Quito, Ecuador’s capital, sits high in the Andean foothills at an altitude of 2,850m. Due to its amazing historic centre, it was the first World Cultural Heritage City to be named by UNESCO. Interestingly, because of its proximity to the equator, Quito has 12 hours of sunlight all year long. The sun rises around 6am every morning and sets at 6pm every evening.
Our arrival to Quito took longer than anticipated as we navigated heavy city traffic and crazy steep streets (they should be seen to be believed). Thankfully we arrived at our campsite and settled in for a fresh night at the high altitude. Our host at Coda Vista campsite was Andy from Canada. He moved here a few years ago and now welcomes visitors from all over the world. Andy is an absolute gentleman and really great fun to be around. We hugely enjoyed our few days there, overlooking both the city and the beautiful Cotopaxi volcano.
To access the city we took a quick taxi on the aforementioned precipitous terrain. We happened to time our visit for a Sunday afternoon. Apparently Sunday afternoon in Quito is when all the city inhabitants come to the centre to sell whatever they can. It felt like the whole city was on sale, from crockery to clothes, fabrics to food. What was equally interesting was how the whole show abruptly stopped on the button at 6pm. Vendors scurried off, shop fronts were boarded up and tourists vanished. Whatever the reason, we knew it was time for us to head back to our camper van also.
We returned the next afternoon and headed straight to the Basílica del Voto Nacional. A beautiful building by itself, it had the added attraction of being able to climb to the viewpoints at the top. Having made it there, we set our sights on a local restaurant serving some typical local food. We finished the day with a visit to Kitu Chocolate Shop. This is a family run business which offers in-shop cacao tours. We had the great fortune to be guided by Davide, who spend 90 minutes of his time explaining the end-to-end process involved in bringing cacao from farm to chocolate bar. We were also given 16 different chocolate types to taste, each of them nicer than the previous it seemed. It really is incredible when your kids taste 85% cacao chocolate and do not complain that it is too bitter (the difference being that this is locally grown cacao mixed with locally grown cacao butter and sugar cane). Amazingly the shop offers this tour for absolutely free, yet we still managed to leave with a sizeable hole in our pockets (and several chocolate bars in our bag I might add)!
We left Quito the next morning for the Mitad Del Mundo, or Middle of the World town. This is a purpose built town which serves the tourists who come to experience life on this imaginary line! We stayed in the parking area that serves the larger of the two visitor centres. Fortunately, while there, we met a wonderful Chilean family with young children that we were able to spend a couple of days exploring the area.
In terms of the visitor centres, the larger “Cuidad del Mitad Del Mundo” was built in 1979 to mark the center of the world. The location was chosen based on measurements taken in 1736. Unfortunately, these measurements were not that accurate and it is known today that the monument is not exactly on the equator. Nevertheless, it is very worthwhile to climb the tower. Spread over six floors you can get information about the different regions of Ecuador and see several exhibitions.
The Intinan Museum visitor centre marks the exact middle of the world point. Here we were shown a moveable sink one metre north of the line, one metre south of the line and right on the line. I can happily confirm that the Coriolis Effect we were all taught in school is alive and well!
Otavalo to the north was our next stop. Here we stayed just one night, close to the Cascada de Peguche (Peguche Waterfall). We completed the short hike to it the next day, which included passing through a lovely wooded area complete with children playground and zip line.
Our penultimate destination in Ecuador was Ibarra, and specifically Finca Sommerwind campsite, overlooking the beautiful Laguna de Yahuarcocha. Aside from being a beautiful location and being very well looked after by the German owner Hans, we were there to collect a document needed for our vehicle. We stayed a couple of nights, ate great German food and got to know some of the other Overlander’s there. A highlight for our youngest Diego was the motorbike race that was held right outside the campsite on a purpose built track. He was in awe at the speed, the sound, the bikes and the colours! Perhaps we will have a Valentino Rossi in our midst in years to come…
Tulcan was our last stop, a brief one before we crossed the border and into Colombia. Here we visited an incredible cemetery, where the bushes are manicured throughout and can resemble animals, angels and even Incan symbols. Originally the handiwork of local gardener Josè Maria Azael Franco in 1936, his hard work has been continued and honoured to this day, and makes for a truly wonderful experience.
We left Ecuador with a huge sense of gratitude and a slight twinge of regret. We had really loved our time in this great country, from the incredibly friendly people to the beautiful and diverse landscapes. We wished that we could have spent more time there but it was just not possible. We would absolutely recommend anyone to visit this part of the world if given the chance. It will surprise you in a very nice way.
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