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| Monastery of San Fransisco |
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| Andean hawker |
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| One, two, three.....oi you in the middle I said THREE! |
Saturday, 13 October 2012
el Centro Historico
We've been to the Old Town a couple of times, like Cartagena it's a unesco world heritage site but unlike Cartagena it lacks charm, I found it ugly and grey. I don't know what the difference is, if it's the lack of sunshine or the number of beggars and hawkers on the streets or that some of the streets that we walked down were completely deserted and eerily quiet.
I found it quite a sad place to walk around, obviously since the New Town sprung up in the 1940's and the rich Ecuadorians deserted for a new life there has been no investment, in fact the travel books state that the old town has received considerable investment since 2003 but there's little evidence of it.
The policemen and their dogs patrolling the streets of the old town however are a bright and friendly bunch who on the count of three salute or sit up and beg!
Gringolandia
We are staying in 'Mariscal Sucre' which is part of the New Town and where the majority of hotels and restaurants are - it's also where all of the tourists tend to stay - hence its nickname.....
On Thursday we had a look around the New Town, it's a very cosmopolitan place with a commercial centre, shopping malls that are easily on a par with those back at home and numerous KFC's, McDonalds and Subway's - not a single Starbucks though which is good.
Spanish school was at the top of our 'to-do' list for Thursday and on the recommendation of the english family that we'd met the night before we enrolled at Terracentro Spanish school - four hours a day for the next two weeks.
Knowing that it's not advisable to walk around at night we chose a Peruvian restaurant close to the hostel to eat, we had the most delicious pulpo (octopus) ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lime juice), a wonderfully tasty though very rich langoustine soup and a pisco sour cocktail. The restaurant is owned and run by a really nice French/American who like us had been travelling around Latin America and decided to stay having identified the lack of Peruvian food in Quito as a gap in the market which he has now filled with three restaurants. He also recommended some other restaurants for us to try and a club the Turtles Head; "A club that plays 80's music, I hope I'm not offending you", he wasn't we're going on Thursday!
After a trial lesson with Patricia our tutor and a couple of beers while we watched the football we returned to the hostel and went for a very good curry with the English family.
Friday night curries, the same world over!
Raine x
On Thursday we had a look around the New Town, it's a very cosmopolitan place with a commercial centre, shopping malls that are easily on a par with those back at home and numerous KFC's, McDonalds and Subway's - not a single Starbucks though which is good.
Spanish school was at the top of our 'to-do' list for Thursday and on the recommendation of the english family that we'd met the night before we enrolled at Terracentro Spanish school - four hours a day for the next two weeks.
Knowing that it's not advisable to walk around at night we chose a Peruvian restaurant close to the hostel to eat, we had the most delicious pulpo (octopus) ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lime juice), a wonderfully tasty though very rich langoustine soup and a pisco sour cocktail. The restaurant is owned and run by a really nice French/American who like us had been travelling around Latin America and decided to stay having identified the lack of Peruvian food in Quito as a gap in the market which he has now filled with three restaurants. He also recommended some other restaurants for us to try and a club the Turtles Head; "A club that plays 80's music, I hope I'm not offending you", he wasn't we're going on Thursday!
After a trial lesson with Patricia our tutor and a couple of beers while we watched the football we returned to the hostel and went for a very good curry with the English family.
Friday night curries, the same world over!
Raine x
Arriving in Quito
We arrived in Quito at 9pm on Wednesday night, unfortunately our luggage didn't.... after patiently waiting and checking each of the carousels for almost an hour we went to the Avianca desk where the very polite attendant instantly recognised our names and told us that our bags hadn't arrived from Bogota - very frustrating! He assured us that our bags would be delivered to our hostel by 01:30 - and they were.
Our rooms at the Travellers Inn are in a block in the yard next to the main house, they're clean and functional with a shared (and technically speaking outdoor) bathroom and at £7.46 each a night a bargain!
We are going to upgrade to a twin room with a private bathroom today, which sees the room rate increase to £11.50 each....
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| My room with it's ensuite.... |
When we got to the hostel just before 11pm we met two families both part way through year long trips (!) who'd just returned from the Amazon and Alex an ever so slightly highly strung lesbian (instant disclosure) who was coming down from what sounded like an amazing trip to the Galapagos.
The Club Colombia (beer) that we'd bought at Bogota airport to use up the last of our peso's had warmed up so we bought two large bottles of ice cold pilsner and drank them in the yard before bed.
New town vs Old town to follow.
Raine x
The Club Colombia (beer) that we'd bought at Bogota airport to use up the last of our peso's had warmed up so we bought two large bottles of ice cold pilsner and drank them in the yard before bed.
New town vs Old town to follow.
Raine x
Ecuador 3 - Chile 1
We picked a good time to be in Ecuador, yesterday it was their world cup qualifier against Chile which we watched in the Foch Plaza in the 'New Town' a short walk from where we're staying.
It was a great game to watch as a neutral, the game opened with a superb strike by Ecuador... into Chile's goal, it was an excellent OG!
Then there was a penalty, not a great one as the keeper saved it, but he should have caught it rather than batting it away as Ecuador scored from the rebound.
There was a sending off in the final 15 minutes and a goal scored in the final minute of added time.
I'm told that the Chilleans will put their loss down to the altitude (they always do when they lose, never do when they win).
It was a great game to watch as a neutral, the game opened with a superb strike by Ecuador... into Chile's goal, it was an excellent OG!
Then there was a penalty, not a great one as the keeper saved it, but he should have caught it rather than batting it away as Ecuador scored from the rebound.
There was a sending off in the final 15 minutes and a goal scored in the final minute of added time.
I'm told that the Chilleans will put their loss down to the altitude (they always do when they lose, never do when they win).
