The Centre of the World

We’re now in Ecuador and have crossed over the equator to the southern hemisphere, spending some time in the city at the centre of the world, Quito. The hostel here had bedside mini beds for your phone, which I transformed into Dylan’s own bed.

Back to when we crossed over the bridge to Ecuador, we had a painless journey through immigration and made our way to the nearby Otavalo. 

There’s quite a few things to do in Otavalo, but, still being ill, I decided to use the time here to relax and recuperate. I did manage to take some photos from our hillside hostel and venture down into the main square to browse the market. We were also rejoined by our truck, which had been fixed. 

After a chilled time in Otavalo, we headed to Quito, the closest city in the world to the equator. On our way into Quito, we stopped off at the equator line. 

We then arrived in Quito, which stands at 2,800 meters above sea level. There are signs that you are this high. Walking up stairs and hills is tough and requires a lot of heavy breathing and you also need to drink near enough double the amount of water you’d usually drink. 

We spent the evening at the hostel bar, admiring the views from its rooftop. 

The next day we took part in the hostel’s walking tour, which was dreadful. We were told it would take three hours, some of us left after an hour, but we heard after it took well over four hours. We did stick out the first bit which was visiting the cathedral. 

After escaping from the tour, we headed to the cable car which takes you to the side of a mountain to views of the city. I was tested here due to the altitude. Being at 4,100 meters isn’t easy, all sorts of things start feeling weird in your body. 

We then spent the evening back at the hostel bar, enjoying the cheap drinks. 

Following the failed tour the previous day, I decided to do a self guided tour the next day using an app I had been using for other cities on my travels. Some of the group decided to join me, and designated me as the tour guide, which was a role I happened to step into quite easily. 

We’re now headed to the Amazon jungle for a few days.