I knew nothing about Ecuador. Actually, that’s probably not quite true. I think I knew that the Galapagos Islands were owned by Ecuador. I didn’t know the Capital, but I did know the country is on the equator and that ecuador in Spanish means equator. Here’s a map of where the 19 million people that I knew nothing about live. And I just realised that I left off the Galapagos which are an hour’s flight straight off the coast. Sort of like when people post a picture of Australia and forget about Tasmania. Sorry Galapagasions.

I initially stayed in the Hostal Atlantis in Quito, the capital, that was only $18AUD and reasonable. It just seemed a bit glum, not sure why. It was also a bit of a challenge to ride my bike up over the gutter and in through the front door and then down a couple of steps into the rear courtyard but at least it was safe parking. The room was nice as was the person who checked me in. I think I was the only guest and there were a couple of long stay people.

That afternoon I went looking at a couple of the others that I had marked as potentials. They were also okay but there was one standout. The Hostal La Terraza. Only two blocks away and up a lot of stairs but probably another 200m in elevation and it had this amazing glassed-in terrace on the roof. And the guy there spoke some english which was great and they only had a couple of guests because it was midweek and so he gave me a great double corner room for the same price of $22AUD a night including breakfast in (or is it on?) the terrace. He also let me check in as early as I wanted, the next day. And of course, nice safe parking for the bike.

My plan was to stay a couple of days and then on the weekend head south about 30kms to attend a Horizons Unlimited (HU) event. I hadn’t heard of HU before but it was started by a Canadian couple who sold up everything  in the 80’sand rode a motorbike around the world for a decade or so. And now they hold events all around the world for like minded travellers to get together and swap stories and information. The Canadians I had met in Colombia had told me about it. It cost me about $80AUD for the weekend which included all my food and a campsite.

So things went to plan. I had a relaxing couple of days in Quito in my flash new abode. Caught up on a couple of blogs, ate some food, drank a couple of beers and spent a long time sitting up in the terrace looking out over the city. It was a million dollar view. Especially as I drank my evening beer and watched the sky dim and the city light up. And 99% of the time I was the only one there.

The HU event was on at the Sierra Alisos Hotel de Campo which was in some sort of farming area. Nice and rural. There was hotel accommodation and camping sites (well just a non cowed paddock). There was good bathrooms and toilets and a nice restaurant attached to the main house and a cosy lounge area with a fireplace. They had a big domed space which would have held about 100 people where there were presentations. I think they averaged about thirty or forty people attending each day. I think there were about 25 motorbikes there and half a dozen campervans. And they were pretty flash.

It was nice to see so many other bikes. Mine was amongst the smallest and I think I was the least experienced rider but not the oldest. Some of the bikes were pretty big and loaded up. Some had a couple on them. The people were from everywhere. I was the only Aussie. I was also a pretty new starter with some people having been on the road for many years. Over the weekend people gave presentations about their adventures which was fun. They had a screen and PowerPoints. There were also a couple of Ecuadorian presenters who were interesting. Some of the stuff was in Spanish or translated so it was a good weekend for my Spanish learning. We also had a nice chocolate tasting session of Pacari Chocolate which is apparently the best chocolate in the world. All of the best chocolates makers around the world source their cocoa for their premium product from Ecuador. Sadly my Cadbury favourite has less than 30% cocoa and probably made with cheap African beans. I thought the Pacari 60% was nice and obviously healthier. Maybe I’ll just pay more and eat less. It’s also ethically sourced.

The food served at the event was Ecuadorian and really good. And you could buy beer so I was happy. I also got to pull out my camping gear and try it out. I was pretty happy with my purchases, especially my tent. The first night was a bit awkward as I got used to my sleeping bag and mat and gear spread all around my tent but the second night was much better and considering it dropped down to near zero I think camping can be an acceptable alternative if the need arises. I got a few good tips on places to go and looked at other people’s setups and decided that I’d done okay with my bike.

Sunday afternoon I headed back to my palace in Quito. It had been busy over the weekend while I was away and was now pretty empty, so I got my old room back and checked in for three days. And then extended for another one. There was a lot to do in Quito. I went to the main Cathedral and to the Middle of the World but I’ll write separate blogs on those two things.

I did a free walking tour which lasted about 4 hours. It was good but was full of tourists. It was the most tourists I had seen for ages and the most English I had heard spoken for a while. There was even a couple of young Aussies. There was one old guy there who was actually younger than me and he was in town trying to get residency so he could retire there from the States. The tour was okay, we tasted some local spirit and went to a chocolate tasting. Actually. That was quite good. Free chocolate and all different types. We looked at some nice old buildings. The mauve window below is one of a set of four matching windows opposite one of the famous churches. Apparently the guy who built it had a run in with the church during construction and so the cherub in the photo has a penis which points to the church (you don’t need to zoom in. It does). Strangely enough no one seemed to take a photo of the church but most people took a photo of the cherub. I think most of the people on the tour (including the old guy) were staying in the same hostel and I’m sure I would have stayed there too. Thirty years ago. It had a nice vibe and a rooftop bar which had a reasonable view but didn’t quite match mine. I did have a beer there with the Canadian couple and two of the young guys we’d met at the HU event.

Quito has less than 2 million people but it seems bigger. It’s also the second highest capital city in the world at just under 3000 metres. Fortunately I didn’t have any effects from the high altitude, but that was probably because I rode here over several days at different altitudes. Earlier this year there had been an attempted coup which looked like it might have closed off the country to travellers like me. I was just reading up on it and it seems it was basically about the government taking on the drug cartels who were becoming bigger and bolder and taking control of the countries underfunded prisons. They declared a State of Emergency for 60 days. Over the next few months about 50 people were murdered or kidnapped. The last killings were in in June. That’s ages ago! So I should be fine.

It all seems pretty chill here now and the people are really nice. Guayaquil is apparently still a bit dangerous but I haven’t got there yet to give you a report. On my last morning I left the hotel loaded up and ready to head to somewhere. Probably the coast. For some warmth. Not that the weather was that bad in Quito. I had wanted to visit the Panecillo which is a small hill with a large statue of the Virgin of Quito but had been warned by several people not to walk up there and for once I heeded the warning and instead rode up there on my way out of town. Not quite the Statue of Liberty but worth a look. From the top I could see Cotopaxi in the distance.

Cotopaxi is an active volcano and Ecuador’s second highest peak. It’s one of three summits that are actually higher than Mt. Everest based on the distance from the centre of the earth or the closest to the sun. An earlier version of Shane would have wanted to climb it, but the current one was happy to let it go. Kilimanjaro was my first, last, and only mountain climb. I’m not counting Kosciusko because that’s just a hill and it’s actually lower than Quito. It’s not a highly technical climb but still high and you need the right clothing and footwear and acclimatisation which I don’t have. But I thought I’d ride up as far as I could on the bike. By the time I got through the city traffic and closer to it, the clouds had rolled in and it disappeared. I rode for a while but the cloud just got thicker and so I decided to just steal someone else’s photo and turn around and head for the coast. A four hour ride which should get me there before dark.