Balancing Travel with Time in Your Own City

Since I’m not studying abroad in Europe, I had assumed that I wouldn’t do too much travel this semester. I’m in Ecuador, but traveling within South America can be expensive, and therefore not in my budget. However, Ecuador is a small country with incredible diverse landscapes. Traveling around the country is both affordable and appealing, which I learned soon into my program.

My program is split into two sections: seven weeks in Quito and 10 weeks in the Galapagos. For the first few weekends, I visited Otavalo & Lake Cuicocha with IES Abroad, and went to Mindo and Pasochoa separate weekends with friends from my program. I loved all of these trips, and am grateful to have explored around Quito. However, I realized a couple weeks ago that I hadn’t truly spent a weekend in Quito. So, I skipped a group trip and prioritized seeing a bit of the city; it didn’t disappoint!

Here’s what my weekend looked like:

Saturday-

1-3 P.M. Guayasamín Museum: A must-see if you visit Quito for any amount of time. I love art and normally enjoy museums, but I feel that some can be boring and sterile. This was different; the first building takes you through Oswaldo Guayasamín’s house, which is full of art. The architecture here was one of my favorite parts. The second building displays huge paintings which struck me with both their size and content.

3-6 P.M. Lunch and time in La Carolina: We were going to head to the botanical gardens, which our friends had recommended, but didn’t plan accordingly and were too late… Alas, we sat in Parque Carolina and people watched. Was a great time.

6-9 P.M. Pata Caliente Tour: Pata Caliente is an company that leads unique nighttime tours around Quito’s historical district. Their target audience is locals. They want to shift perceptions around security in this area of the city and encourage people to move in. Apparently there are many vacant buildings in the historical district. On the tour, we went to various cafes, shops, and hotels. We also toured the guide’s apartment, which had an incredible view of the the city skyline.

Sunday-

5-7 A.M. Parapente: Paragliding! My friend and I got up at 4:30 A.M. to head to Cruz de Loma, a mountain in the foothills of Pichincha. We took off at about 6 A.M., and the sky was perfectly clear, providing an incredible view of the sunrise. Our landing spot was Parque Carolina in the center of Quito. The city is surrounded on all sides by the Andes, so from the sky we could see Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Cayambe, and other major volcanoes.

9 A.M.-2 P.M. Teleferico and summiting Pichincha: One Quito staple that we hadn’t yet done was take the cable car up to the base of Pichincha. Following an adventurous morning, we went up with the Panas-an IES Abroad group of local students that take us on different excursions. The weather was just as incredible as the morning, and we summited Pichincha with clear skies all around.

With less than two months in Quito, it was particularly important for me to squeeze in a bit of everything while here. My program also has weekly field trips, which both helps us explore through class and limits our free time to experience our city. Overall, I recommend thinking about how acquainted you’d like to become with your city. Exploring where you live is equally as cool as travel - in my experience!