Ecuador’sp
WE HAD started o ur r i de a t the rural hacie n d a ( f a r m house) El Porvenir below the Rumiñahui volcano, and it was there that we had donned the local chagras (cowboy) attire of sheepskin chapps, striped poncho and scarf. Though near to the Equator, at these heights the air is cool. Horse rides can last an hour, or take place over many days — often with only birds and stunning scenery as companions.
El Porvenir is 4km from the beautiful Cotopaxi National Park. It has at its centre the snow covered Cotopaxi, the second highest peak in Ecuador — and the highest active volcano in the world.
By South American standards, this a modest country, just a little bit bigger than the UK. Despite its overall size, Ecuador encompasses a variety of cultures, and terrains, and as the climate is totally dependent on elevation, visitors can choose what weather best suits them, from beaches, the Andes, the Amazon and the Galapagos islands — all of which come within its borders.
My own centre was to be Quito. The second highest capital in the world, but at 2,800 metres above sea level has no health risks associated with it, except perhaps for those with breathing difficulties. It may not be advisable to run up too many of the city’s steep hills on the first day of a visit, (I learnt the hard way). Better maybe, to sedate- ly sip a local tea of coca leaves which makes adapting to the higher elevation easier. Or go by car to eat something at Rumiloma Hacienda on the side of the volcano Pichincha, and gaze at the views over the whole of Quito.
BA to Florida and then with American Airlines to Ecuador. www. britishairways.com, www.aa.com
Quito at the Patio Adaluz hotel www.hotelpatioandaluz.com and at the Anahi hotel in modern Quito www.ecuahotel.com
www.ecuadorbytrain. com/trainecuador
Quiteños believe they live in the best city possible and after I had been there just a few hours, this loyalty was starting to make sense. Yes, there are dangers — it sits on a narrow strip of land between towering Andean volcanoes, many of them active — yet they have a live and let live ethos.
With more than £500 million invested recently to improve its historic quarter, the cobbled streets and charming squares are inviting. The city, founded in 1534, has the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centre in the Americas, and in 1978, it was the first world UNESCO heritage site.
Dulce, my guide, took me first, to the Plaza de la Independencia, an understandable place to start, surrounded