Being in a group of predominately 18 year olds in a foreign country for three months, there was bound to be a bit of partying going on. Here's a few of our favourite hot spots that we discovered during our time in Quito.
In the heart of gringoland, this was our regular Wednesday night ‘discoteca’. To be honest
this was completely due to the fact that Wednesday was ladies night, which
meant that us chicas got a cup upon entering the club, and were able to receive
free drinks until 9PM. Now if you’ve never been to South America, the drink
sizes are quite contrasting to their Australian equivalent, which meant that
you would only need a few of their potent concoctions to be seeing double.
Rationally, the idea of ladies night encourages men into the nightclub as soon
as the clock strikes 9, ready to live up to the ‘machismo’ stereotype that is
often related to South American men. It may be a haven for questionable men,
but it was also somewhat of a tourist retreat from local bars, which meant
amongst the throngs of unsolicited males, there would always be a multitude of cute
foreigners – what more could a girl want! All this with a combination of both
western music for a bit of nostalgia to home, and a contrasting selection of
all the top Ecuadorian pop tracks. Touristy and tacky? Yes, completely. Our
favourite club? Undoubtedly.
La Mariscal
Venturing
away from the favourite Bungalow 6, we found a great number of other
interesting bars and clubs in our three months. The perfect hole in the wall bar for
any Beatles fans out there has got to be Strawberry Fields. With a themed menu and
matching décor it’s well worth a drop in – just don’t get too cosy; the
prices are quite steep in contrast to regular Quito fare (though mighty
reasonable compared to Sydney). Finn McCool’s was a great little Irish bar,
which was always a great place for a few drinks and getting your dance on. In
my opinion two of the coolest non-western bars in la mariscal were a salsa club
just off the main street, and Chupitos. For the life of
me I have no clue what the name of the salsa club was, though I don’t recall
ever seeing a name for it. It was located behind a different street front bar,
with a small walkway taking you down to where all the dancing happened. There
are of course a multitude of places where you can try your hand at salsa, so definitely go
exploring, and as clichéd as it sounds, some of the most amazing discoveries
happen when they’re unplanned. One unplanned discovery would have to be Chupitos, the
charming little bar we stumbled upon on my 19th birthday, which had an extensive and also relatively inexpensive shots (or shooters, for
any Americans out there) menu.
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| Our first Chiva Party |
Party buses may be something that is
incorporated into the western world, but the South Americans definitely do it
best. These buses give a new level of danger mixed with party, with the buses
being quite open (somewhat terrifying if you get a gas-pedal-happy driver) and
brightly coloured. On our first
chiva party we were all escorted onto the bus, given cups that hung
around our neck, and bottles filled with one of the most horrible tasting
drinks I’ve tasted yet. Little did we know that it wasn’t even alcoholic, so our persistence was completely in vain. If you’re not too
interested in partying (we were all around 18 at the time, so I can promise you we
were more than eager) the chiva experience can still be for you. Many of our
day tours outside of Quito included a chiva bus to take us around, including the musical element
without the nocturnal factor. We found this particularly prevalent in the town
of Baños, where we spent a day visiting waterfalls
and nature walks via our very own chiva bus.
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| La fiesta de la Mama Negra |
Latacunga
La Fiesta de la Mama Negra takes place twice a year in Latacunga, once to celebrate the ‘Virgin de la Merced’ who is said to have stopped the 1742 eruption of the Cotopaxi Volcano, and the second to celebrate their independence day. The festival embraces the diverse cultures of the locals, from their Spanish roots, to the Ayamaran, Incan, Mayan and even African heritage. In doing this, the entire town was a place of celebration, with a parade sprawling through the streets and masses of people filling up the town centre. The festivities include dancing, music, marching bands and the most interesting tradition of throwing or even spitting water and alcohol into the crowds (as a sign of good luck of course!). If you’re in town for the festival, or even just find yourself in the surrounding areas, make sure to check out the breathtaking sights of Quilotoa, which is just under an hours drive from Latacunga. Lake Quilotoa is a 3 kilometre wide caldera in the Ecuadorian Andes, which put simply is a large volcanic crater. At the top of the caldera you will find a small town, with markets, a small home restaurant, a quaint art gallery and a place that you can hire donkeys to walk you down towards the water.
La Fiesta de la Mama Negra takes place twice a year in Latacunga, once to celebrate the ‘Virgin de la Merced’ who is said to have stopped the 1742 eruption of the Cotopaxi Volcano, and the second to celebrate their independence day. The festival embraces the diverse cultures of the locals, from their Spanish roots, to the Ayamaran, Incan, Mayan and even African heritage. In doing this, the entire town was a place of celebration, with a parade sprawling through the streets and masses of people filling up the town centre. The festivities include dancing, music, marching bands and the most interesting tradition of throwing or even spitting water and alcohol into the crowds (as a sign of good luck of course!). If you’re in town for the festival, or even just find yourself in the surrounding areas, make sure to check out the breathtaking sights of Quilotoa, which is just under an hours drive from Latacunga. Lake Quilotoa is a 3 kilometre wide caldera in the Ecuadorian Andes, which put simply is a large volcanic crater. At the top of the caldera you will find a small town, with markets, a small home restaurant, a quaint art gallery and a place that you can hire donkeys to walk you down towards the water.
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| Quilotoa |
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| Cheeky happy snaps with my room mate |
If you've got any other hidden gems to share, feel free to let me know!
-Melissa
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