On my last day in Ecuador - and the last day on the southern hemisphere - I finally took the Quito tourist bus. The bus was very convenient because it went to a few places that I still wanted to see, but that would've been difficult to reach otherwise.
First was the Panecillo, a hill that overlooks the historical center, and that once served as Quito's southern boundary (those days are long past, however).
On top of the hill, a huge replica of the virgin of Quito holds watch:
My next stop was the telefériqo (many things in Quito have the odd 'q' in them where you would usually expect other letters), a cable car that goes up the side of the Pichincha volcano, yanking the visitor from about 2900 meters of altitude to 4100 meters. The views of Quito and the surrounding countryside were stunning, although the temperature was a little too cold for my taste ;-) This is Quito's southern end, surrounded by gorgeous green hills:
It was only from up there that I realized what a long city Quito is - it measures about 23 kilometers from north to south. Being located in a valley, it isn't very wide. This may even be an advantage, because it makes Quito very easy to cover by public transport: where other cities need a web of fast transport, Quito only needs a line.
First was the Panecillo, a hill that overlooks the historical center, and that once served as Quito's southern boundary (those days are long past, however).
On top of the hill, a huge replica of the virgin of Quito holds watch:
My next stop was the telefériqo (many things in Quito have the odd 'q' in them where you would usually expect other letters), a cable car that goes up the side of the Pichincha volcano, yanking the visitor from about 2900 meters of altitude to 4100 meters. The views of Quito and the surrounding countryside were stunning, although the temperature was a little too cold for my taste ;-) This is Quito's southern end, surrounded by gorgeous green hills:
It was only from up there that I realized what a long city Quito is - it measures about 23 kilometers from north to south. Being located in a valley, it isn't very wide. This may even be an advantage, because it makes Quito very easy to cover by public transport: where other cities need a web of fast transport, Quito only needs a line.
