Victor Asteinza » south america 09

Quito: From the Equator to Planet No Bar

victor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:09:04 +0000

On Sunday I went to Medio del Mundo, Middle of the World, or the Equator. It took a little over an hour and a half by two buses. Luckily enough for me I was able to get seats on both buses on the way there. The bus ride was fun and interesting. It was interesting to ride threw some poorer neighbourhoods. Along the way different merchants would jump on board as the bus was moving selling different kinds of food from fruit to ice cream. And then they would just jump off again.

The actual park where the equator is, is pretty nice. Its a tourist trap for sure. There were tons of families there on Sunday. There is a show in the middle of the park with all sorts of dancing. I watched most of it from the restaurant where I had lunch. I straddled the equator and took a picture. Then I asked a family from Virgina to take a picture of me. Its not the best but it will do. I walked around a little looking into the different shops they have there. Mostly souvenirs. I then checked out the little exhibits that they have there.

When I left the park and headed to the bus stop I realized that I didn’t really pay attention to the buses that I took to get there. “Shit!” I thought to my self, but I figured it out and made it back just fine. The first bus was standing room only, which sucked for a little while, until I was able to get a seat.

When I got to the hostel I took a little nap. I was tired. I have been taking little naps almost every day before heading out to dinner. I am loving them.

I didn’t have any plans to meet any couchsurfers and hadn’t made new friends in the hostel so I headed out to dinner on my own. I ended up in Foch, which is sort of a little square here in Mariscal that has a bunch of restaurants. I sat outside at one of them, ate dinner and people watched. I then headed back to the hostel and spent the evening uploading pictures.

Monday morning I went to the travel agency that Pablo, one of the couchsurfers, had spoken to on Friday and supposedly had room on a boat for me. Well they had room, but the cabin was for women only. Damn it. They had room for a 5 day trip but I wanted an 8 day trip. The company that runs the boat is in Australia and it was night time for them, so Veronica, the agent sent them an email to see if they could open up that room for males. She told me, she would email me, after 5:30 and let me know. So I went and found another agency that had room on a boat, that was leaving a day later, as a back up. I went to El Centro again to check it out during the day. When I got back to the hostel I checked my email, and there was nothing from Veronica, so I headed out to the gency. She had not heard back from them and decided to call, when I told her I had a backup. The other agency was open until 6:30 so at this point I had about a half hour to head to the other agency. Fortunately for me they were able to get me on the boat. I was so happy! I just needed to come by the next morning to pay for it. Which was a little bit of problem because they charge 8% if one uses a credit card or nothing if one pays in cash. The problem was that the ATM wouldn’t let me take out the full amount that I needed. I was able to pay using paypal which they only charged 4%. Better than the 8%.

El Centro during the day was nice. It was packed full of people. I found a place for lunch. Here they have tons of little places that serve Almuerzo or lunch for $1.50. For that you get a large bowl of soup, rice beans, salad, some kind of meat, and a glass of juice. The first place that I went into was serving fried steak. I really wasn’t in the mood for fried steak again. Some places give you an option on what kind of meat you want, but some places are just set. So I found a place that was serving chicken. It was really good. I felt really guilty only paying 1.50 for it.

I then went to El Panecillo, where La Virgin de Quito overlooks the city. It was pretty dead up there, but the views were amazing. I then went back to El Centro, hung out for a little bit more and then went back to the hostel. That is when I went to the agency to finalized the Galapagos trip.

After that I went and found the Reigna Victoria Pub, which was supposedly a spot where travelers congregate. I found it easily enough and hung out at the bar with a New Yorker and a Georgian. The Georgian who was also the barman, is named Victor and has been living in Quito for over 2 years. I had three large beers (not sure the amount of beer that is, but if I had to guess I would say it is a pint and half) and only paid for one. The first two where buy one get one free, and the last was bought by another traveler at the bar. It was a nice evening. The conversations where all over the place. It was fun.

Tuesday morning I went to the agency to pay for my trip to the Galapagos. Then went to Confederate Books (thanks Alison), which is an english used book store, and picked up Elmore Leonard’s Be Cool. I then found the South America Explorer’s club house (thanks Sheri) and got a tour. Its a pretty cool organization. It’s main purpose is to help travelers with anything they need while traveling through South America. I am going to go back and become a member today. The rest of the day I just hung around Mariscal.

I made plans with Pablo, one of the couchsurfers to have dinner. I thought we were just going to have dinner. Boy was I wrong. Since I thought we were just having dinner I didn’t bring my camera. That is a mistake I will never make again. I got to the restaurant a little early and ordered a drink. He showed up and informed me that one his friends was coming to meet up with us, but first he had to show an apartment to someone from the South America Explorers. I informed him that I had been at the club house earlier in the day and got a tour. Turned out that it was the same guy that gave me the tour. Small world.

After showing the apartment they took me to eat traditional Ecuadorian street food, and I didn’t have my camera! There was so much food, I don’t remember it all. One of the things they were excited for me to try was Tripa something, basically beef intestines. At least that is what I think it was. It was really good. There were all sorts of different types of corn, potatoes, beans. A lot of good food. Angel then drove us back to Mariscal and Pablo took me to a club, Planet No Bar, where we hung out with more of his friends, danced and drank until two in the morning. One of his other friends then drove us to a hot dog stand where we ate, strangely enough, hot dogs. They then dropped me off at my hostel. What a night!

