Quito 2

Last night it was Vicky’s Birthday (19, Wandsworth), and we went out with Angela (28, Glasgow) and Barbara (Switzerland). It was a pretty good night all round, just $8 entry and all you can drink! I didn’t actually get too drunk though, a combination of too much food, the high altitude and general knackeredness meant that I stuck to the beers.In the morning, the four of us got the bus to the Equator (Mitad del Mundo), where we saw the monument, established by the European settlers in the 18^th century, although it’s actually about 300m away, where the Incans originally said it was, and GPS proved it.

While we were there, I bought a fairly ridiculous Indiana Jones-style leather hat, but I’ve grown to love it! At the Incan equator, there was a museum/tour, where I succesfully managed to hit a cactus with a blow-dart, but failed to balance an egg on a nail – apparently this is only possible at the Equator.

In the evening, we met the rest of the tour group, I’d say the average age is about 27, and I think half of them are Aussie, plus only about 4 people are doing the full trip to Rio, most people are finishing in La Paz.

After the first group meeting, we all went to the same Ecuadorian restaurant as I did last night, where I tried Ceviche de Concha (‘shell’ ceviche – not really sure what it was exactly but not very tasty), followed by beef tongue, which was so tasty and tender, with a simple cream sauce.