Our last stop in South America was Quito, the capital of Ecuador and set high in the Andes at 2850m. This was probably the dodgiest city we'd been to, which we were reminded of on our first night when 3 fellow travellers were mugged outside the front gates of our hostel.(A good reminder to us of just how lucky we've been to both be safe thus far on our journey)
Quito is divided into the Old and New Towns - we spent most of our time in the Old Town (also called the Historic Centre), a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of 17th century facades, picturesque plazas and amazing churches.
Some of our highlights here were:
- Climbing the bell tower of the gothic-style Basilica del Voto Nacional, which was built over several decades. The views from up here were fantastic!
- People watching at Plaza Grande in the centre of the Old Town
- Visiting the Contemporary Art Museum which is housed in an old military hospital
- Enjoying dinner on the rooftop at Cafe Mirador, with 360 degree views
- Visiting the famous Saturday market in Otavalo, 2 hours north of Quito, which spills a number of blocks in each direction from the central plaza
- Spending our last night strolling down La Ronda, a historic cobblestone street in the Old Town full of restaurants, bars, live music, street performers, and vendors selling canelazo (a hot drink made of sugar cane liquour, cinnamon and fruit - yum!)
And then, after 77 days, 6 flights, more than 150 hours on long-distance buses, and over 13,000km of travel across 6 countries, our time in South America had come to an end! Next up, we're looking forward to stopovers in New York and Dubai to stay with friends before we head to Turkey.
Basilica del Voto Nacional which we climbed the bell tower of:
Contemporary Art Museum housed in the old military hospital:
Dining with 360 degree views:
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