The first days - Quito

The first days in Quito were mixed. Exhausted from the long flight full of turbulence and delays and with a cold in tow. We immediately agreed to take it slow. The free walking tour was just right for us to get a small overview of the city. The historic center really has some highlights to offer. We were lucky that it was Monday and we got to see the weekly changing of the guards including a small parade. Occasionally, you might have the honor of seeing a president waving to the people... but we didn't. I didn't really care at that moment because I was tapped on the shoulder and when I turned around, it took me a moment to realize who it was! It was Caro! CARO from back home! The world is really small! I knew she was also in Ecuador, but I didn't know exactly where, so I was very excited to see her and completely forgot about the parade! After that, I didn't pay much attention to the walking tour because we had so much to chat about :)

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to each other the next morning. But the plan was to meet up in Colombia for a few weeks anyway. Selina and I then went to La Mitad del Mundo, Latitude 0. First, we visited the 'old' center of the world. It wasn't really worth the money because half of the explanations were in Spanish or in very scientific English. Most of the experiments to try out magnetism and other things were simply broken... But you have to admit that it's impressive that they determined the location so accurately for that time. They found it only through calculations and so on! (1x5=10, as math experts like me say) Nevertheless, we still went to the actual equator line which is just 200m away. After a small interesting tour, we finally got to try out several experiments. Walking straight on the equator line is simply impossible because the magnetism pulls you to both sides. It completely messes up our sense of balance! I swear, I don't stagger that much even after 6 beers! And even to balancing an egg on a nail head. I am now the proud owner of a certificate that documents my egg balancing skills! Life goal - Check!

Aside from that, Quito is quite beautiful. It's unbelievable how huge the city is - about 50km long. So, the traffic is correspondingly crazy! You should definitely stay away from the buses... otherwise, you'll end up with soot stains on your face from touching your fingers...

The next day, we went to the Teleférico (Quito's hill) with two girls (guess who we immediately met? Exactly - two Germans). We took the cable car up and then strolled around and enjoyed the view. It's quite high at over 4000m and since we were still not fully fit, we skipped the one-hour hike to the summit. At this unusual altitude, we were already out of breath during the hilly city walk...

On the same evening, I promptly had an encounter with the infamous South American crime, as it is known in Germany. Some people might say: Typical tourist. I was trying to find a vegetarian restaurant recommended to us on an offline map when some idiot tried to snatch my phone out of my hand! It was only thanks to luck rather than my quick reaction that he didn't succeed! He came from the right, but I happened to turn to the left at that moment. I was too shocked and just stared dumbfounded. It was Sini who shouted all sorts of insults at him! When it got dark after dinner, we naturally saw criminal masterminds in every face... Strong woman or not, I was glad not to be alone.

However, we quickly recovered from the shock. Even in the dark, the faces seemed mostly friendly again. Nevertheless, it was the right time to leave the capital and dedicate ourselves to more rural areas.