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| Foch Plaza 5 minutes from the stadium |
Some Quito highlights to follow.....
Raine x
Thursday, 11 October 2012
The LGSO playing this weekend....
Not a trip update.....
If you're in London this Sunday and looking for a bit of culture the LGSO are playing on Sunday at:
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate
10 Giltspur St,
London
EC1 9DE
They are crazily talented and will be playing pieces by Delius, Strauss and Beethoven.
Sorry I can't be there John - I'll try and be back for the one on the 28th April 2013.
Lots of love,
Raine x
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Providencia - population "five thousand and change"
After a short hop on a half full, fume filled plane we land on Providencia.
The pilot lands on an airstrip the length of a driveway at home and once nine locals have gone through and the three immigration officials have decided on which country we're from - after much discussion between the three of them but without asking us, they settle on 'Grande Brittain' - we get a cab to hotel Sirius.
The locals speak Creole in preference to Spanish and pretty much everyone speaks English too - life is going to be easy for us on this island.
After selecting our room, like the two city girls we are we head off to the beach for sundowners only to find that all but one one of the bars is closed and that one is closing, we panic buy four bottles of beer with the help of the bar mans English speaking wife who also tells us about a 'Programme' on the beach on Saturday. The island has it's annual event on the beach, with horse racing, music, sack races (!) - not to be missed. When I ask Jadeth if all 6,000 islanders will be there she says no and corrects me in her beautiful lilting accent that the population of the island is "five thousand and change" - I loved that description.
The pilot lands on an airstrip the length of a driveway at home and once nine locals have gone through and the three immigration officials have decided on which country we're from - after much discussion between the three of them but without asking us, they settle on 'Grande Brittain' - we get a cab to hotel Sirius.
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| View from Hotel Sirius |
After selecting our room, like the two city girls we are we head off to the beach for sundowners only to find that all but one one of the bars is closed and that one is closing, we panic buy four bottles of beer with the help of the bar mans English speaking wife who also tells us about a 'Programme' on the beach on Saturday. The island has it's annual event on the beach, with horse racing, music, sack races (!) - not to be missed. When I ask Jadeth if all 6,000 islanders will be there she says no and corrects me in her beautiful lilting accent that the population of the island is "five thousand and change" - I loved that description.
The winner!
Old Providence, as it's known by the locals is a tiny island it has just one road (17k long) around the perimeter of the island and we hire a Kawasaki Mule (a golf buggy!) to go and explore.
We've done a boat trip around the island, visited Morgan's Head (named after the pirate Henry Morgan), met a man who smokes 15 joints a day (lots do) met a man with 15 brothers and sisters (it's a catholic island), eaten a fish called 'old wife', watched the most incredible storm descend on the island and learnt that a bottle of tanqueray lasts us four nights!
We're currently sat in a coffee shop on San Andres before flying to Bogota this afternoon then it's on to Ecuador.
See you in Quito!
Raine x
So far so amazing.....
Colombia has exceeded expectations on every level, particularly Cartagena and Providencia.
Casa villa colonial our hotel in Cartagena was a big step up from the hostel in Bogota and the cold shower here provided a welcome relief to the sweltering heat. Cartagena is an old walled city founded in 1533 (and raided by Francis Drake in 1586!) it has a very colonial feel to it.
On our first day we walked without any real plans, the city is easily walked in an hour or two. Beer o'clock struck while we were in one of the old squares, a great vantage point to people watch from and to see the small horse drawn carriages called huelepedos (or farties!) take tourists on a romantic tour of the city.
We've seen very few European tourists, in fact the majority of tourists here are Colombian.
We have been treating this first part of our trip as a holiday and so have eaten well in some very nice restaurants - the first night we ate in Gaucha just over the road from our hotel - when we offered our card to pay the bill the owner apologised saying that he only accepted cash and asked if we would return the following day to pay, he wouldn't accept any kind of surety - I just can't imagine that happening in London.
It was in the Cafe Lunatico next door to our hotel, where we breakfasted everyday that I perfected saying "Quisiero dos tinto americano con poco leche - mas negro, por favor".
Casa villa colonial our hotel in Cartagena was a big step up from the hostel in Bogota and the cold shower here provided a welcome relief to the sweltering heat. Cartagena is an old walled city founded in 1533 (and raided by Francis Drake in 1586!) it has a very colonial feel to it.
On our first day we walked without any real plans, the city is easily walked in an hour or two. Beer o'clock struck while we were in one of the old squares, a great vantage point to people watch from and to see the small horse drawn carriages called huelepedos (or farties!) take tourists on a romantic tour of the city.
We've seen very few European tourists, in fact the majority of tourists here are Colombian.
We have been treating this first part of our trip as a holiday and so have eaten well in some very nice restaurants - the first night we ate in Gaucha just over the road from our hotel - when we offered our card to pay the bill the owner apologised saying that he only accepted cash and asked if we would return the following day to pay, he wouldn't accept any kind of surety - I just can't imagine that happening in London.
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| Dinner at Gaucha |
On Tuesday after some exploring we went in search of El Bistro a restaurant that Abs had read some good reviews about - it was so hot and so we stopped for a diet coke and tried to work out where El Bistro was on a map, not far by the look of it. Then just as I'm finishing my drink I see a Trip Advisor award for excellence on the wall, presented to El Bistro - turns out it was closer than we thought.
At Beer O'clock we head back to our hotel and start talking to Marta from Holland who is travelling alone, she's here to visit the children's home where she was put up for adoption 33 years ago, she'd like to trace some family members but she isn't hopeful as there were very few records kept and no paperwork. We leave for Providencia in the morning so have cocktails and dinner with Marta - very brave of her to have made this trip alone, I hope she is able to trace some members of her family. See you in Providencia! Raine x
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