Blogs from Quito, North, Ecuador, South America - page 16

So after a 5 hour Mini bus ride to the airport, a flight to Colombia then a flight to Ecuador we arrived in Quito at 2am. Very tired and worn out from the travel day. We were collected from the airport by our taxi who took us the hour journey to our Hilton hotel. We crashed out for a few hours in a lovely massive bed, then awoke to explore the old town. We walked through the park, saw the lovely church and headed for the food market. We then spent some time walking around the local food market, looking at all the fresh veg, fruits and meats.We then stopped at a stall for a plate of lunch, egg, potato, avocado, salad and chorizo. It was yummy. We had this with the local drink of fresh ... read more

Today we finally got up and out early enough ( our normal one hour of coffee watching the hummingbirds and listening t NPR had to be cut short...choices, choices) to get up the Volcan Pichincha, once very active but now at least a bit dormant even though it is monitored. We walked about 1/2 way to the bottom of the Teleferico (3-4k) and took a taxi the rest of the way(recommended by all travel experts because of a plethora of malo hombres near on the way to the ticket booth). The place was full of locals and touristas. We stood in line for a ticket for about an hour and got in for the Abuelo (old folks) price, then waited another 30 minutes for a car to go up. The trip up is about 25 minutes ... read more

This market is one of the best we have ever been to anywhere, but we usually say that every time we find a market we like. Tired of paying the high price of food, especially for local veggies and meats, in the Ecuadoran National chain...Super Maxi, we decided to head for the old and venerable Mercado Central. Open for a very long time...some say 100 years and almost every day of the year, this market proved to be wonderful. It is an indoor market, owned by the city. It is located near the old town square in an area of warehouses and commercial buildings. Vendors rent stalls to sell fresh flowers, fruits, veggies, healing herbs, spices, meat, fish and, most important to our stomachs, small stall sized restaurants serving traditional foods at unbelievably low prices. As ... read more

Yesterday started with what was a minor head cold the day before but seemed better and ended with a really nasty evening of coughing etc etc.. In between however was a wonderful tour of Jardin Botanico in the La Carolina district of Quito. Instead of risking a walk and worsening of Mikes cold, we took a taxi north and west of our apartment...very smart idea as the day was a bit cool with very threatening clouds in the sky....it never did rain however.The Jardin has a wonderful collection of trees and flowers native to Ecuador, including carnivores and spectacular orchids (many of which are protected species) and interesting cacti. We walked for almost 3 hours with a continuous sense of wonder at the colors, shapes and sizes of these incredible plants. For instance, this Bolivian Fuscia, ... read more

A little music, a sunny day, a love of music and dance creates this wonderful scene in Old Town Quito. Enjoy! Well Damn! I had hoped to put this wonderful short video we took today as we walked through the city but Travelblog.org is having some technical problems. We will post it on Mike's Facebook page. Just go to facebook and search his name.... read more