Quito

Day 94 (September 30, 2018) – Quito, Ecuador

Quito was our first stop in Ecuador after leaving Colombia. We were a bit sad to be leaving Colombia, but we were also looking forward to seeing what adventures Ecuador had in store for us. It didn’t help our mood when we had to exchange our few remaining Colombian pesos for US dollars. Something about using US currency abroad makes the trip feel a little less exotic.

But we were in for a surprise. 

Quito turned out to be an impressive city and a fun and interesting place to explore during our five-day visit. It was a great first impression of Ecuador.

One of the many streets of Old City.

Quito is enormous. The city stretches for miles along a narrow strip of relatively flat land in the middle of the Andes. Admittedly, we only saw the tinniest portion of the city during our stay, but the two main areas of interest that we (and most other tourists) spent time in were the areas surrounding Plaza Foch and Old City. Both areas are uniquely interesting, but what is most surprising is their seemingly opposite characteristics. Plaza Foch is home to Quito’s debaucherous night life while Old City is Quito’s historic and refined city center. It’s hard to believe you are in the same city walking from one area to the other.

The iconic Plaza Foch sign.

Plaza Foch may seem relaxed during the day, but after dinner you can barely make your way across this intersection. 

Our accommodation was near Plaza Foch and we spent most of our time there as it was the closest place to grab a bite to eat or just walk around. The plaza itself isn’t of all that much interest, other than perhaps it is home to one of the few Juan Valdez coffee shops in Quito. However, the streets surrounding the plaza are packed with restaurants, bars, and clubs on every corner. Even when we first arrived on a Wednesday night and went out for dinner, it was almost shocking to see so many people out and about. This area of the city seems tame during the day but at night you can barely squeeze your way through the people on the sidewalk or get across the gridlock of taxis in the street.

Enjoying a pint of craft beer at the Indie Beer Company, our decided favorite. Their logo and name seem oddly similar to Dow's...

In the face of the over-the-top nightlife scene, what did pleasantly surprise us was the craft beer scene. Apparently, craft beer is a big thing in Ecuador and there were plenty of excellent breweries to choose from. We were very excited to figure out this interesting fact about Quito, but I’m sure our “drinks” budget was going to feel a little pained. While regular beer can be found insanely cheaply (you often hear $5 for 2 liters of beer), specialty beers are priced more similar to home at around $5 a pint if you find a good deal. We had a lot of fun sampling the dozens of different beers we found around the city but our favorite spot by far was Indie Beer Company.

One of Old City's stately plazas.

Quite unlike Foch Plaza, the area around Old City feels clean and refined. The bars and clubs are replaced with fancy hotels and little shops. Spanish Colonial architecture dominates this part of the city. It was fun to walk around this section of town and visit the many historic sites of Quito. We took tours of ornate churches, sampled some of the bakeries, and enjoyed a couple cups of coffee. While we walked from our apartment all the way to Old City, we elected to take a cab back home at the end of the day. The blocks look small on a map, but they take forever to actually walk.

View from the top of Basilica del Voto Nacional.

From the streets of Old City.

One of our last excursions in Quito was a ride up the Teleferico, which is a gondola that takes you up the side of Pichincha Volcano, which dominates the Quito skyline. The views of the city below are stunning. It was a bit hazy that day from some forest fires, but you could still pick out all the parts of town that we had walked through and spent time in. It was a great last stop for our time in Quito.  

View from the top of the Teleferico on a hazy day.

Looking out over Quito.