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We arrived in Quito after an awkward night bus. We were stopped twice during the night by police and all taken off and searched which was a bit intimidating!! We arrived in early so we checked straight in to our room and walked around to see what the place was like. We were staying in the new town and our hostel was right in the middle so we could walk everywhere.
We were very impressed with the City. The old town was very colonial style and the new town was like being in Barcelona!! The new town had beautiful restaurants and bars. We wanted to go into the jungle from here so we set about organising that. We booked a five day trip into the amazon, heading for the Cuyabeno region. The other thing we really wanted to do was to visit the equator. We inquired about the tours but realised it was better and cheaper to do it ourselves. The agency wanted 70 dollars and we did the whole thing ourselves for ten!!
We headed for the equator early in the morning, taking two buses and arriving after an hour travelling. We arrived at the old equator first where they have built a big tourist area including a big monument on the line. It is like a little city in there!! Afterwards we visited the real equator which is 200 metres up the road. They realised 12 years ago, with the help of GPS technology, that the equator was really located here. When we arrived there we got a guided tour of the museum to see how the indigenous people lived. At the end of the tour we were at the equator which was really amazing. Our guide showed us various different things that happen either side of the equator. For example, pouring water down a drain on the line it went straight, 1 meter north it went clockwise and 1 metre south it went anti clockwise!! Being at the equtor was an amazing experience!! We headed back to Quito to pack our bags as we were getting an 8 hour night bus to Lago Agrio where we would be picked up and taken to the jungle.(Separate blog)
When we arrived back from the jungle we relaxed for a few days. We visited the old town, took a trip up the Teleferico, and got to watch Ireland and Italy!! Ecuador were also playing over a few days so the place was going crazy!! We also visited the Basillica in the old town which we thought would have just been another church but we were pleasantly surprised. The church was beautiful and we were able to climb to the top to look over Quito. Very dodgy getting up but well worth it.
On our last night we splashed out and went to a really nice restaurant which ended our time in Quito perfectly
The next day we went to the bus station and got a bus to Banos which was only 4 hours away.
Quito Done!!
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