Ecuador Andes Adventure...around Quito

Quito touring

Basilica Quito

 

The blog is about a 5 week tour of the Ecuadorian Andes. Hope there is some good information for you future travelers. Starting with Quito...to Cotapaxi, Quilotoa, Banos, Cuenca and Vilcabamba...and finally Otavalo.

First off...why Ecuador? For us, we have friends in Quito so it gave us a base to start and a place to go when we were done.
Ecuador is fairly stable, generally safe, darn easy to get around, no visa required and runs on the American dollar. There are also tons of beautiful sites. We spent all our time in the Andes...most travelers hit the beach or the Amazon as well but that will be for next time. Being on the equator, the temperature remains the same year round. Shorts and T shirt during the day...something a bit warmer at night.

The Presidential palace

Cobblestones and pastel buildings

We flew Toronto to Panama City to Quito on Copa Airlines...about 7 hours of flight time. There are lots of flights into Quito from the States but a bulk of them arrive in the middle of the night. Quito is serviced by a beautiful new airport a good 40 minute drive to downtown. Quito is at 10,000 feet so you may be a little short of breath for the first few days.

We toured Old Town in Quito...beautiful old buildings, churches and squares. Cheap meals and friendly people. Heard stories about petty thief and such but we were traveling in October so it was generally pretty quiet on the streets. Good idea to wear your knapsack on your front and be mindful of where your cell phone is.

We took a tour north of town to the Middle of the Earth. There is a nice park and monument indicating the equator that was built by the French many years ago...unfortunately, GPS technology showed they built it in the wrong place...the equator if actually 200 meters north.

A sun dial at the equator

The French monument

There is a little operation at the right location that is a must see. All sorts of little experiments...balancing an egg on it's end, water flowing down a drain in both directions and such...well work the visit.

balancing an egg

We also took the Teleferico De Quito...a cable car that takes you up to 13000 feet above Quito. The view is amazing. You can also hike to an old volcano about a 1000 feet higher.

A beautiful city..we didn't visit New Town and I am sure there are lots of other things to see in Quito but this was a good place to get acclimatized and get ready for the next adventure...off to Cotapaxi!