After a long, uncomfortable bus ride we finally reached ‘The Secret Garden’ hostel in Quito. A lovely hostel with an amazing roof terrace looking over Quito.
After starting to read and investigate what Ecuador has to offer we quickly learn we are in trouble! There is TOOOOOO much to do and see. Not sure where to start we booked ourselves a week of Spanish lessons with the hilarious Santiago. Our lessons were solely conversation based on the tenses we have learnt to date and very good for us. We found ourselves able to chat about all sorts, although Gio broke it to me after one lesson that we had been slipping in to English to fill the gaps without even realising it! But still, it’s all progress.Saturday we headed on the bus back out of town to a town called Otavalo and a great local market:
We were so tired from the journey a lot of our time was spent sitting, eating and people watching rather than shopping. My lunch in Otavalo looked like this:
But it was great to see lots of Indigenous people in their traditional outfits.
A week in Quito meant plenty of time to explore and we visited the amazing churches, ate local cuisine – amazing seabass in the local market (and a tiny bit of the cerviche – raw clams!!), home made ice cream, tapioca pudding in a glass and empanados, crazy hot drinks like boiled wine or cinnamon liquer. Some great Chinese food, local pizzas, set menus (soup, rice/chicken/plaintain, pudding) for US$3. But not cuy!
A lot of the week was spent looking for a last minute Galapagos cruise! A boat is the best way to see the islands but choosing one and getting a last minute deal proved a little bit stressful. We had heard a sufficient amount about the crime in Quito to be cautious about what we took out with us and to take the normal precautions of not carrying much money. However, the travel agents with whom you book Galapagos don’t take credit cards, only cash. So Gio and I had some interesting trips to cash points, hiding money in all sorts of places and dashing around to withdraw sufficient funds for our trip. In the end we didn’t deposit the cash, and therefore book our trip until about 3.50pm the day before we flew to Galapagos! And ten minutes before the bank closed! The whole bank experience was a new one as they don’t have counter clerks you can talk to, only tv screens and shoots to send your money up! With assistance from a lovely security guard we sent our precious cash in to the never never and looked at each other nervously. Then the screen came to life and there was someone counting our cash. And with that we were going to the Galapagos! We celebrated with ‘Pan de yucca’ and yoghurt drinks. Slightly strange cheesy, yucca bread filled with chocolate!
The Basilica in Quito - with great opportunities for climbing and exploring every inch of it!
Loving the photos! Lots of love to you both Jo and Liam xx
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