Celebrating Christmas in Ecuador

Before we left for the Galápagos, we'd thought ahead, done some research and reserved somewhere that sounded social but not a party hostel to stay in Quito for Christmas. Unfortunately, when we returned, and after we'd reconfirmed with them, they'd decided to cancel the reservation and close for Christmas. Thanks BoutiQuito. Luckily for us, that meant that we found KindeHouse instead.

Christmas lunch with our fantastic hostess, Monserrate

Although there weren't many other people staying there, we were welcomed by a very friendly Ecuadorian family. We came back one evening after dinner and joined the daughter and her work colleagues for pre-Christmas drinks and, on Christmas Day, were cooked a fantastic festive lunch - traditional Ecuadorian style with three meats, rice, token salad, a very sweet condensed milk and cake dessert, and Sangria! The next day the mother randomly brought us each a little glass of a homemade cocktail a little like Baileys. The family were really very welcoming and couldn't have been more helpful. Better still was that we were just around the corner from Bandido Brewing, which has by far the best craft beer we've tasted in Ecuador.

The cathedral and main square in Quito

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is set in a valley so is lined on both sides by high mountains. We were driven to a cable car running up one side of it by our host family one day. From the valley base at around 2800m, the top of the cable car is at 4100m. At the top we did a short hike to a 4700m peak with marvellous views over the city, 2 kilometres below us. The 600m climb to the peak was quite tough - we're not used to that altitude at the moment.

The view 2km down to Quito, from Rucu Pichincha mountain

The real highlight of the city though is just wandering around the UNESCO-listed historic centre. It is filled with grand plazas and beautiful churches. There are picturesque streets filled with artisanal shops and interesting museums. Looking over it all is a statue of the Virgin Mary atop a small hill. Locals claim this is the only statue of the Virgin with wings in the world - it just looks like an angel to us!

The winged Virgin, in the distance, above the city

Close to Quito, an hour's bus ride away, is a monument to the Equator - Ecuador takes its name from the imaginary line running close to the capital. The actual Equator meanders over the course of the year in a 5km wide strip, but I guess they had to choose somewhere to put a monument. It is called the 'Mitad del Mundo', or 'Centre of the World'. This is somewhat ironic - as the Earth bulges slightly at the centre, and Ecuador is at around 3000m above sea level, this point is one of the furthest places you can actually be from the centre of the Earth.

The Equator line at the Mitad del Mundo monument

We've now said goodbye to the family in Quito and have come to the cloud forest of Mindo to celebrate New Year. From here, we'll soon be heading into Colombia.