Similar to Cuzco, our main hope for Quito was a place to unwind after a full-on few days. For that reason, we decided to stay in the trendy neighbourhood of La Floresta, situated in the New Town, which had a number of nice spots to hang out in.

We did a street art tour while here, led by a street artist called Martín, who decoded the meaning of murals for us as we walked, and explained the rules and etiquette among street artists, e.g. don’t just paint where you want- there is a hierarchy and it takes time to become established.

We also spent an afternoon in the Old Town, which was bustling ahead of Semana Santa, with more musicians and vendors lining the streets than usual. Unfortunately it was also pouring rain that day, and difficult to enjoy the atmosphere. Indoors and huddled beneath verandahs, however, we got to sample some of the unusual Ecuadorian delicacies we’d read about.

First up was hot chocolate served with cheese. The cheese used here is a kind similar to halloumi, i.e. it doesn’t melt and has a squeaky texture. You drop it in the mug and enjoy at the end when it’s heated and coated with chocolate. A strange one, but it works!

The next things we sampled were from the street: morocho, a warm, spiced corn drink that tastes a bit like liquefied rice pudding, and espumilla, whipped meringue served from a giant heap on a platter (this one was enough to sample without committing to a full cone- it’s sickeningly sweet!)

Before the rain wiped us out completely, we managed to weave our way across the congested main plaza, taking in some of the beautiful 17th century architecture (like Sucre, Quito is a UNESCO World Heritage site), and climb to the top of the Basílica del Voto Nacional towers.

Just outside of Quito we visited the Mitad del Mundo monument, which was originally thought to be located right on the equatorial line, although scientists have since confirmed it is about 300m off. This was one of the more OTT touristy experiences we’ve had, and possibly not worth the taxi fare…

The following morning we had an early flight to San Cristóbal, the first island of our Galapagos Islands tour. There wasn’t as much to do here compared to the other islands (especially when it rained, which it did for much of our time…) but the sea lions made for good entertainment. We’d find them sprawled across benches and walls, or clustered on the shore, belching and bleating to their hearts’ content.

Off land, the main attraction was undoubtedly Kicker Rock, which we visited as part of a day tour. We took a boat out and went snorkelling, spotting sea turtles, baby sharks and various schools of fish as we swam.

Isla Isabela, the next island, quickly proved our favourite. Our hotel overlooked a beautiful beach so pristine and secluded we had to check there wasn’t something in the water (no, it’s just a very quiet time of year for tourism…). Here we rented bikes and cycled to some of the more secluded pockets of the island, spotting much of the fascinating wildlife along the way.

Giant tortoises, flamingos, blue-footed boobies and land iguanas made for particularly interesting viewing, and in the water we spotted marine iguanas and Galápagos penguins (descendents from Antartica and the only species of penguin that lives in the tropics).

We also cycled out to Muro de Las Lágrimes (Wall of Tears), a 100m-long wall of lava rocks built by convicts of the penal colony that operated on the island between 1946 and 1959. Similar to the Famine Roads in Ireland, this wall was built without any real purpose in mind, but as a way for prisoners to ‘earn their keep’. It is the only remaining piece of evidence of a prison camp on Isla Isabela, and has been preserved in memory of those who were forced to build it.

On our last day we visited one of the active volcanos on the island. This particular one last erupted in the 70s, but others have had eruptions in the last two years.

On the third island, Santa Cruz, where we spent three days (two would probably have been plenty), we celebrated my birthday 🎉

We got a recommendation for a lovely restaurant and enjoyed a day of swimming in Las Grietas, a narrow body of water that runs through a crack in the rocks around it.

Next stop is Colombia, our final country in South America before we venture north towards Central America.

Ar aghaidh linn 🙂