Ecuador

Thursday 17th November 2016 – After a lovely lay in we wandered the streets of Quito happening upon Canbe Heladria Cafe, a quaint 66 year old eatery full of character. There I had the biggest bowl of fruit capped with delicious ice cream accompanied by hot chocolate, a delicacy of Ecuador. Aaron on the other hand enjoyed a scrumptious egg and bacon warmed baguette. Fuelled and relaxed we browsed through wares in local shops…ponchos made from al paca wool were in abundance as were beautifully hand crafted Panama hats. Interestingly Panama hats were originally made in Ecuador and only adopted their name when workers on the Panama Canal wore them prolifically in order to protect them from the powerful rays of the sun. As we walked through the historical centre of the city we came across the statuesque Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito. It is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas. Blue sky and candy floss white clouds framed its elegance as we looked up in awe. Realising we were able to climb to the top when we spied a ticket office, we immediately paid our entrance fee then stair by stair ascended this intriguing monument. Half way up glorious stained glass windows greeted us, emanating colour and beauty. We continued on, walking a bridge across the rafters then up, up and up again on almost vertical metal steps…health and safety precautions nowhere in sight as wind buffeted our climb. Finally at the top, possessing rather wobbly legs (this is not for anyone suffering from vertigo) we enjoyed panoramic views of the sizeable city and mountains. I love such vistas as it helps me to visualise and pinpoint my whereabouts in such a vast place…almost giving me a dimension to work within…a sense of place and distance. Our descent was careful and precise, one false move and you could truly hurt yourself. That evening we dined at Hotel Real Audiencia…high above the rooftops, the restaurant looking down upon the church Iglesia de Santo Domingo with the city lights and stars twinkling like fairy lights in the night sky.

Friday 18th November 2016 – Today we would visit the imaginary line of the Equator…although the equator runs through hundreds of places, Ecuador takes particular pride in its unique geographical location. The official name of Ecuador…the Republic of Ecuador literally translates to ‘Republic of the Equator’. After a taxi then bus ride for around an hour in total, we arrived at the gates of ‘Mitad del Mundo’ or ‘Middle of the World’. The equator was first discovered in 1736 by a French geodesic expedition team led by explorer Charles-Marie de La Comdamine. On entering you are first struck by the emblematic equatorial monument before you…a 30 metre tall tower topped by a globe five feet across, built in 1979. The monument was clad with stone obtained from the La Marca Mountains (north of the Middle of the World City). The construction of the monument, which represents national unity, took a year and a half to complete. We had great fun taking piccies either side of the thick yellow line that runs through the grounds supposedly marking the precise position of the equator. However, a modern GPS unit shows that the actual equator lies about 240 metres north of the line…we would visit this location later…two equator lines in a day! Heading to the top of the monument we enjoyed the views of middle earth then made our way down the stairs through 9 interior interactive levels that highlighted the multi-ethnic and multicultural diversity of Ecuador as well as some fun scientific experiments that explained phenomenons of the Equator…our favourite demonstrating how you will always weigh less at the Equator than anywhere else due to the geographical location of the Middle of the World and the centrifugal force!?! Yes…confused? So was I…it took Aaron a few attempts to explain it to me but I sort of got it in the end. Later we immersed ourselves in the history of cocoa…learning about the process from grain to cocoa paste, watching cute llamas and experiencing four ancestral homes from Andean and Amazon regions. A two minute walk north and we located the Intinan Solar Museum, stating we had arrived to the latitude 00 00′ 00″ calculated with GPS. Our tour guide showed much enthusiasm as she demonstrated tricks which are allegedly possible only on the Equator…such as water flowing both clockwise and counter clockwise then straight down a sink due to the Coriolis Centrifugal forces and balancing an egg on the head of a nail. Aaron and I were delighted to succeed with balancing our eggs and even got certificates for our endeavours! We were uncertain of the scientific truth in these experiments…however they were great fun nonetheless. Next was a sighting of an authentic shrunken head of the Shuar’s Tribe and a lesson in telling solar time…what an interesting day it had been. We bussed it all the way back to our hostel and enjoyed our evening watching street entertainment in La Ronda area and feasting on local potato soup!

Saturday 19th November 2016 – Up at 6am we left our hostel and two buses later were at the main bus terminal where we booked an 8.40am ride to Guayaquil in the South…a nine hour journey…our mission to get closer to Peru. Arriving in good time we booked a 9pm overnight bus to Chiclayo in Peru…a 14 hour journey. In South America you cover enormous distances, fortunately the transport is comfortable so makes travelling a little more bearable. After dinner and a huge cappuccino we headed off into the night…en route for Peru.

Sunday 20th November 2016 – At 1am we crossed the border into Peru…as the morning light awoke us from our slumber, desert awaited us…barren and dry…not what I had expected at all. It seems that the mountain regions steal all the rain leaving these dry, abandoned areas as dusty poor relations. At 10.30am we arrived in Chiclayo. The first bus leaving for Lima was 5.30pm so it meant waiting around all day and the prospect again of sleeping on a night bus…I was not looking forward to it at all…additionally there was nothing appealing about Chiclayo whatsoever…it was devoid of any character…I couldn’t wait to move on. Sitting in a small local cafe we met Kristin from the UK. It was lovely chatting to him for a few hours as we shared coffee, stories and English humour. Climbing onto our bus that evening I braced myself for another sleepless overnight journey through the land of Peru.