Ecuador: it’s more than just the Galapagos…

It’s a cliché but our blog ground to a halt once we got back from our latest travel stint.  Life, studies, work, selling our apartment and moving to the country all got in the way but we are determined to get it up and running again so that we can finish writing about 2018, write some other retrospective reports and start planning our next trip..

Ecuador:

We were drawn to visiting Ecuador to fulfil the childhood dream of visiting the Galapagos Islands, which we did and will write a separate post about.   We were however delighted to find that there is so much more to Ecuador than just the Galapagos.  Colonial splendour, snow capped volcanoes, indigenous culture, delicious food, the best markets we have ever visited and more. 

Quito:

If you are a fan of architecture then Quito will be a treat, the Old Town has some of the most splendid colonial architecture in all South America. However, the first thing that may hit you when you arrive is the altitude, as this is the world’s highest capital city (if you don’t count La Paz, which isn’t technically a capital apparently) at a whopping 2850 m (9350 ft) above sea level.  For us this meant a slow start to our sightseeing, as it took us a few days to acclimatise. Once again, we would recommend coca tea, coca sweets, lots of water and taking it slow.  It is a hilly city so you will quickly run out of breath if you try to rush around.

We stayed in a great hostel, in fact one of our favourite hostels, called Hump Day Hostel.  The room was comfortable, the staff were friendly, and the location was convenient and central, which made it nice and easy to get to all the sights, as well as being extremely close to La Ronda which is one of the must visit areas for nightlife and restaurants.  This said, it was a bit seedy/dodgy after dark so we wouldn’t recommend venturing out alone or with too much bling on show.  They also had cooking facilities which we used to make some lovely home cooked dinners.  On other days we enjoyed the cheap and delicious set menu and ice creams at Café Caribe nearby. If you do want to cook whilst at your hostel, get down to Mercado Central. You can buy some amazing produce at bargain prices, most of the stall owners will help you prep the food if you wish; we had a very helpful lady peel our potatoes for us!

We thoroughly enjoyed the free walking tour of the city, which included lots of interesting sights, free tasters and even a brief salsa lesson on a rooftop – just leave a tip at the end.   In order to get our bearings, we used the central square “Plaza Grande” as our focus, radiating out from there.  It is a great place to people watch and has a grand and notable building on each side; the Palacio del Gobierno (government house), the Cathedral, the Palacio Arzobispal and the Centro Cultural Metropolitano.    Many of Quito’s sights, including the churches have an entrance fee and most of the religious buildings don’t allow any photography.  That said, we found the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, to be particularly worth its entrance fee, with its green and gold domes and baroque architecture – this is one of the most ornate churches we saw on our travels.   The Basilica del Voto Nacional is also a fascinating example of the fusion between traditional catholic gothic architecture and indigenous influences.  It is a steep climb up a hill but you will be rewarded.  If you look closely you’ll see that in the place of traditional gargoyles – there are turtles, iguanas and other endemic creatures.

One day we took a taxi out to visit the Museo Guayasamin and Capilla Del Hombre.  We didn’t quite know what to expect but it turned out to be an absolute highlight, one of the most fascinating art exhibitions we have ever seen.  If you love art then do yourself a favour and make the journey.   Without giving too much away Oswaldo Guayasamin was Ecuador’s most famous painter, whose artwork reflects the suffering of Latin America’s indigenous peoples as well as other contentious topics.  He built the architecturally stunning monument “Capilla Del Hombre”, which is a monument/museum/art gallery dedicated to humankind.   You can take a guided tour in English which is fantastic and essential to the full experience.  After this, you can also visit the house that Guayasamin designed and lived in, which features his incredible personal art collection and gives a real insight into the man he was.  A real treat.  Plus, the neighbourhood – Bellavista, offers great views over Quito from its hilly vantage point.  

