Quito: Nice but a bit dodgy

Landing at Mariscal Sucre airport we were given those SARS/Swine Flu masks you see on TV and had to wear them until we cleared customs and got out the front door. The hostel I was staying at was pleasant enough but located in the less-than-safe area of La Mariscal, the infamous tourist area in the New City. "Unsafe after 10pm" says the guidebook. I never really had a problem (apart from a random bag slashing that I didn´t even notice at the time - they didn´t get anything) but then I ws safely back indoors by the ´witching hour´.



The first day in town I took the packed and insanely fast Trol bus down to the Old City. It has some of the best representations of collonial architecture on the continent and is worth a look. Afterwards I climbed to the top of El Panecillo, the hill which overlooks the city for some amazing views of the Pichincha volcano that looks down upon Quito. It´s certainly a dramatic locale, yet the noise and air pollution and general feeling of slight uneasyness helped me decide to plan a couple of good day trips out for the following couple of days.




Firstly, you can´t come to Ecuador, a country re-named after it´s position on the Equator and not go and see the famous red line, so bright and early on Saturday morning I was stood in the ´centre of the world´, which is basically a nice momument, some ageing musuems, a couple of cafes and some shops hawking overpriced artesania. Good effort guys. Next door however, was the vastly more entertainng Museo Intinan, 200m north of the monument and claiming that they are the true equator as certified by US Army GPS a few years go. For three bucks you get a guided tour of original native houses, all the usual equator experiments like water down the sink, balancing an egg on the head of a nail, walking in a straight line with your eyes closed (so so weird, it feels like you´re pretty tipsy with the opposing forces pulling in each direction!). Its fun and well worth the money. From there I somehow got a lift back to Quito with a friendly American guy called.... Jody! How bizarre.



That afternoon I caught a bus north over the Andes to the pleasant market town of Otavalo, famous for one of the best handicraft markets in South America and it did not dissapoint. The range and quality on offer for ridiculously cheap prices meant I had to really struggle not to get carried away and load myself up with bundles of stuff I don´t need! Continuing my tradition of buying a hat in every country I visit I found a wicked inca-style woolly one for a dollar!


The next day I wanted to get out of the city again, my last full day before I decided to head down to the jungle town of Tena to work with a shaman there. Two hours south-east of Quito is the small village of Papallacta, which is home to one of the most impressive set of natural thermal springs in the country and quite possibly the continent.


Set high in the mountains, you are literally in the clouds, 3250m above sea level, and the ten pools tastefully built into the rocks by turns relax, invigorate and refresh you. There´s even a river that runs right through it you can get in but its freezing! I spent a lovely afternoon wallowing in the waters and then almost got stranded... Apparantly where the bus drops you off is not where you catch the bus back to Quito from so after waiting for an hour with the clouds coming down and starting to get cold in my shorts and sandals, it was left to a nice local man to stop by in his truck and point this out. He then gave me a lift down to the bus stop where I eventually got home from. What a lovely guy!