Quito and around

From an idyllic Pacific island holiday lifestyle of beaches, slow pace and beautiful weather we arrived into Quito in pelting rain with cracks of thunder amplified by the surrounding mountains. Our taxi driver got lost near our hostal, likely because of the unique grid reference address system that Quito has adopted. 'Take us to Oe3-18 please sir'. I think he was a bit blind too, so that didn't help. We weren't about to hop out and find it ourselves in the middle of a storm, carrying our luggage, so we just did laps for a while.

We were staying in the historic centre of the city, which has been substantially restored and is now saturated by tourist police to make it safe for visitors. The centre is punctuated by several elaborate churches and monasteries. Two churches particularly dominate - La Compañia and El Sagrario. Each is drenched in gold, with the altars, ceilings and side chapels all particularly well furnished. The lashings of gold paint and adornments was all a game to woo the locals by showing how rich, powerful and stylish Christianity was. It was also a competition between the two catholic orders. Their petty games have left a spectacular legacy for visitors.

We also visited a couple of other churches, including the basilica which is adorned with gargoyles of native fauna. There are tortoises, armadillos, jaguars, frigate birds and of course boobies. Unfortunately, several gargoyles had been destroyed or damaged in earthquakes, but there appeared to be some restoration work going on.

As a bit of light relief from just churches we also visited a monastery and a religious art gallery. Monasteries are my thing now. Cloisters in particular, and not just because I like the word. I would just enjoy wandering around beautifully manicured courtyards, deep in meditation. I just need a religion. And a cloister. And a gardener.

We managed a couple of short trips out of Quito too. We got up at sparrows' fart to bus to Otavalo, a traditional market town a couple of hours north. The town booms on Saturdays with at least four different markets taking over. We went to the artisan market which sells textiles, jewellery and clothing. We were there early enough to avoid the crowds and get some space to wander, compare and barter in a relaxed environment. We gave the animal market a miss.

Our other side trip was an overnight foray into the cloud forest at Mindo. The town itself is situated pretty much in the forest, while our accommodation was a further 7 or 8km into the hills up a rickety dirt road, fording three or four streams on the way. The lodge is sandwiched between a river on one side and a soaring cliff on the other, completely surrounded by dense bush. Hummingbirds visit the balcony while the frogs provide the music at the outdoor bar by a pond.

We shared the lodge with two British couples who were both great company. Our relationship with one of the couples started a bit poorly though; we met them by coincidence in Mindo town and ascertained that we were staying at the same place. We talked about sharing a taxi and found a driver who was prepared to take us there. You generally have to agree a price in advance because 'taxi' is just a loose term meaning 'bloke with a truck and some time to spare'. The negotiation began with the driver naming his price ($8), generally expected to be around twice the going rate. Before we had a chance to bargain, the English muppet shot back with 'oh, that's nothing', then decided he didn't need to share a taxi after all. He chose to just have lunch in town and head out to the lodge later. This had an impact on our bargaining position. He turned out to not be as much of a tool as he seemed and was actually very entertaining, particularly his story of kissing a drunk, toothless Ecuadorian cross-dresser... twice.

We spent our time in Mindo zip-lining above rainforest canopy, visiting a butterfly breeding enclosure and doing a spot of birdwatching. The birding, as they call it, was arranged through our lodge. We got up at 5.30am to await a wee man from the village to guide us. He wore a khaki vest and binoculars so we knew he was legit. He turned up late then walked us up the dirt road for an hour, pausing periodically to point at trees, which he called 'birds'. We did however see beautiful tucans.

To be fair to the guide, the lodge owner didn't allow him to take us to more lush areas of his property which have more birds. He was a bit restricted in what he could show us. And two or three hours of birdwatching doesn't really compare to real birdwatchers with khaki vests who build special hides to shelter for days trying to catch a glimpse of a rare bird the size and colour of a sparrow. And we did see tucans both in flight and rustling about in trees. They are fancy.