Adam in the Northern Hemisphere, Melinda in the SouthWe made it to the "Mitad del Mundo" (equator after negotiating the local tram system (well looks like a tram but with ordinary wheels?) and then a bus out to the spot. At the equator is an impressive monument that you can climb in to with lines marking North, South, East and West. So of course we played the game of jumping from the Northern to the Southern hemisphere, straddling the equator and standing in opposite hemispheres (not exactly a new experience for Melinda and me over the last year!).
The line at the equator
We were pretty paranoid when we got to Quito as people kept on telling us in Costa Rica to beware of our belongings, don't carry anything that might get stolen, don't walk the streets at night etc. I don't think we even came close to getting robbed but we were very careful and I inflated my chest to appear 'massive' whenever I felt it necessary. Probably quite ridiculous considering the average Ecuadorian makes Melinda feel average to tall height!
A few shots around Quito
After a couple of nights adjusting to our new down scale accommodation regime, we hopped on a bus to a famous market town called Otavalo. We sat in the bus station for 20 mins before we took off with only us and 1 other guy on the bus. As soon as we got out the gates the drivers assistant was singing 'Otavalo, Otavalo, Otavalo' out the door. There were hordes of people waiting along the street to catch whatever bus they wanted and it took us about another 45 mins of picking up people in the street before we got going! I guess they didn't want to pay the compulsory US 10 cent fee at the bus terminal?
Some people protesting about corruption in Quito
Otavalo is a nice little market town and according to our guide book the second most popular tourist destination in Ecuador after the Galapagos Islands. We had our first 'empanadas' there, kind of like a samosa but different stuff in the middle. The market had some beautiful stuff and if it wasn't for the fact that I know I wont go on the tube to work wearing an Alpaca poncho, I would have bought one! But we did buy some bits and pieces including an Ecuadorian hat which I was most pleased with. I was most annoyed with my self when I managed to leave it on a bus about 2 weeks later.
We decided it was time to do some touristic stuff and so we got a taxi off the street who we (in stages) ended up hiring for the whole day. He was a really friendly guy who served us well as driver and tour guide for the day (with a combination of his non-existent English and my atrocious Spanish). We went and saw a magic tree which apparently heals people (or something like that) and then to a Condor park run by some Dutch bloke who's first comment when I told him our taxi driver was waiting for us was 'How much did you pay for that?' I told him and he replied 'Well I think you should have bargained harder, I think you got ripped off'. I wanted to tell him that I thought he should get £*€£€&, but I was looking forward to seeing the birds so we pressed on. The birds were beautiful and very impressive and obviously highly intelligent. There was even one bird not much smaller than Melinda!
Melinda and a little birdy
From there we went on to a volcano crater lake. Its at an altitude of about 3,000m so we were a little puffed when we were there! We took a little boat ride around the lake and saw bubbles coming through the water from the volcano below. We even had a top view of some hawks diving at something in the scrub! From there we went back in to town and got ready to head for the border of Colombia - ready to meet all the guerrillas, drug traffickers and associated nasties that everyone who's never been to Colombia warned us about!
Despite the authentic local look, it is Adam!
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