On this particular outing we learned a tough lesson, which we should definitely share.  Being used to using Uber and other ride share apps around the globe, we assumed that this would also be ok in Quito.  The apps worked fine and there were drivers available, so we booked one. Unbeknown to us, ride share apps are illegal in Ecuador, something we became aware of when the police spotted two English looking passengers in a car with a local and flagged us down.  As the car was slowing down our driver pleaded with me in Spanish not to tell the police that we had used an app as he would be in big trouble but we didn’t have time to agree any kind of back story.  We were questioned for almost an hour by the police, which was quite harrowing,  and the only saving grace for us was that they didn’t speak any English so I kept repeating in broken Spanish that we were going back to our hostel and hadn’t paid the man any cash (which was true), in the end they let us go out of frustration but told us it was only because they weren’t able to arrange to have an interpreter attend the interview.   Long story short – check to see if ride share taxis have become legal in Ecuador; it isn’t worth the stress if they have not! 

Of all the cities we visited in South America, Quito was one where we really felt that we had to have our wits about us and be sensible. That’s not to say that we had any trouble nor that we didn’t go out and have a nice time, but we definitely felt that it would be unwise to stay out too late or to wear or take out anything too showy.  With this in mind, we took out small amounts of cash, kept our cameras in our bags when we weren’t taking photos and tried to stick to busier areas late at night.   One exception to this rule were our visits to Bandido Brewing, a really cool and highly recommended craft beer brewpub.  Their beers are great, the pizzas are delicious, the staff were super friendly and one night we were treated to an awesome live music act.  They are located near the stadium and central market, which is a bit sketchy by night, but we just made sure we took a taxi to and from our hostel.

From Quito we toured some other locations and would highly recommend you do the same.  The day trip to Cotopaxi was a highlight as was the day trip to Otavalo.   We used Ecua Traveling and booked through our hostel and were very happy.  

The Cotopaxi trip entailed a breakfast stop in a local community followed short but challenging hike on the volcano from the 4600m parking lot, via the refuge at 4800m and onto the glacier at 5000m.  The hike is uphill and relatively steep but on a good quality trail.  The killer is the altitude and you may or may not make it all the way to the glacier.  One of us did and the other had to turn back to the refuge, after suffering sharp head pain, struggling to breathe and feeling very dizzy.   Either way, make sure you give it a try.  Getting to the refuge alone feels like an achievement, and the views are stunning. You can buy hot chocolate and coca tea at the refuge.   The volcano itself is beautiful and you will get photo opportunities as you approach.  Once you’ve recovered from your exertion, it is time for some more adventure.  We were taken back to the 4600m, parking lot and given mountain bikes and helmets. From here we cycled a downhill for several kilometres, passing wild horses, stunning scenery and ending at a picturesque lake.  Simply thrilling!

The Otavalo trip was very different but equally worthwhile. We started our day with a scenic drive north through the Sierra highlands.  There was the obligatory stop at the equator – which is overrated but fun for a quick selfie, if you’re passing. Definitely don’t bother making this a destination in itself, it is a bit of a tourist trap.  Our rumbling tummies were satisfied by a stop in Cayambe where we visited a local bakery, specialising in making Bizcochos (local biscuits) – sooo delicious dipped in dulche de leche.  We also observed a funny play fight between a german shepherd and a llama, which isn’t something you see every day.  

From here it was the main event, Otavalo Market.  We are not really shopping people and normally a huge market like this would not appeal but honestly believe us when we say this is not like any market you have ever seen.  It is the world’s largest indigenous market and the handicrafts and products on sale are stunning, cheap and mostly fantastic quality.   We came away with some amazing gifts and treats for ourselves but even if you don’t want to buy, weaving in and out of the narrow aisles through the array of sights, colours and sounds, whilst meeting some of the vendors is worth it by itself.  The vendors are mainly from various pre-inca indigenous groups in the Andes, such as the Quitu and the Cara.   After shopping up a storm we visited a beautiful volcanic crater lake – Laguna Cuicocha, where we had a short hike to a viewpoint overlooking its two emerald green islands.   Lunch was followed by a final stop in Cotacachi, famous for its leather goods, although by this time we were shopped out and preferred to enjoy a stroll around the pretty town.

We had hoped to spend a few days visiting the Quilotoa Loop, the Amazon rainforest, Mindo and Banos but as you’ll find out in our next post – we ended up extending our stay in the Galapagos Islands, which meant that we had to cut the rest of our time in Ecuador short ….. until next time!