Saturday, March 7, 2015

Quito part 1

The flight from Guayaquil to Quito took only 35 minutes and it really seems like a good choice. It takes 8 hours by bus. There's also a train available that goes to many points of interest on the way though 3 days and 2 nights.
Upon arriving at Quito airport we immediately realized we should have spent less time in Guayaquil and more time in Quito. The view from the airport itself facing some rocky mountains is awesome. Quito has a very good transport system and the fare is also 0.25 USD. We took a bus from the airport to the Rio Coca terminal. From there we took a bus downtown.
The historic center which seems to have been recently renovated is very charming with narrow sidewalks and narrow streets as well. The town square where both the Cathedral and the presidential palace has the mountains surrounding Quito as background making for nice pictures. Walking up Venezuela street you end up at the Basilica with a breathtaking view of the city from its tower. To get there you have to either walk up the stairs or take the elevator to the third level. From there you walk a wooden bridge that's on top of the basilica's main aisle, though it's still inside the building. At the end there's a super steep staircase that reaches outside in the towers. I cannot comment on the amount of vertigo going up or down those stairs. It goes up about 5m on a 65 degree angle. It's leg trembling vertigo while going down backwards.
Did I mention there are restaurants serving lunch for 2USD? They are very clean and the meal involves some kind of soup as entrée plus rice, veggies and meat as main course plus a glass of natural juice. I love Quito!

1 comment:

  1. i'm waiting for the pictures, where are the picasa album for this trip?

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