End of beach days & on to Quito, Ecuador

Well, a month has already passed and it`s hard to believe everything we have experienced and seen. Looking forward to more.

As mentioned in the previous entry, we really enjoyed the beach town of Mancora. Got lots of sun, enjoyed the beach and pool and had great seafood. Every morning we went for walks along the beach for any where from 1 to 2 hours. The unbelievable part of this was that we hardly saw any people....most mornings maybe a few dozen tourists and some local vendors. We are told that this area is busier around Christmas, January and February, when the surfers arrive.

It was great to simply enjoy the sunshine and get lots of reading done.

On Friday, June 1st, we headed off for Quito, Ecuador. We woke up at 2:30 a.m. (and yes we are on holidays!!!) and we were picked up by our driver and taken to the airport in Piura, which was a 2 1/2 hour car ride away. Arrived in Lima in around 10 a.m. and we then caught a 2 hour flight to Quito. Quito is the capital of Ecuador and has about 3 1/2 million people. We are staying a wonderful small bed and breakfast in the Mariscal area ( lots of restaurants and small hotels). Our friends Nory and Julio from Invermere had stayed at this hotel and recommended it, the Casa Sol....thanks. The staff here are so friendly. Spent the afternoon strolling the area and relaxed at the B & B.

We then arranged for a tour of the City for today and some other travel arrangements for when we get back from Galapagos. Today, we were picked up by our driver/guide and stopped to visit many places in Quito. First we stopped at a market where locals shop for the vegetables, meat, seafood, etc. Reminded us of many markets we have seen in our last 4 years of travelling. For those of you back home doing your shopping in `sanitized`grocery stores, you would probably find these places a little hard to take!!!

Went to the central square and visited the cathedral. The cathedral is more like a basilica you would see in Europe, but not very ornate inside. We then went to another church, which was built in the baroque style and this is the most elaborate church interior we have ever come across. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures at this church, but I did buy a postcard of the interior. We have never seen so much goldleaf and artwork....just spectacular.

Visited a museum and then we went to the Center of the World, just outside of Quito. This is an amazing place....actually standing on the equator then stepping to the north of the equator and then the south of the equator. We visited a tourist museum here and saw how the indigineous people of the area lived.

The most interesting thing about being on the equator though, was a few of the experiments that we undertook. By standing right on the equator, you literally have no balance....hard to walk in a straight line!! On the north side of the equator the water flows one way and flows the other way on the south side....really interesting to see.

Tomorrow morning, we are being picked up for our flight and 5 day trip to the Galapagos Islands. We are truly looking forward to this next chapter....but Claire has packed her gravol...just in case; as we are staying on the boat for the next 5 days.

Pictures

1) Hotel pool from our balcony window in Mancora

2) Beach in Mancora

3) Sunset on the beach in Mancora

4 & 5) The City of Quito

6) Robin at the equator, trying to walk in a straight line.

7) Claire and Robin at the Middle of the World.

Have also added a few more pictures on Flicker - click link on sidebar