Home in a backpack: wonder

How to get there: We took a bus from Tumbes to Guayaquil for 35 soles each and in Guayaquil we took another bus for USD10 each. It takes about 12 hours to do the entire journey.
Arriving to Quito: We had booked a hostel in a good centric area with wonderful reviews in Booking.com. "La Rosario" is a beautiful hostel close to the historical centre and the staff are very pleasant.

The middle of the world

We arrived at 6 am to the bus station and took a taxi to the hostel which charged us USD10 to get there. We were probably overcharged but we were pretty tired and all we wanted to do was sleep, so when we arrived, we entered reception and asked to pay extra to enter the room straight away. We slept until... well, late and went out to eat and meet our friend Gustavo, who was going to show us around.

He took us, first of all, to the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa where we had to convince the security guard to let us in the stadium to take pictures. We managed to get in and take a few pictures of the vast field and carried on driving towards the cable car that overlooks the whole city. We paid USD8.50 for a return ticket on the cable car, and went right up to 4.100m where it was hard to breathe, both due to the thin air and the spectacular views.

There are several treks you can do up there, but many recommend a tour guide since when the fog moves it can be difficult to find the way and many get lost. However, the path goes on for a few hours before needing a guide, so if you just fancy having a short walk, you might not need it.

The next day, we were picked up at midday. We picked Gustavo's wife, Lorena, up from work and went for lunch to the Inaquito market, where we ate a beautiful bowl of "encebollado" (a national dish consisting of fish soup with onion topped with popcorn. Yes, popcorn in soup) and a drink of guanabana (local fruit). We then dropped Lorena off back at work and went to another stadium, Estadio L.D.U, and again we tried to convince the security guard to let us in the stadium, unfortunately this time we couldn't get in and all we could take were pictures of the outside.

We moved on to what probably is the biggest attraction of Quito: the middle of the world, where the latitude is 000. There are several buildings, museums and shops surrounding the line that separates the northern and southern hemisphere with information about it. To be able to get into all the museums and the tour train, you will have to pay for a full pass ticket which costs USD7.50 per person. We got the basic one that costs 3.50 and just had a stroll around the area to take some pictures at the line.

We spent a couple of hours having a look around until we decided it was enough. We were dropped off at the hostel and walked back to La Mariscal, an area of restaurants and bars, to get some veggie pizza for dinner. We planned to do the historical centre the following morning, but things didn't work out as planned.

When we woke up, I went to find out about buses to Cali and get some breakfast while Oliver packed. When I came back from the shop I saw about 15 police officers that were heading to the door of La Rosario. I went up as I overheard them asking for the papers of the place, thinking it was all routine, but after being sat in the room for 5 minutes having breakfast, they knocked on our door and told us that they had to check all our bags and passports, and as they unpacked everything Oli had done in the last 15 minutes, we watched very still wondering what they wanted. They never answered our questions or told us what they were after, so we went down to reception to ask. They were looking for illegal fire arms and alcohol and the raid is just a routine for every hotel.

We ended our time in Quito in a very curious way, and even though most people would be scared enough to not go there after this experience, I am sure we will be back to Ecuador for more, to discover more of this diverse country.

Atahualpa stadium

Gustavo and Oli at the Atahualpa stadium

Cable car overlooking Quito

Gustavo pointing at Quito

Quito from the air

At the top of Quito

Altitude 4.100 warning

Trek at 4.100

Trek at 4.100m

Quito's highest church perhaps

Church in Quito

Inaquito market

Fish and chips at Inaquito market

Guanabana fruit and juice

encebollado

pork at the Inaquito market

LDU stadium

UNASUR in the middle of the world

The middle of the world

Oliver stands in both hemispheres

shops around the middle of the world

How to get there: There are several tours to get to Macchu Picchu from Cusco, you can book a complete tour or just transport. You can take a train or a bus to get there. The cheapest and quickest way is taking a bus to Hidroelectrica, walking for 2 hours to reach Aguascalientes and spending the night there, to leave early the next morning to Macchu Picchu. From Aguascalientes you can take a bus (USD12) to the site, or walk for over 1.5 hours up steps.
Getting to Macchu Picchu: It receives thousands of tourists every day, so getting there as early as possible is imperative, to avoid queues. There is only one hotel just outside Macchu Picchu.

At the top of Machu Picchu!

We left Cusco at 7:30 in the morning on a small bus, and drove 6 hours including two stops, one for the toilet and one for lunch, through tall mountains and irregular roads. When we arrived to Aguascalientes we were shown our hostel room and we had dinner with the group. At dinner we were told the details for the next day. The following morning we had breakfast at 4:20 and left Aguascalientes at 4:40. We walked up to Machu Picchu and arrived at 6:35 am. We queued for 10 minutes and we were through.

The tour guide told us several theories about the story of the Inkas, however we didn't think the tour was not necessary since you can find the information yourself. He left us after two hours and then we climbed up to the viewpoint where we took the picture everyone takes of Machu Picchu. It was a bit cloudy but when the clouds started clearing up the view was magical.

There isn't much we can say about Machu Picchu that you don't already imagine. There are many hypothesis about the place but what's certain is that it leaves you breathless and feeling small to the enormity that surrounds you.

We took the bus down, as we were really tired and walked from Aguascalientes to Hidroelectrica to get the bus that would take us back to Cusco. At Hidroelectrica we had to go around all the guides looking for our bus, it was messy and a bit stressful. I do not recommend you to do the tour with a mainstream tour you find in the square of Cusco. Do your research for the best price and for the tour that seems the most organised, even if you're only booking the transport. Most tours, like ours, cost USD100 per person including the entry, the transport, tour guide, hostel and food but there are cheaper tours and cheaper packages. We booked with Machupichu express.

The walk to Aguascalientes