Day 30: Ibarra, Equador to Quito, Equador
Saturday, March 13th – One of my arbitrary goals of this trip was to stand on the equator – and today we were going to do exactly that. But first we had to get over our Friday night hangover. We got in from our final Ibarran bar visit in the wee hours of Saturday morning, and thanks to my many years of empirical training, I was up at 7am feeling good and catching up with my log on one of the hotel’s internet computers. Moe was suffering from his last coupla whiskeys pretty badly, so he relaxed while Larry and I went out for a spot of breakfast at a packed corner caff with large pans of good-looking food and great aromas. $2.50 bought us a big plate of food, glass o’ juice, 1/2 an avocado – and it was delicious. We went walkies ’round town and had a great time looking through the super-busy market next to the railway station. I love poking around the market in a new place – it’s like looking in someone’s closet: you get insights into their life you wouldn’t normally find.
Killer Saturday morning breakfast spot in Ibarra
We finally dragged Moe out of bed and onto his bike around 1pm – we had set ourselves a very modest day’s ride to the capital Quito, via Mitad del Mundo – a small town just north of Quito, home to the Equador’s monument to the, well, equator. We stopped on the highway when my GPS said 0.00.000 and took a coupla pics for posterity, and then took a side road that promised to bypass the main highways and take us straight to Mitad del Mundo. Of course the side road wasn’t direct at all and soon turned to dirt, and, as usual, no road signs meant regular stops to ask locals for directions. We wound our way through a striking river gorge sided by steep mountains and spectacular views - we’re always glad to take the road less travelled… except when hungover and feeling sick. We made the monument 1/2 an hour before dusk, and Larry and I poked around taking touristy pics while Moe took a little rest on the sidewalk. We made Quito late, and spent a long time trying to find an acceptable hotel, finally getting settled in about 9:30pm.
No, we´re not faking the trip in a private sound stage in Hollywood
Volcanos everywhere in Equador
Standing on the very center of the planet, Equador
