Ecuador

Jude crossing the border

Plaza Grande, which happened to have a procession going on at the time

The angel on the hill

Inside the church of Santo Domingo during a service

La Compania de jesus. They used over 7 tons of gold to cover the church!




So we have left the surprisingly cold delights of Colombia to pass into the more touristy Ecuador. Straight away i have a major problem. In the morning i'm now used to an exceptionally good cup of coffee which costs 5p, but now in neighboring Ecuador when looking forward to my morning kick instead I’m presented with a cup of hot milk and a small decanter on the table which holds a very concentrated instant coffee glue, which I’m meant to then add to the hot milk. Yep, it tastes as good as it sounds! I’m still in astonishment that they don’t like proper coffee here, especially when in Colombia you couldn’t get away from them celebrating the little brown bean.

The coffee issues are quickly forgotten when you see the beauty of Quito. Then nearest thing I’ve seen to Rio, with mountains surrounding the old town’s cobbled streets and wonderful architecture. Plus there is a secret South American food that can be used to give you that wake up call you need. No not that, but a ‘candy’ made purely of coconut and sugar. Its white as snow, tastes surprisingly not too sweet, and gives you the biggest sugar rush I’ve even had in my life.
After a day of sucking up the lovely old town and eating a 3 course lunch for a pound, it's off to the new town (which reminds me of LA) to drink, eat gringo food, and forget that your in another country. We therefore ended up in the more grotty studenty local hangouts eating chicken kebabs or pizza slices, washed down with massive bottles of beer… yum!