Goodbye Nicaragua, Hello Ecuador...a day in Quito

We left San Juan del Sur very early to take a 2 and half hour taxi ride to the airport in Managua and this time the driver was alert. 

A last view of Lake Managua as we left the airport...


After a flight to Panama City and then one to Quito we arrived safe and sound to be picked up by Francisco, the husband of our Air BnB host.

We only stayed with them one night but they were a lovely family who lived in a large, historic house in the newer section of Quito.

For 40 per night with a full breakfast and some great conversation it was a bargain.

Since we only had a day before we joined our tour group we decided the best way to see some of the city was on the Hop On Hop Off bus. As we were boarding the young woman selling tickets looked at Don and said one senior and one adult. Don replied you mean two seniors...she looked at me, then him and said No, Señor, just one, you! Its good to look old sometimes when it gets you a half price ticket!

So a little about Quito...it is Ecuador's second largest city with a population of 2.2 million people. It is located at 9,350 feet and is the highest capital city in the world. It, along with Krakow, Poland were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO in 1968, and when we visited the central historic district is was easy to see why.

There are many beautiful buildings including the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a neo Gothic building you can see in the skyline...

It is a massive building with beautifully carved details...

Beautifully engraved doors.

Inside the stained glass windows were brilliant in the sun...

Quito is built on the slopes of a series of volcanoes and the centre of the city is in the valley with a series of narrow, steep streets.

We also noticed that there were many well kept buildings throughout this area.

The very centre of the city as in most Latin American countries is the central square which in Quito is called the Plaza Grande. It is surrounded with many buildings and was crowded with people on that sunny morning.

There were old men chatting...

Old woman resting...

Boys playing marbles, a game I have not seen played since I was a child...

Musicians strumming...

As we walked we went inside another church that was laden with gold and beautifully painted walls...

There were lovely public spaces...

Lots of people selling fresh fruit...

These watermelons looked delicious 

I loved this picture of the old lady and her bananas...

This little boy playing on the street with his pen...

School kids hanging out on the statue...

Don was checking out the nuns...

We kept walking until we were at the edge of the historic centre where we could see El Panecillo, a hill located in the west which has a monument of the Virgin Mary which is visible across the city...

As I stopped to take some pics I felt a little uncomfortable in this area so we kept walking back from where we came. I then asked Don waht he thought and he felt the same. We later learned from our guide that is it a very dangerous area to be in at night and we felt it in the middle of the day as well.

Not having much time, we then caught the bus back to the new part of Quito and were really surprised at what a modern city it was. We had expected more of a colonial city, not just at the centre but beyond, however we were wrong in that assumption.

The city appears very vibrant, with way too much traffic, apparently one of Quito's biggest problems as they are now planning a subway system.

Here are some pictures I took as we were touring around...

Very modern buildings, wide boulevards, nice trees...

Large shopping centres like this one...

Notice the large pink signs with the caption NO MORE, these were art installations in this part of the city representing no more violence.

Again, lots of public, green spaces for people to enjoy...

Here are some of the views of the neighbourhood we passed through...

You can see that they are all built on hills and are densely populated.

We ended the day back in an area called La Mariscal which is considered the city's entertainment district and it is where we spent our second night in the city. It is indeed filled with bars, hostels, tour agencies and the music was blaring until 3am!

We found a table on one of the squares and tried the Ecuadoran beer called Club, which wasn't very good, but it was cold...

A traditional seller checking out the crafts.

By that time we headed back to meet our tour guide and travelling companions for the next couple of weeks. We were surprised to discover that there were only six of us in the group and when Don looked at the list he discovered he was the only male besides the guide. When we met we were even more surprised to discover they are all in their early 20s!!!

We have never been the oldest in any group we have travelled with but this time we beat the age limit by many decades...let's see if we can keep up!!

We will leave Quito in the morning and head for the Andes mountains so will not have internet for awhile but looking forward to what we expect will be a beautiful part of this country.