Ecuador and Quito

Medellin had its time and Chris and I talked about going to Ecuador. After Medellin, I was planning on going to Bogota (Colombia’s capital and in the high mountains) but cost and time to get didn’t make sense. Even worse, I had a Couch Surfing house to stay at and had to tell her I wasn’t coming after a month of conversations. As always though, plans change fast around here and no plan is a real plan.

The real plan that was decided was to go to Ecuador. Chris and I talked about either flying to Quito (Ecuador’s capital) or busing it. The bus ride was 30 hours! The other option was to fly, a bit more expensive but only 3 hour, which was a large difference. I started to research airplane tickets. I found a few for $160’ish but when I finally made up my mind to buy the ticket I couldn’t even purchase them on my computer. The instant that happened solidified the bus ride to Quito. Chris and me packed up our gear and headed to the bus station.

20 hours and a few stops later we arrived at the border and our bus ride ended. The border was pretty small and if you wanted to, you could just walk through without getting a stamp and they wouldn’t care. As we waited in line we met and chatted with some fellow backpackers that were on the bus, both from Sweden, Pele and Arve. Got to the line, asked the standard custom questions and got a printed out stamp on my passport! Who does that?

We all made it and jumped in two taxis across the border to the next bus station that would link us to Quito. So far, besides the lack of a cool stamp, Ecuador was looking real good. The scenery was covered in farmland. All of which utilized the land like Colombia. Every little bump and hill was some plant. Instead of using fencing, they had small brushes that divided the land. Within seconds of arriving into Ecuador, the people change. The looks, style and character are a 180-degree culture shock. It happens with each country I’ve been to and never quite makes sense.

10 hours later we arrive in Quito around 8 p.m. The bus dropped us off away from the city and not a bus station (typical). We find two taxis since my surfboard is considered a human being and we took off to the center where we would find some hostels. Chris had a few in mind, so we gave those addresses to the driver. We arrived smack down in the center, small, narrow cobble stone roads and a nightlife that was bustling. This time much different than Colombia or any place I’ve been. We dropped off our stuff at the hostel and headed out for some food and an early night. It was around 9 or 10 when we were walking around. Some of the bars and clubs had people wrapped around the block waiting to get in (very early). All of the locals were hammered, yelling or puking in the streets. Never seen anything like this. We grabbed food and all went to bed.

Next day was exploration time. We hoped on the bus and went into old town to check out the city. Quito was a very large city but no real skyscrapers, all about 6 stories tall but everywhere. The buildings were bright colors, colonial style and once again built anything and everything on each corner. In the distant was a large Jesus statue that over looked the whole city. We thought we were walking in that direction but ended up climbing a bunch of stairs in the wrong direction and took some off beaten path.

We got back to the hostel that night and I messaged a few friends that Kara Miller mentioned I should try and meet up with. She used to live here in high school and knew the area really well. It was the middle of the week so her friends couldn’t come out, which was a bummer.

A few days in, Chris was taking off into the mountains while I was heading to the beach. Pele and Arve were heading in the same direction so I tagged a long with them. Another 10 hour bus and we landed in Montanita.