My six weeks in South America started with a solo trip to Ecuador. This was slightly controversial as the country was in a State of Emergency until 8th April (having been extended by a month) and the Ecuadorian police had stormed the Mexican embassy to seize a former vice-president on 5th April - thereby violating international law. Nonetheless, I had wanted to visit the country and was unlikely to go on a separate trip so as far as I was concerned, until the FCDO (the UK's official travel advisor) advised against travelling there, I was going.
Since I was only in Ecuador for a few days, I decided to focus on the capital: Quito. This city is located high in the Andes mountains, has a year round temperate climate, and its Old Town was the first place in the world to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
As this portion of my trip was my only solo component, I decided to really treat myself: I booked a 5-star hotel, a shuttle service to and from the airport, and an e-SIM to use throughout all of South America in order to have unlimited data throughout my travels.
Day 1
My flight from Heathrow was at 6:15am, however my dad and brother also had a flight from the same terminal at 6:30am, so my mum dropped us all off at the airport first thing in the morning. I just about made my flight, then had a connection in Madrid, before watching two films, reading, and sleeping throughout my 11-hour flight to Quito.
On arrival, there was a driver with my name on a sign, which was ideal as it meant I didn't have to worry about anything. The drive to the hotel was roughly 45 minutes, along winding, mountainous roads, which was reminiscent of Bogotá. The driver informed me that it was currently winter in Ecuador but that Quito was barely affected by the seasonal change, whereas other parts of the country are impacted by El Niño. As we passed some people selling items on the street, the driver pointed them out and stated that there are a lot of Venezuelans in Ecuador currently, which was to be expected but was sad to see regardless.
Eventually, I arrived at the hotel and was very impressed with my room: I had a king size bed, a sofa, a desk, a table, and plenty of natural light. My only qualm at this point was that there was no potable water and I was feeling very dizzy from the altitude (2,850m above sea level), despite having taken anti-altitude sickness tablets. I was exhausted but wanted to stay awake for another hour or two in order to reduce the jet lag, so washed my hair then ordered room service for dinner, before passing out for the night.
Day 2
I had booked to do a full day tour of Quito city and the equator (which is just 26km away) on this day, however I woke up 1.5 hours before the tour was meant to start, to find that it been cancelled. Annoyingly, most other tours to the equator either required more than one person or only ran on the weekend, so I spent an hour trying to find alternatives with my mum, which wasn't an ideal way to start the trip. In the end, I decided to go on an afternoon tour to the equator that day, and do a Hop-On-Hop-Off tour of the city the following day.
It was very sunny in the morning, to I headed to a coffee shop called 'El Cafecito' for breakfast, which was only a 10-minute walk away. The waiter had to buzz me in for the gate to open, and as I walked in, the place was empty but I absolutely loved the interior design and here I was forced to practice my Spanish, which I had been looking forward to as I'd lost a lot of it over the years. I ordered a coffee and pancakes, which ended up being one of the best pancakes I've had, and I had the absolute pleasure of playing with Mocca, a black labrador, whilst sipping on my coffee.
There was a market (La Mariscal Artisan Market) on the way back to the hotel, which I explored, and I appreciated how the sellers acknowledged you but weren't forceful at all, so I ended up buying a little souvenir from here. I noticed that all of the sellers said 'a la orden' as I passed by, which I'd never heard elsewhere. I then passed a church (Iglesia de Santa Teresita), which was a nice surprise, and explained the church bells I heard around 7:30am that morning. I felt pretty safe walking alone down the streets and enjoyed spotting all of the art work around the city.
I didn't have any signs of altitude sickness, but didn't want to overdo it before the tour to the equator, so I headed back to the hotel to read for an hour or so. It was at this point that I discovered a water dispenser by the lift, which made life much easier. The pick-up point for the tour to the equator was a 40-minute walk away, so I did some sight-seeing en route, including Parque El Ejido, El Arco de la Circasiana and Basílico de Voto Nacional. The former two were average, however the basilica was genuinely stunning, with a beautiful interior, for only USD 2 entry! I then had lunch at the nearby Café Romance, although I wasn't very hungry so just had a homemade lemonade and chicken empanada, though the owner was very welcoming and friendly.
