So a lot happened this week and I didn't really have time to post. Or mostly I was just too tired/lazy to do so. Therefore, you get a summary of Steph's and my time in Quito.
Day 0: Steph's arrival in Quito. She didn't get in until about 10:30 so I spent most of my day in the Quito Airport food court, using the free wifi and indulging in KFC and Baskin Robbins. Then it was a 45 minute taxi ride to Hostel El Arupo, and beds.
Day 1: Breakfast at El Arupo is eggs, toast with guayana marmalade, coffee or tea, juice and bananas. We switched rooms to a smaller one after some confusions about our reservation. Then we headed off to explore the city. We passed through Parque El Ejido (and bought some delicious watermelon) and Parque La Alameda on our way to the Centro Historico (historical city center). We visited La Basilica del Voto Nacional (The Basilica of the National Vow), Plaza Grande, and many streets in between. Almuerzo (lunch) was a traditional Ecuadorian lunch with soup as the 1st course followed by a plate of rice, salad, and meat, with juice and a pineapple slice for dessert. Next was la Casa Museo de Maria Augusta Urrutia, a very wealthy quiteña who formed la Fundacion Mariana de Jesus to help the poor children of Quito. I had to do the translating since they only offer tours in Spanish. Hopefully Steph understood most of it. Then it was a trek in the rain to find the trole, a light rail/tranvia method of transport to make it back to the hostel. A nap/the US vs. Belgium World Cup game was followed by a trip to the Supermaxi and dinner of tomato, avocado, and queso fresco sandwiches.
Day 2: Today was the day set up with Compassion International so that Steph could meet Angie, the girl she has been sponsoring through the program since her first year of college. I could, and might, write an entire post on this magical day. For now, I will just say that I served as photographer for most of the day, trying to let Steph enjoy her time with Angie and her family. It was a great experience, and I recommend it to anyone who sponsors a child. And for those who don't, consider it! After our fun and emotion-filled day, we went to a local restaurant for empanadas, humitas, and tamales so that Steph could sample some traditional foods. Dinner was followed by some sweet snacks from a local panadería (bread shop) with some yogur de mora (Mulberry yogurt).
Day 3: OTAVALO! Up bright and early to catch the trole to the bus to the bus to Otavalo. This town is known for its artisanal products, so we were very excited to head to the big market. We got lots of great products for ourselves and for others. I won't mention any of them here as to not give away what people might be receiving as birthday or Christmas presents. Everyone there is very kind, and wants you to buy their products. It was interesting to hear the prices change based on your interest and how much they had inflated it in the first place. After loading ourselves down with wares, we headed to Mercado 24 de Mayo for lunch. We had chancho hornado, which is a big roasted pig on a spit that you eat with mote, choclo, papas, ensalada, and the deliciously crunchy skin of the roasted pig. It was yummy and greasy but definitely sites like lead in your stomach. We also picked up some tomatoes and avocados to repeat our dinner from Day 1. After a long 2 hour trip back to Quito, followed by the transfer bus and then the packed trole, we made it back to the hostel, picking up some bread along the way. We tried to go to the observatorio astronomico for the nighttime public telescope time, but it was too cloudy and they weren't open. So we walked back to the hostel for a delicious dinner.
Day 4: We spent our morning getting to and then visiting the Ruinas Rumipamba, located right in the city of Quito. We had a guide who started our tour in very nervous and broken English, but switched to Spanish when we were joined by three bilingual women. So yet again I was translator for Steph. We learned a lot about the plants of the region and how they can be used for dyes and medicines. This park is 36 hectares of vegetation and excavation, so it was cool to walk around and see how the people of this region lived, before the arrival of the Spanish even before the arrival of the Incas. They lived in the danger zone of the volcano Pichincha, but as our guide pointed out, so does the entire population of Quito! Pichincha is dormant for now, but the modern city doesn't even have the protection that their ancestors constructed for their small civilization. After the ruins, we took the trole down to the south end of the Centro Historico to check out La Ronda. It is a cobblestone street that actually gets lively around 6pm, but we wanted lunch so after some exploring we found a restaurant. I specifically wanted to try canelazo de mora, a traditional drink usually made with naranjilla but here it is made with one of my favorite fruits. I had the almuerzo, with similar courses as Tuesday's, and Steph tried tortilla de papas with various sides along with morocho de dulce, a sweet fruity twist on the standard corn drink I had multiple times in Cuenca. Then it was back on the trole to go to the Museo Banco Central. We learned even more about the history of Ecuador and Quito, as well as looked at some cool art exhibits. Then we laid in the grass outside the museum to enjoy the weather and rest our legs. Then it was back to the hostel. Not sure what lays ahead for dinner tonight, but it's early to bed since we have to be ready to get in our taxi at 5 am tomorrow to get to the Galapagos!
