Last stop for the Ecuadorian leg of my tour was at the capital, Quito. I checked in to the Community Hostel, which along with the extremely friendly and helpful owners, was conveniently located next to the main bus line and local markets. For the first nights activity a walking food tour was run from the hostel, sampling local specialities that were nothing exceptional, though well received by this hungry traveller.
Community Hostel also organised a walking city tour encompassing some of the violent history that is an all too common theme in Latin American countries. On a brighter note we also visited a local confectionery store, the markets with their bizarre fruit drink combinations and had lunch with the guide at his favourite restaurant.
The main reason I came to the countries capital was to visit the equator lines, which can be accessed via a 2 hour bus ride. I had been warned that the big monument is not the actual centre line, instead its at a small discovery centre next door. I was fooled by the guy at the entrance and ended up visiting the above mentioned monument first, but it was alright in the end as I somehow ended up bypassing the payment desk next door. First up we tried to balance an egg on the head of a nail, which when demonstrated by the guide looked easy and ended up being a total fail when I did my best attempt. They also showed us a sink draining in to a bucket, reversing direction on either side and straight down when placed on the line, along with a few other fun games that are unique to this latitude.
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