Quito

Quito is the capital of Ecuador and one the most interesting city in South America. At about 2850 meters above the sea level, it has a wonderful spring like climate. However do not forget your hat, the sun is fierce.

Quito is a two side's city. The old city, built by the conquistadors, appears like a piece of art of colonial architecture. The new city around Amazonas Street, is the most dynamic part of Quito. The broad and ventilated streets, the modern buildings, the green parks confer on this district a Western atmosphere. Quito is surrounded by nine volcanoes, one of which, Pichincha, recently begun to shower the capital with ash. The last time Pichincha erupted was in 1660. On October, 1999, Ecuadorian government declared the "yellow alert" in Quito, because the Pinchicha volcano threatens to send ashes and burning gas its way in the next few days or weeks, officials said.

Quick Tips:

The night, new Quito is very animated especially the calle Amazonas and Juan Leon Mera. Often described like dangerous, because of the economic recession which strikes the country, the city is not the bloody pit announced (contrary to Guayaquil!). However the presence of armed guards in the neighborhoods of the banks and the hotels encourages with prudence.

To finish, do not forget to leave Quito and go south to spot the most amazing volcano of the country : Cotopaxi.

Best Way To Get Around:

As a strike of the taxis could always prevail, the fastest and the most convenient means of transport remains the new tram, which is the pride of the inhabitants.

We choose a vain hotel in the street Juan Leon Mera. " Tortuga Verde " (means green turtle) with its patio and its mural frescos was our perfect base camp for our excursion in Quito. It looks like a youth hostel. There are not single rooms, but rooms with four or six beds. Ours had four. The price is moderate, (about $5 per person). A TV is available in the patio.

In the evening we dine in a smart restaurant, " the island of France ". The meal contains hot cheese at the Ecuadorian's manner, i.e. with cheap cheese. Delphine, the girl of my group, notices with irritation that she is systematically the last been served, there a manifestation of the legendary South American machismo? The easy customers are made up businessmen boasting and two strange " caballeros " with the worrying conversation. This restaurant is located on the new Quito, near Amazonas street.

The old Quito is located in the lower part of city. The tram plunges in the entrails of the historical city and proposes to us a voyage through the times. Elegant buildings with white walls replace the constructions of glass and steel; the broad avenues leave room to narrow paved lanes. We go down in the neighborhoods from the national theatre, which is unfortunately in works. The streets are crammed, a multicoloured crowd with an Indian majority saunters there, and business. Here it is a salesman of piles who accosts you, further it is a salesman of soaps and toothpaste, one finds there of all in the streets of Quito. However the street peddler who has the most success is this man who holds in shoulder belt an impressive collection of lottery tickets.

Various styles of architecture are spread in the historical center, declared inheritance world of humanity by UNESCO. Noble residences with the white walls and the tiled roofs, churches and old convents, shaded places and secret patios, the old city abounds in wonders. The first church that we visit is the Merced basilica and its elegant cupola. The interior is remarkable by the quality of the stained glasses and the murals. On one among it one can see there a priest and a conquistador baptizing an Amazonian Indian.

Further, one mall leads to imposing the plaza San Francisco, bordered in its northern edge by the church and the monastery of the same name. This unit is oldest of Quito and one of the largest of South America. The two twin towers seem to defy the Pinchicha volcano. It has been three hundred years well that the volcano did not erupt, may be it is due to the presence of the Virgin of Quito. Located at the node of the hill of Panecillo, it takes care, a little with the manner of Corcavedo of Rio de Janeiro on the old Inca northern capital. At the interior one can admire the sculptures and paintings of the famous school of Quito as well as the massive silver Altar. We finish this rapid visit by the vain place of independence. Many old people especially attend this shaded vacation resort. About midday the sun is done burning and I understand why locals wear all kind of hats.

The crater of this extinct volcano is a vast fertile plain today. It is the only crater in the world that is inhabited. The road finishes with viewpoint dominating a strange landscape. The interior is not easily visible because of the clouds. However with the favour of a strong gale we can discover the checkerwork of the fields as well as dwellings. I wonder how they could build all that, because the only way to the center of the crater is a narrow path. According to the rumour when the mist rises from the bottom of the crater in the late morning, the plain is used as landing strip with the UFO.

We decided to devote an afternoon to visit a symbolic place: The equator. The " line," as it is called by sailors, is located 20 km north of Quito. It is materialized by a monument named "Mitad del Mundo," literally "middle of the world." We find a taxi that accepts to take us there for $15.00. The road goes up towards the high city, exceeds the "plaza de toros" and the Sucre airport, then is inserted in an arid sierra. Three km further the road arrives at "Mitad del Mundo," the mark of the equator.

A massive monument commemorates the work of the French geodetic mission which, under the direction of Charles Marie of Condamine, in the 17th century, is the layout of the line symbolic of the equator. This remarkable place excites the imaginary one. A bathroom scale invites the philistine to confirm the theory. Oddly doesn't the GPS of Christian indicate 0° 0' 0 ", which to believe? Some have fun to go on the line, history to have a foot in each hemisphere.

I had a very disappointed matter with the South American Explorer. I will try to relate the facts with objectivity :

I was searching for anti-malaria pills in order to join Amazonia. After phoning three chemists, we found out that savarine is not a drug available in Ecuador. A telephone call to the doctor of the embassy of France also proved unfruitful. The remaining solution of South American Explorer Club (SAEC), this mythical place of meeting of all the adventurers of the New World. With the evocation of this name my face illuminates, ah the SAEC of which the most famous members named Ernest Hemingway or Thor Hereydal, the man who crossed the Pacific on Kon Tiki. Here is a place where we will be able to find assistance.

The head office of the SAEC is within two blocks from here in a middle-class house. A young shrewd American accommodates us. Bearded, faded hair, wearing a tee-shirt fitting closely orange flou, it seems straight come out of a rave party. It installs us in a hall where an American woman with a bloated face awaits. She asks her colleagues if they have savarine. A negative answer-- we understand that the spirit of this office is money and not mutual aid between trekkers. Christian, who contacted a defender of the tapirs on Banos, tries to interest our interlocutors with the problem of environmental protection.