Quito – Capital, Carnival, Cold, And Running Into Gandhi By Accident

Despite being on the equator, Quito is cold since it is 2800m/9240ft high. I really don’t like being cold and Quito was a reminder of this.

Otherwise, Quito is a huge city and not a ton of touristy things to see or do. I think many people come to Quito since it’s where the main airport is, maybe stay a day or two, and then head out to other places like the Pacific in the west, the Amazon in the east, The Galapagos Islands, etc.

I visited during Carnival and the city was completely deserted. Most people leave the city and head to the beach to take advantage of the four-day weekend. Most stores were closed and the city was abandoned.

Plaza Foch

There is a plaza called Plaza Foch. It’s where the foreigners all congregate. You can find bars, cafes, wifi, inflated prices, police, etc. Below are some pictures.

Historical Center

I also visited Quito’s historical center. It was a little colorful, the streets were narrow, and the cathedral was there. Not far from the historical center is the statue of the virgin, where you can get a nice view of the city. I didn’t go up there though.

Churches

There were a lot of churches in Quito. Here are a few below.

Innards Soup

I tried chicken foot soup in Pasto, Colombia and in Quito I tried a soup that contained all the chicken’s innards – heart, liver, kidneys, etc.  I didn’t like it..

Tail

In Medellin I wrote about having a toilet paper tail. In Quito I found a man with a real tail!

Bad Form

Yes, it’s cool that Quito has lots of streets dedicated to historical figures and places around the world. But I call bad form on translating names!

Bad Couchsurfing Experience

While in Quito, my first bad couchsuring experience happened. But it was bad because of me!

I heated up a kettle because I was freezing and I wanted to make tea. But somehow the glass pot cover on the stove was too close and the glass shattered. Crap.. So I had to buy a new pot for my host.

Nevertheless, my host Mabel still put me in touch with her friend in the Amazon who is going to let me tag along on a “toxy tour” to survey the environmental damage inflicted on the indigenous people by the oil companies.

This was the only thing firmly on my list of things I wanted to do in Ecuador, so I truly appreciate that Mabel set this up for me!

Next Big City

I’m not a big fan of cities anymore, and the lack of “depth” in this post probably shows that clearly. But my next major city, Lima, will be different. I have lots of friends there from business school and I can’t wait to get there and see them!

Ending On A Positive Note

I don’t know that I’ve written much about it on the blog, but Gandhi is one of my heroes. I can’t wait to get to India and walk in his footsteps on the Dandi march and visit places he touched.

I found this plaza by accident as it wasn’t on my map. Awesome!