a, which has not come to anything, and Quito was no different.When we arrived we were dropped off just outside the "Old Town", about 20 mintues from our hostel, so we immediately got our first chance to use Quito's tram system, which was very impressive, regular, clean and quick, so we knew straight away that making our way around the city would be easy.
The day we arrived in Quito was voting day for Ecuadors main governmental elections, so it was pretty chaotic, especially as voting in Ecuador is compulsory. Everybody was out and the streets were very busy, but it 
made for a great atmosphere. We spent our first day around the "Old Town", which is full of Spanish colonial buildings and churches, but it's center piece is the stunning Gothic basilica. The public has access to climb one of its spires, but at the time we got there the building was all shut up, so we decided that that would be our first port of call the following day. That evening we decided to head into the "New Town" aka the Mariscal Sucre, which is renowned for being a bit of a dodgy place to go at night, but it was where all the good bars and restaurants are located. We took a taxi, which is a must at night time in the Mariscal, and di
d see quite a few ladies of the night and gangs of people hanging around on street corners, but despite that there were still groups of gringos wondering around, quite comfortable in their surroundings. So we jumped out of the cab and found a Thai restaurant. Unfortunately, before and after elections for a few days the government will not allow the sale of alcohol (and the UK public say we live in a "Nanny State"!) so all the bars and pubs were empty, therefore we made our way back to our hostel, which was selling beer on the quiet!
made for a great atmosphere. We spent our first day around the "Old Town", which is full of Spanish colonial buildings and churches, but it's center piece is the stunning Gothic basilica. The public has access to climb one of its spires, but at the time we got there the building was all shut up, so we decided that that would be our first port of call the following day. That evening we decided to head into the "New Town" aka the Mariscal Sucre, which is renowned for being a bit of a dodgy place to go at night, but it was where all the good bars and restaurants are located. We took a taxi, which is a must at night time in the Mariscal, and di
d see quite a few ladies of the night and gangs of people hanging around on street corners, but despite that there were still groups of gringos wondering around, quite comfortable in their surroundings. So we jumped out of the cab and found a Thai restaurant. Unfortunately, before and after elections for a few days the government will not allow the sale of alcohol (and the UK public say we live in a "Nanny State"!) so all the bars and pubs were empty, therefore we made our way back to our hostel, which was selling beer on the quiet!The following morning we headed straight back over to the basilica. It is a bit of a hairy climb and you start by walking over a series of gang planks that span the roof of the main section of the building. You then climb a very steep staircase that leads to an outdoor platform, from there you ascend two more very steep stair cases, which lead to the top of the tower. Even Mel, who isn't as frightened of heights as I am, trembled her way to the top, but the views across the city are amazing at every angle and it was definitely worth the climb.
From there we walked to the other side of the city, to the top of a small hill with a park at the summit where we could kick back for a few hours and just stare over the wonderful city, there was also a great café at the summit, where we had a drink to escape the intense heat.
This was our last full day in South America and so thought it would be fitting to visit Mitad del Mundo, which translates to Center of the World, otherwise known as the Equator line. We had arranged to meet up with our friend Mark, who we had met at the start of our trip in Rio. When going to meet Mark at his hostel we also bumped into a couple and another guys from the UK that we had met in Mancora.
It was about a two hour bus ride from Quito, which seemed to take forever on the hot cramped buses, it was certainly a relief when we arrived. The exact mark of the equator line has been signified by a huge monument and around that there are a number of shops, restaurants and small museu
ms that have been built to create a bit of a theme park. We expected it to be quite busy, but it was very quiet, and we virtually had the place to ourselves. We spent about 10 minutes taking photos on and around the Equator line then we headed next door to a museum which had been recommended to us. When we arrived we bumped into a couple that we had previously met in El Chalten, Patagonia, back at the start of February, which was a real shock. The visit was fun, as its an interactive museum that demonstrates the power of the equator e.g. how it affects your strength, how much easier it is to balance eggs on the head of a nail, how water flows differently down a plug hole on either side of the line and on top of the line. We have skepticism about how scientifically valid the tests are, but it was all good lighthearted fun. We returned to Quito on an even longer bus journey.
It was about a two hour bus ride from Quito, which seemed to take forever on the hot cramped buses, it was certainly a relief when we arrived. The exact mark of the equator line has been signified by a huge monument and around that there are a number of shops, restaurants and small museu
ms that have been built to create a bit of a theme park. We expected it to be quite busy, but it was very quiet, and we virtually had the place to ourselves. We spent about 10 minutes taking photos on and around the Equator line then we headed next door to a museum which had been recommended to us. When we arrived we bumped into a couple that we had previously met in El Chalten, Patagonia, back at the start of February, which was a real shock. The visit was fun, as its an interactive museum that demonstrates the power of the equator e.g. how it affects your strength, how much easier it is to balance eggs on the head of a nail, how water flows differently down a plug hole on either side of the line and on top of the line. We have skepticism about how scientifically valid the tests are, but it was all good lighthearted fun. We returned to Quito on an even longer bus journey.
The following day we were flying to Central America, and Panama City would be our first stop.
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