I was going to go hiking this morning, but didn’t quite make it. I am just taking it easy today before I head to the Galapagos tomorrow. I will be there for 8 days and I am guessing that there will not be an internet connection on the boat, so you wont hear from me for about a week. I’ll let you know how the Galapagos go. I can’t wait!

Quito,Ecuador: Frist Couple of Days

victor — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:49:41 +0000

View the trip so far

Well my third day is now complete. I know that I have only been in Quito for two full days, but it feels like its been longer. I am not sure how much longer I am going to be here. Leave for the Galapagos on Thursday the 12th for eight days. I currently have my room booked for one more night, so that leaves Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night. I need to decide if I want to stay here in Quito or go someplace else first. I say I am going to the Galapagos on Thursday but it hasn’t been fully booked. I need to do that on Monday. When I return from the Galapagos I will be in Quito for a few more days hanging out with my friend Jens, who is currently in Columbia.

Getting here was no problem. It was smooth sailing. I was picked up at the airport and taken to the hostel. I was checked in by 10:45pm, and I was hungry, so I ventured out to get something to eat. This isn’t the safest neighborhood at night, (don’t worry Mom, I am being safe), so I stopped in this little place and had a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke for $1.85. I know I know, my first meal here and its a burger. But these places are everywhere, and I didn’t know the lay of the land yet.

The following morning I missed breakfast because I slept in, but they made me a small little breakfast, of fruit, bread and chocolate milk. Yum. They are really nice here. Left the hostel and just walked around the neighborhood to familiarize myself with the area. Found a nice park and just chilled, wrote in my journal, and people watched. That was a lot of fun. But I realized that I hadn’t put on sun block and was a little red. Oops. Back to the hostel I went, put on some sun block and headed out. I am going to get a great tan while I am here.

I met up with a couchsurfer who lives here in Quito for some beers. It was great to hangout with a local. He gave me some pointers on what to see, and also helped out with the Galapagos tour.

In the early evening I decided to venture out to El Centro, or Old Town, to walk around and find something to eat. Getting there was somewhat of an adventure. The buses here are jammed packed. You basically have to shove your way in and shove your way out. You really don’t have to hold on to anything, just lean on someone. Okay its not that bad, but it was pretty crazy. El Centro is the colonial part of the city and it is very beautiful. Lots of little shops, places to eat, and churches. I walked around until I got hungry, and found a place to eat. I had a very healthy meal of fried meat, two fried eggs, french fries, a string bean, cauliflower, carrot salad, a cucumber, pepper salad, some really spicy sauce, and a beer. I then walked around some more, and caught a taxi back to the hostel.

This morning, on Allison’s recommendation, I went to the Museo Gauyasmin. I took the bus, which was a lot of fun, and hiked up this crazy hill. I was a little short of breathe due to the altitude here, when I arrived and the closed gate with an updated sign that it was only open during the weekdays. Damn it. Luckily enough just a little further up the hill, and through a poor looking neighborhood, I made it to the Capilla Del Hombre, which houses art work from Gauyasmin. It was very beautiful, and the view from up there was amazing.

I then took a taxi to the Jardin Botanico, walked around, and took some pictures. I then walked around the park, where the gardens are, and bought myself a giant cup full of fruit for lunch. That park was is very beautiful. You can rent a paddle boat and paddle around the man made lake. There is also a pretty big skate park there. I then took the bus back to the hostel and took a nap.

I met up with another couchsurfer for beers and food. Another couchsurfer that she knew joined us a little bit later, after his salsa lesson. It was a lot of fun. Its great to meet fellow travelers.

Well that’s the first couple of days.

I didn’t take pictures really the first day, just the one for 365, but I did take some today. I tried uploading them, but either they are taking way to long, or for some reason uploading is blocked. Its almost midnight here I am tired. I will try uploading the pics at another time when I am less tired, and maybe from an internet cafe. Sorry if there are typeos, but I am too tired to proof read it right now. Good night.

The Great South American Experiment

victor — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:09:17 +0000

For the longest time one of my dreams has been to take a year off to travel the world. The idea of it was very romantic, but actually doing it became very daunting. Planning, saving money, leaving everything that I know for a whole year became a little overwhelming. Okay, it became extremely overwhelming.

Two years ago I spent a week in Buenos Aires and the travel bug was planted yet again. So it is today that I leave for Quito Ecuador, for a three month adventure. I wont be spending all three months in Ecuador. I will be traveling around the continent as much as I can during those three months. I don’t really have a set itinerary, I am just going to let the continent show me what I need to see. There are some things that I want to see and do, but everything in between is an unknown at this point.

This trip is both exciting and scary to me. Scary, because I will be on my own, outside of my comfort zone for three months. I know that I will meet a lot of people, so I wont be necessarily completely alone. When I graduated from the university I spent a month in Europe, and meeting people was half the fun. But I know there will be times where I miss my home and my loved ones. That is part of the experiment, rediscovering my self, finding out who I am, who I will become. That is part of the excitement.

South America is such a beautiful place, as are most places on this planet. I am excited to experience its beauty. To learn what I can from it, both the good and the bad. I am excited to enter the subculture of backpackers again. I had such a blast meeting people last time I traveled and I am excited to meet new ones, both fellow travelers, and those that live where I am visiting.

Thank you to all my friends and loved ones that I have supported me in getting to this point. I love you all very much, and will miss you. But we will see each other again before we know it.

I will be posting entries and uploading photos when I can. Follow my feed here, or if you want to received emails when I post an entry click here.

Let the experiment begin!