April 14-19, 2019
After Peru, we went to Quito, Ecuador where we spent 5 days. Quito is the capital of Ecuador and it has a reputation of a good retirement spot for various expats (the whole Ecuador, not just Quito). It uses US dollar as its national currency.
We all claim that we didn’t enjoy Quito much, except for a couple of outings during those 5 days – one to the local replica of Notre Dame and the other one to the equator at the Mitad del Mundo, “Center of the World”.
We also had several mishaps in Quito. I tripped and fell on a busy street (in a tight corridor with some wire fence on one side) and scraped my left arm (walking with Nini is a hazardous activity).
Maksim chipped his second front tooth by a bizarre slip and light hit off a glass table (first front tooth he chipped in Buenos Aires).
Our apartment looked great based on our first impressions (huge, modern looking, fantastic city views) but then it turned out it was missing all the basics (no toilet paper at our arrival, no working faucet in the kitchen sink, not enough bedding and pillows for 5 of us (only for 3), broken stove, only functioning on the highest setting, not enough dishes for 5, no towels, etc.
We stayed in the historic district and that was probably our first mistake. Quito’s historic area did not have any good food stores or restaurants so we were constantly feeling that we had to perform miracles to feed ourselves. Our teenagers is only eating fresh and healthy foods these days and there was not much around our place to get for her.
Nina almost passed out again, most likely due to the altitude (Quite is high up too). It was Semana Santa (Holly week) so it was busy but overcrowded for our taste. We all had a bunch of complains for those 5 days.
All in all, we were tired too and needed some down time so that must have contributed to our overall feel of the city. Our pictures, however, would tell a different story. Based the photographic evidence, our time in Quito was fabulous 😉
Refresh Journey 