Category: Travel Recommendations
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Cotopaxi National Park
If you are trying to make the most of a limited time and you have the budget, I would definitely recommend a guided tour in Quito. One of my biggest splurges of the trip was a private tour of Cotopaxi National Park or Parque Nacional Cotopaxi.
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TelefériQo
It looked like any other gondola, or what they always looked like in the movies anyway, I had never been on a real gondola before. The closest I had come was the ski lift at Adventureland Amusement Park or the Skyfari at the Henry Doorly Zoo. It seemed mostly safe, only swaying in the stronger…
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Jardín Botánico de Quito
I did not think about it, my feet simply followed the neatly laid bricks. Winding along to my right, I stored the map in my back pocket. The leaves set within the bricks corresponding to the leaves on the map were meant to guide me along, but I let nature choose my direction.
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Quito’s Historic City Center
The narrow gaps between buildings that passed as streets reminded me of Ireland. The outside of the church was unassuming, the white and light blue did not draw attention to the quiet sanctuary. It was only after passing through the black gate and heavy wooden doors that we began to see hints of the splendor…
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Mercado La Mariscal
“Ecuador!” “Ecuador!” The lines on his face and weariness in his soft, brown eyes did not diminish the determination in his voice as he moved up and down the block. He waved a yellow, blue, and red flag, condor flying proudly, in each hand and let the surplus stick out of every hole in his…
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Intiñan Museum (The Real Middle of the World)
Less developed than Mitad Del Mundo, the entrance to Intiñan Museum (located closer to the real middle of the world as established by GPS) is tucked away off the side of the road. Walking across a bridge, the winding path led through some greenery before arriving at a gathering of modern buildings made to look…
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Mitad Del Mundo
As I walked through the gate and up the sidewalk, nothing seemed out of the ordinary…then, the monument came into view. Rising 30 meters (about 90 feet), it dominated the center of the “village” that has sprung up around it. The bright center line separated the two halves of the world and acted as a…
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Papallacta Volcanic Pools
It was difficult to give up my layers at first. The chill in the air and the mist sticking to my goosebumps made me reconsider, that is until I put my first toe into the water. I registered the sting only for a second before throwing everything below my shoulders under the surface. My muscles…
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Travel Quito, Ecuador
I should have been tired after a two hour flight, two hour layover, and five hour flight, finally arriving in Quito at 11:30 p.m., but all I could feel was the excitement. It was chillier than I was expecting (whenever I hear equator I automatically picture a tropical paradise), but my friend from Quito had…
E. Rae Barnes 