How Time Stopped in a Chocolate Shop in the Middle of the World

3 days ago
3 min read

Some cities welcome you with smiles.

Quito tosses you into the clouds.

At nearly 9,000 feet above sea level and sitting almost directly on the equator, Ecuador’s capital is suspended between sun and mist, mountains and city lights, ancient culture and modern life.

When my plane landed, just as Maria had promised, a driver named Miguel was waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. He took me to my hotel in La Floresta, a beautiful neighborhood just outside Quito’s historic Old Town.

From the moment I arrived, Quito felt unique. The air was cooler. The clouds were closer. The mountains hung like a curtain backdrop in the background. A beautiful display of green juxtaposed against the cobalt blue sky. I understood why this is a city of artists.

The next day I headed to Mitad del Mundo, the famous monument marking the equator—the literal middle of the world. Guides reveal the vortex by showing water draining clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counter-clockwise in the Southern, and straight down on the equator line. There’s even a place to stand up an egg on its end. Nobody else was getting it to work, but I brought my own egg from the coffee shop and with a little patience I got it to stand on end.

This place has a lot of history. Many Ecuadorians are of indigenous descent. While the Inca Empire did conquer this region, their rule lasted only about sixty-five years before the Spanish arrived. The locals allied with the Spanish to defeat the Incas, allowing indigenous communities to survive and maintain their traditions.

You can feel that connection to their land. Ecuadorians speak about their mountains, forests, and rivers with genuine love. I bought a few items from some of the local vendors, including my new jean jacket with woven blankets sewn into it.

I ate at incredible restaurants and then joined a walking tour that quickly turned into a full food tour through the city led by Stephania Nicole. Our tour ended at a local chocolate factory called Yumbos. I had already learned a little about cacao farming during my travels, so I was fascinated to learn more about the process of making chocolate—how different cacao percentages affect flavor, texture, and quality. We tasted several chocolates from the local company, each one slightly different from the last.

When the tour ended, I realized we were standing in a beautiful courtyard filled with small boutique shops. That’s when I saw the leather store. Inside I tried on an incredible jacket that could rival anything from Italy. I also found a beautiful backpack that I loved. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luggage space—or the budget—to justify buying either one.

Reluctantly, I hung the jacket back up and walked away, but something pulled me back toward the chocolate shop.I thought maybe I should at least buy a few chocolate bars before leaving.

When I walked in, a tall man with dark curly hair, a beard, and a baseball cap looked up and smiled.

“Did you get the jacket?” he asked.

I laughed.

“No… maybe next time.”

He smiled and said something that would change the course of my evening.

“You should have. It looked good on you.”

I didn’t know it then, but that chocolate shop conversation was about to lead to one of the most unforgettable nights of my trip.

Travel is full of moments like this—the small, unexpected turns that lead to the stories you remember forever.

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