Farewell Chile, Hola Bonito Quito!

On Monday we caught a 3 hour bus from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas, the largest town in the south of Chile. It lies on the Magellan Straits, but it is really just a town with not a huge amount to do from a tourist's perspective. We spent a day doing a few domestic bits and pieces (haircuts, post and finally getting Ash's backpack repaired after is was ripped on our flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia) and then decided to bring forward our flight to Quito by four days as there was little point staying in Punta Arenas. We've covered all of the parts of Patagonia that we planned to and we were ready to move on. There is so much to see on this continent so we feel the need to make the very most of all of the time we have.

So, we were up very early on Wednesday for our flight to Quito, capital city of Ecuador. We took two flights and after several stops and a five hour wait in Santiago we finally arrived in Quito late last night. It was a long day! We had been warned about personal safety issues by other travellers and so we have switched back into 'Rio mode'. We had a pre-arranged taxi waiting for us at the airport to take us to our hotel for this very reason.

Well, we couldn't be anywhere more different. Both Argentina and Chile are very European, while Ecuador is much more what we expected South America to be. That's a great thing though! We both woke this morning excited to be somewhere so new and so different and with a huge 12 week overland journey ahead of us which will take us through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Northern Chile.

What a beautiful city Quito is. The city is located in the Sierra region of Ecuador, up in the Andes, so arriving at an altitude of 2,500m left us a little breathless and reminded us of being on our high altitude Alps Expedition last year. The city is divided into two main areas, the New Town and the Old Town ('Centro Historico'). Our hotel (which we don't think has been re-decorated since the early 70s) is slap bang in the middle of the Old Town and perfectly located. The historic Old Town is deservedly a UNESCO World Heritage sight. The old colonial architecture is exquisite, and has been extremely well preserved with numerous churches, cathedrals and monuments, and narrow cobbled stone streets that twist and wind through the city. It is fascinating to see the indigenous people in their full traditional dress and to see the women with their tiny babies tied to their backs with cloth. This is what we came to see and experience... real culture. The people we have met today have been so friendly.

Having spent the morning walking around the Old Town, we went for lunch in a Hare Krishna vegetarian restaurant (!) which was very good and cost us only 75 pence each for a three course feast. We then headed up to the huge central Basilica for spectacular views over the city. We have never had quite an experience like it... we climbed vertical ladders to the top of the bell tower on rickety wooden bridges and iron railings, right into the roof of the tower and climbed OUT onto the edge to stand on a tiny stone cornerpiece with a HUGE drop below us. You could never do something like this in England or Australia; Health and Safety Legislation would be all over it! Believe us when we say you have to hang on for dear life! The views however were incredible and worth the vertigo!

In the afternoon, we took a taxi across town and up to Panecillo to see the statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks the city, similar to Christ the Redeemer in Rio. More spectacular views over the city and the taxi ride provided a good tour of areas where it would not be safe for us to go on our own.

We have both decided that we really like Quito. It has a special charm and a real buzz about it, and we are really glad to be here. It is also extremely cheap by Western standards which makes us wonder how much we must get ripped off! Tomorrow we are heading 2 hours north on the bus to Otavalo ready to visit one of the best indigenous markets in South America early on Saturday morning.