4 days in Ecuador

If you're going to join a travel tour, it's worth arriving a few days early. Here's a few reasons why.

1. If any of your flights are delayed and you miss a connection, at least the tour won't have left without you. Give yourself one less thing to worry about.
2. Depending on the time difference, this will help you recover from any jet-lag.
3. You'll have a few days adjusting to the local conditions. I'm not used to high altitudes (Quito is 2,800m above sea level). I had a slight headache and nausea for the first two days. Whilst not paralysing, I was able to go at my own pace rather than trying to keep up with others.
4. The first city usually only serves as a meet-up point, rather than a destination with planned tour activities.

I arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador three nights before the tour officially started. It's worth noting that most flights into Quito arrive late at night - by which time it is too late to check-in to most hostels. Not only that, but the city centre is about an hour drive away from the airport. So unless you're game enough to trust that the taxi driver will drop you off at your exact destination, rather than somewhere "close-enough" for you to navigate the rest of the way by yourself in the dark - I highly recommend staying at a hotel close to the airport. They cater specifically for late arrivals or passers-by with early flights. Most offer a pick-up service for a small additional price. 

I stayed at Hostal Colibri Aeropuerto, and highly recommend them. I paid $30US, plus $12US to have them pick me up from the airport. I garnered my first impression of Quito from my driver. He didn't speak an ounce of English and was not in the least embarrassed or apologetic about it. I came to realise that he was a microcosm of Quito's attitude towards tourists. 

You're welcome to visit, but we refuse to bend over backwards for you. Few of our restaurants will have signs or menus with English translations. Go by the pictures if you must. Don't make it hard on yourself by trying to look for a place that serves English big breakfast or skim soy lattes. So you want to check out the Presidential Palace? The tour may or may not be in English.

If you don't already speak at least an intermediate level of Spanish - Quito forces you to learn fast. Needless to say, I haven't spoken this much Spanish since, well, living in Spain. 

Quito has a charm of run-down luxury. A relic of Spanish colonial architecture, the streets make you feel as though you're in Europe than in South America. That is, until you spot Quechuan women of indigenous descent in traditional dress walking around selling scarves. Dos por cinco! Dos por cinco! In a city where Catholic churches and monuments were built on top of sacred Quechua ground, it's hard not to admire their resilience and pride in upholding their ancestry.

La Basilica 

View of Quito from La Basilica 

Colonial architecture

UNESCO has declared Quito a World Cultural Heritage Site, having the largest most-preserved and least-altered historic centre in Latin America.

El Panecillo

This metal statue of the Virgin Mary is said to have been built at the top of a hill previously used by the Incas for sun worship.

View of Quito from El Panecillo 

Tip: Catch a hop-on hop-off tourist bus ($12US) to the top of the hill. Tourists have been known to be held at knife point for their valuables while choosing to walk up. You could catch a taxi, but drivers generally don't like waiting, which makes it hard to get back down.

El Palacio de Gobierno

I was lucky enough to catch sight of President Rafael Correa waving to the Ecuadorian people.

In Otavalo, less than an hour outside of Quito, a community of Quechuans can be found. For the older generations, Spanish would have been their second language (if at all), with Quechua being their first and primary tongue. The town is known for its artisan markets and relies heavily on tourism. The colours and patterns of their wares are so beautiful I wanted to buy just about everything!

I definitely plan on coming back to Ecuador, especially to do the Galapagos Islands, which I didn't have the time or budget for this time around.

Next stop, Colombia!

Love, Noeline

xox