pricing several times.

On top of the summit are lots of lookout views and paths to walk. There were several coffee shops and souvenir shops on top too. I have to admit I hated the ride up. It was slow and I'm scared to death of heights. I had to put my earphones on and listen to music all the way up. My palms were sweaty and I couldn't enjoy the panoramic views. But once up there; all was good and beautiful. Very cold but we were prepared.

Bob has no fears.

Loves living on the edge.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy

day for us. They say you

can see all of Quito on a clear

sunny day.

It was cold.

Bob had to do a tour to the Cotopaxi Volcano without me. I just didn't have the energy to hike into higher elevation. By now, the high altitude sickness took over. Dizziness, no appetite, shortness of breath while lying down, couldn't sleep and the feel of a heart attack. My chest hurt so much and the panic of not being able to breath sucked. I was miserable so I stayed behind and rested in the hotel.

Bob's morning started out very early at 6:00 a.m. He decided to join a tour group since he was traveling on his own. He had a bus ride of 2 and half hours to one of the highest and most active volcano's in the world. He had a very active day with tough hikes and a bike ride. He didn't return back to the hotel till 8:00 p.m. and he was a tired pup.

This is suppose to be fun, right?

The amount of oxygen at this altitude is very minimal.

Hike up was very hard for the old man.

Final destination. Bottom of melting glacier at 16,400'.

He hiked to a small glacier.

Bob starting the descent down the volcano.

View from bottom of glaciers peaking thru the clouds.

Bike ride ended at a small lake.

Wait time at the lake for the slow poke

riders took approx. 30 mins.

He saw and did some amazing things on this excursion. Sorry I missed out.

Our next post will be fun we're having in Banos. A much smaller town.

Take care. Missing everyone - B & B