During my first couple of days here, I have been out of sorts. I hadn't felt that well just before I left and I think I wasn't quite over it when I got here. The first day, I woke up late, walked to the Plaza Grande in Old Town Quito, checked things out a bit and went back to my room. I indulged in trashy romance novels for hours. After a while, I got a little stir crazy so I took a taxi to the mall and walked around. It's city living here - malls, taxis, buses, big buildings and big pollution. My plan was to book a tour to the Galapagos Islands asap which, turns out, is going to have to be on Monday since the tour offices close early on Saturdays and are closed on Sundays.
Day two I had a bit more energy so, I headed out around 10ish and caught a bus to El Mitad del Mundo or The Middle of the World. This is the site of the equator (well close enough...according to current GPS, it's about 200m off - the French were off a bit in pin pointing the actual line). The Midad del Mundo site doesn't have a whole lot to speak of and it's touristy but hey, ya gotta check it out when you are here. The primary attraction is straddling the "equator line" and having 1/2 your body in the northern hemisphere and 1/2 in the southern . There was a stage where a band played traditional Ecuadorian music with traditional dancers. I enjoyed watching and listening for sure. There was a second band that played more contemporary music. I headed out to check out the museo solar. This, apparently, is the actual site of the equator. There, I attended a presentation on the Incas and other cultures that worship the sun. It is pretty amazing to note that the indigenous people were right on with the lining up of their places of worship with the different passages of the sun....solstice, equinox, etc. On the way back, I met an Irish couple that had been travelling for over a year! Wow! They gave me the low down on Peru and Chile - 2 places they have been and I will be going to.
Ecuador and Chile played futbol in Quito on Sunday. There were so many people with futbol jerseys on, it was pretty amazing. Ecuador won so, it was a happy crowd.
Funny thing is, you think (or at least I thought), oh Quito is pretty much at the equator, it should be pretty warm. But, I read before I left that the high temp is 70 degrees. So, sho nuff, it is cold here....cold and rainy...hmmm reminds me of a place I know... I am so glad I brought scarf, hat, gloves and fleece long johns!
One thing to note: Public places in Ecuador seem to BYOTP - Bring Your Own TP. So noted and not to be forgotten!
1 comment:
Sounds like you are off to a great start! Have a great trip
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