S.A.P.E.: Ecuador 2009, Quito to Baños

First of, um, four, I think, Ecuador entries in the Shameless Archive Padding Exercise.

Well, I've left Quito for the time being and got in by bus to a town called Baños. It's a town in the mountains, next to a rather active volcano, with hot springs and a billion tourists. So far it's not so charming but it's more a base for activities like hiking, horseback riding, biking, and white water rafting so the fact that the town itself appears to be entirely geared towards tourists may not be such a tragedy in the end.

So, about Quito. It was awesome. Perhaps I'm swayed by it being the first latin american city I've ever been to, but I really enjoyed my time there. The hostel I stayed at [Hostal Revolution - ed.] was phenomenal -- everyone there was incredibly friendly (which is not the case in my current digs, thus far), it was clean, and comfy, and the kitchen was amazing (not that I cooked, but it was a communal area that got very animated around dinnertime). And the city itself was great. Reports of it being extremely dangerous are perhaps slightly exaggerated -- as long as you keep your wits about you during the day you should be fine, and at night, you just take taxis everywhere and that works out too. Perhaps I'd be singing a different tune if I had stayed in the 'new" part of town, dubbed Gringolandia by the locals -- the area stocked exclusively with hostels, restaurants, bars, adventure tour companies, and outdoor outfitter stores, and overrun with turistas. My decision not to stay in that part of town, I think, is likely the biggest factor in my enjoyment of the city.

I did spend quite a bit of time wandering through the old part of the city. It was fascinating, and assuming my camera makes it home with me I'll have a ton of pictures to share. It's all spanish colonial architecture, but caked with a few layers of post-colonial flourishes. Tiny stores tucked into the walls of old buildings, and indigenous
folks hawking all sorts of random - and as yet untried - food-like things. And I will also say that the locals are incredibly friendly, particularly cab drivers (once you've negotiated a price). My Spanish, while rudimentary, has let me be talked at by cabbie after cabbie,
inquiring as to my country of origin and plans for traveling in Equador and providing their own advice and commentary. Really, truly delightful. Also saw a museum about Ecuador's biggest artist (now deceased), named Something [Oswaldo - ed.] Guayasamin. AMAZING stuff. Really outstanding.

Anyway, I'm holding up a dinner excursion here with a fellow hostel-resident, so I'll sign off for now. I plan to be back in Quito by the weekend in preparation for my jungle tour on Monday, which is all set to go. I'm super, extra excited about that one, even if I have
no idea what I'm getting myself into.

Originally published via email, June 16, 2009.