The meeting point for the tour to the equator was at Community Hostel, which was out of the way but offered panoramic views of the city. We then embarked on our journey to 'La Mitad del Mundo', or the Middle of the World. I knew that there was a monument to represent the equator, but not much else, so imagine my surprise when we arrive at a complex and are taught how chocolate is make in Ecuador from bean to bar, and how the indigenous people used to scare enemies off (spoiler: they shrunk the heads of other enemies they'd killed and put them on sticks or necklaces). We also partook in several activities along the actual equator, such as trying to walk in a straight line, balancing an egg on a nail, and seeing the centrifugal forces on water on either side of the equator (it spins in the opposite direction on either side). Overall, the museum was very interesting, cheap at only USD 5, and I enjoyed it much more than I'd anticipated. We then drove nearby to the monument, but didn't enter as the guide recommended just seeing it from afar, and truth be told, it was underwhelming.
After the 45 minute drive back, I was dropped off at the basilica and then walked back to the hotel, however it had started to rain and was getting dark (sunset was at 6:00pm), so I rushed back. Once in, I ordered room service again and then headed to bed.
Day 3
The weather was mild in the morning but hot by 8:15am, so I wore a jumper but ended up carrying it for most of the day. I was yet to see Parque la Carolina, which happened to be the first stop of the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, so I woke up early and walked 40 minutes to the park, where I'd planned to have breakfast in a café. Disappointingly, the café was running late so wasn't ready for customers despite being 'open', so I didn't have time to go, but luckily I always carry snacks on me so managed to enjoy breakfast in the park regardless.
The main reasons that I'd decided on the hop-on-hop-off bus were because I already had walking tours planned in other cities I was visiting in South America and the only areas I had left to visit were the park, a high viewpoint called El Panecillo, and the Old Town, all of which were a hefty walk between each other. Since I'd already walked through the park in the morning, I first planned to get off at the Old Town for an hour to walk around and grab a coffee. As I hopped on the bus, I was reacquainted with a lady from China who I'd met on the equator tour the previous day; we had a chat and she said that she missed Chinese food as she'd found the food in South America to be more bland, and that she found Shanghai to be advancing much more rapidly than the cities she'd visited in South America (namely Quito, Buenos Aires and Santiago). She was very sweet however and was very supportive of me travelling whilst young.
I got off at the Old Town and started by visiting the Basilica of San Francisco, which was gorgeous inside, and walking along the narrow streets lined with balconies full of flower pots, such as Calle de la Ronda, which I loved (and even bought a postcard of). I also explored the main square (Plaza de la Independencia), the cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de Quito) and a church (Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús), which were decent. I then hopped back on the bus, headed to El Panecillo, a viewpoint of the city with a statue, which was cool but definitely a one-off visit. That said, it was very nice to see the colourful houses on the mountains.
The bus stopped here for 30 minutes, before heading back to the park, where I learnt that we'd stop for roughly 50 minutes. By this point, I was hot and starving so headed to a nearby café for lunch; I had a ham and cheese sandwich at El Español, which sorted me right out, then headed back to the hotel. Although it was only 17°C, it felt much hotter than the same temperature does in London; I was in a t-shirt but had only put SPF on my face so my arms got burnt.
Some reflecting made me realise that I'd really underestimated my ability to be alone, which was silly as I'd loved my solo trips to Vienna, Lisbon and Cape Town, however I'd been nervous that I'd feel lonely in Quito, whereas I didn't at all. I'd planned to spend the evening in the pool, but it was much smaller than expected and they required the use of a swimming cap, so instead I facetimed my boyfriend for a few hours, then ordered my final dinner in Quito, before reading and heading to bed. It was here that I experienced my first power cut of the trip, which lasted just a few seconds.
Day 4
Shortly after I awoke, there was another brief power cut. I washed my hair, and noticed that I felt tingling in my fingers and toes - a common side effect of the anti-altitude sickness tablets. I then headed back to El Cafecito for a big breakfast of pancakes and coffee, and to say my farewells to Mocca. I had forgotten my purse, but thankfully they took ApplePay, which was a lovely surprise. I checked out of my hotel at 12:00pm and took a shuttle to the airport, noticing a paraglider en route. I arrived very early at the airport and since there wasn't a lounge, I just sat at a café and continued reading my book (I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes). Suddenly, the song 'Rocking Robin' started blasting and I look up to find all of the employees at a restaurant called 'Johnny Rockets' doing a choreographed dance to the song! It was so unexpected but very entertaining.
Final thoughts
Although I enjoyed my time in Quito, I struggled to understand the accent and locals would often say one thing immediately, then when I asked them to repeat what they'd said, they'd change up the words to ones I'd actually learnt, which I hadn't experienced before. The country ended up in another State of Emergency soon after I left, so I was very lucky to have visited in that short window! Next stop: Peru.
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