View from our cottage in Cumbayá. After 1 week, we leave, heading into the mountains to the next plateau. That is where the towers can be seen in the photo.
Ecuador is located in South America and has the Andes Mountains as well as a part of the Amazon. Compared to the surrounding countries, Ecuador is not that large. Colombia lies above Ecuador and Peru below it. A few of the most famous things about Ecuador are the Galapagos Islands and Quito, the second highest city in the world.
View of Quito from the roof of the shopping center at Pacarí in Cumbayá.
We are currently in Quito, surrounded by various mountains, active and inactive volcanoes. Whichever way you look, a mountain or volcano rises just a little higher, beyond the high-rise buildings. For the first week, we are in Cumbayá, a ‘district’ of Quito situated lower than the historic city center, at an altitude of 2,400 meters. There is less oxygen in the air, the sun hits you harder, and walking can be strenuous.
Sunset in Central Park in Cumbayá.
A week of acclimatizing in Cumbayá is perfect for us. Good food and drinks just around the corner. Letting all the impressions of Costa Rica sink in and taking a moment to reconnect with ourselves. Sleeping a lot, being very tired, and underestimating our ‘slow Dutch pace’. The air feels dry and we are drinking a lot, a whole lot of water and fresh coconut. These contain electrolytes that our bodies can make good use of. We apply lip balm and at night you wake up with a dry mouth. At altitude you start breathing more, causing you to lose a lot of fluids. You start urinating a lot and your blood slowly becomes thicker and develops more red blood cells. Red blood cells are the oxygen carriers. Headaches, dizziness, all sorts of things come along. As I had already expected, we are susceptible to this. So it is very nice that we have the time to let our bodies adjust.
Sunset in Carolina Park, with a view of the historic buildings, from our rooftop terrace.
After a week, we are leaving for Carolina Park, at an altitude of 3,000 meters, which is close to the historic city center. The historic city center of Quito is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It has beautiful old buildings, a cathedral with a lot of gold inside, which we want to visit in a few days. But first, it is time to acclimatize again. Our home for 3 weeks is on the 16th floor, so there are a few extra meters to climb. Arjan has somewhat the same symptoms as in Cumbayá, but I am getting the full brunt of it. An outbreak of hives, a head full of snot, an aching body, and a headache. It is very nice that medication was brought from the Netherlands. With 1 day of bed rest, the hives have disappeared again, the snot is still quite present, and the headache can be resolved with paracetamol. In short, we are heading in the right direction again.
View from our rooftop terrace, La Carolina district; we are on the 16th floor. The rooftop terrace is on the 19th floor. We have roughly the same view. Here, looking out over the Cumbayá district, where we come from.
Grabbing a quick breakfast on the other side of the park—an 18-minute walk—feels like a tough 2-hour workout. Burning lungs, burning throat, and burning nostrils. Every now and then a severe coughing fit and clear snot running out of the nose. Even though it is intense, it is already a complete improvement compared to yesterday. Taking a nap in the afternoon. We are going to take our time to let our bodies readjust to this altitude. So we are experiencing a lot with our own bodies, but are not yet seeing much of the special surroundings where we are now. That will come later. First, we need to acclimatize properly, so that we can take the cable car with a view over Quito at 4,000 meters later on.
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