Quito definitely needs more time than we gave it. We experienced the Reader's Digest version for sure, but the day with Compassion meeting Angie was definitely the most important part of it. Anything we end up missing, I just remind myself that I can see that on the next trip :)
Day 0: Steph's arrival in Quito. She didn't get in until about 10:30 so I spent most of my day in the Quito Airport food court, using the free wifi and indulging in KFC and Baskin Robbins. Then it was a 45 minute taxi ride to Hostel El Arupo, and beds.
Day 1: Breakfast at El Arupo is eggs, toast with guayana marmalade, coffee or tea, juice and bananas. We switched rooms to a smaller one after some confusions about our reservation. Then we headed off to explore the city. We passed through Parque El Ejido (and bought some delicious watermelon) and Parque La Alameda on our way to the Centro Historico (historical city center). We visited La Basilica del Voto Nacional (The Basilica of the National Vow), Plaza Grande, and many streets in between. Almuerzo (lunch) was a traditional Ecuadorian lunch with soup as the 1st course followed by a plate of rice, salad, and meat, with juice and a pineapple slice for dessert. Next was la Casa Museo de Maria Augusta Urrutia, a very wealthy quiteña who formed la Fundacion Mariana de Jesus to help the poor children of Quito. I had to do the translating since they only offer tours in Spanish. Hopefully Steph understood most of it. Then it was a trek in the rain to find the trole, a light rail/tranvia method of transport to make it back to the hostel. A nap/the US vs. Belgium World Cup game was followed by a trip to the Supermaxi and dinner of tomato, avocado, and queso fresco sandwiches.
Day 2: Today was the day set up with Compassion International so that Steph could meet Angie, the girl she has been sponsoring through the program since her first year of college. I could, and might, write an entire post on this magical day. For now, I will just say that I served as photographer for most of the day, trying to let Steph enjoy her time with Angie and her family. It was a great experience, and I recommend it to anyone who sponsors a child. And for those who don't, consider it! After our fun and emotion-filled day, we went to a local restaurant for empanadas, humitas, and tamales so that Steph could sample some traditional foods. Dinner was followed by some sweet snacks from a local panadería (bread shop) with some yogur de mora (Mulberry yogurt).
Day 3: OTAVALO! Up bright and early to catch the trole to the bus to the bus to Otavalo. This town is known for its artisanal products, so we were very excited to head to the big market. We got lots of great products for ourselves and for others. I won't mention any of them here as to not give away what people might be receiving as birthday or Christmas presents. Everyone there is very kind, and wants you to buy their products. It was interesting to hear the prices change based on your interest and how much they had inflated it in the first place. After loading ourselves down with wares, we headed to Mercado 24 de Mayo for lunch. We had chancho hornado, which is a big roasted pig on a spit that you eat with mote, choclo, papas, ensalada, and the deliciously crunchy skin of the roasted pig. It was yummy and greasy but definitely sites like lead in your stomach. We also picked up some tomatoes and avocados to repeat our dinner from Day 1. After a long 2 hour trip back to Quito, followed by the transfer bus and then the packed trole, we made it back to the hostel, picking up some bread along the way. We tried to go to the observatorio astronomico for the nighttime public telescope time, but it was too cloudy and they weren't open. So we walked back to the hostel for a delicious dinner.
Day 4: We spent our morning getting to and then visiting the Ruinas Rumipamba, located right in the city of Quito. We had a guide who started our tour in very nervous and broken English, but switched to Spanish when we were joined by three bilingual women. So yet again I was translator for Steph. We learned a lot about the plants of the region and how they can be used for dyes and medicines. This park is 36 hectares of vegetation and excavation, so it was cool to walk around and see how the people of this region lived, before the arrival of the Spanish even before the arrival of the Incas. They lived in the danger zone of the volcano Pichincha, but as our guide pointed out, so does the entire population of Quito! Pichincha is dormant for now, but the modern city doesn't even have the protection that their ancestors constructed for their small civilization. After the ruins, we took the trole down to the south end of the Centro Historico to check out La Ronda. It is a cobblestone street that actually gets lively around 6pm, but we wanted lunch so after some exploring we found a restaurant. I specifically wanted to try canelazo de mora, a traditional drink usually made with naranjilla but here it is made with one of my favorite fruits. I had the almuerzo, with similar courses as Tuesday's, and Steph tried tortilla de papas with various sides along with morocho de dulce, a sweet fruity twist on the standard corn drink I had multiple times in Cuenca. Then it was back on the trole to go to the Museo Banco Central. We learned even more about the history of Ecuador and Quito, as well as looked at some cool art exhibits. Then we laid in the grass outside the museum to enjoy the weather and rest our legs. Then it was back to the hostel. Not sure what lays ahead for dinner tonight, but it's early to bed since we have to be ready to get in our taxi at 5 am tomorrow to get to the Galapagos!
Quito definitely needs more time than we gave it. We experienced the Reader's Digest version for sure, but the day with Compassion meeting Angie was definitely the most important part of it. Anything we end up missing, I just remind myself that I can see that on the next trip :)
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