Quito

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Day 1 (Saturday) - HOT Shower. Thank you Hotel Huasi. For $6 I got my own room with 3 beds and a shared bathroom, though there were only two other rooms occupied on the floor sharing two bathrooms. After showering, a much needed shave and some fresh clothes, I was off to deliver the rest of my clothes to a laundrymat, which laundered my whole bag for $8. My next stop was Jimi's hotel. It was late afternoon and we decided to spend our Saturday evening walking through the main plazas of Old Town before a much needed dinner. The main plaza was conveniently up the road. We walked around a bit, then came back to the main plaza to grab a little snack before dinner and a beer. The beer of choice in Ecuador is simply called Pilsener. It is not the best tasting but it was nice just to have a cold drink and relax. We also each ordered a turkey bagel, which was very well received and quickly gone. After that bit of nourishment, we pressed on through Old Town. Until a couple years ago, tourists were told to be weary of Old Town and mostly stayed in New Town, where it was deemed safer. Fortunately, the city of Quito decided to renovate Old Town a couple of years ago and also equipped it with police officers to ensure it safety till 10pm (though I never saw police after about 8:30) Old town is as it would suggest, with older European architecture lining the meandering streets. It sits on a series of hills rolling up into an even larger hill which acts as its boundary. Jimi and I walked past the Plaza de San Francisco (there seems to be one in every city) and continued up hill for 30 - 45 minutes before we decided to make our way back so as to find a place to eat before dusk. We stopped at a little bistro and had a dinner that felt great for the sustenance but was bitter sweet as both of us were having trouble holding up heavy eyelids. We did not prolong the dinner. Instead, we decided to make our way back to our repsective hotels. We were not sure how far we were away but I figured we were about a ten minute walk away. It turned out that we were on the other side of the same building as Jimi's hotel. This was a nice surprise because that meant I would be asleep ten minutes sooner. I was asleep by 9 and woke only when my alarm clock sounded after 7. My first night not on a bus in 4 nights was sorely appreciated.

Day 2 (Sunday) - I met Jimi at his hotel around 8:30. We walked from there to Vanessa's hostel (Secret Garden). The three of us had plans to visit the official site of the equator during the early part of the day. While at the Secret Garden, I noticed a hand written note which asked whoever had stolen all of this guy's stuff to return his passport and keepsakes. I asked Vanessa about it and she told me that she had had a lock picked in the reception of her hostel in La Paz and stolen nearly $300 from her. Its sad but this is a recurring theme. We made our way to the equator and I was thankful to be traveling there with Vanessa who was more fluent in Spanish than Jimi or I. We made it to the Equator, where it was surprisingly cool. I think of the equator as necessarily cool but the elevation made it quite pleasurable. I was incredibly hungry as I had not had breakfast that morning, so the other two indulged me by stopping to let me pick up a snack. There were supposed to be bands playing but we stayed till one and no bands every were seen. We made our way back to Old Town where we Vanessa wanted to book a trip to the Galapagos and I wanted to book my bus ride to the border (Tulcan), so I could make it to Colombia. We were then going to meet back up around 4. I booked a seat on a bus for 4 o'clock the next afternoon. Quito week (a celebration of liberation the first week of December) was starting and I wanted to see a bullfight the next day. We met up at a famous ice cream parlor (oldest in Quito and makes its own ice cream) that was closed but as luck would have it, kids of the owners were walking out and kindly permitted us to purchase some. I had a scoop of coconut and another of chocolate. I could definitely taste the lack of artificial flavors. We then headed back to Jimi's hotel so Vanessa and I could use the internet. I went to get my computer and when I came back, I found that the recurring had recurred. Jimi, who has been traveling since late last December with no problems, had his small backpack stolen out of his locked hotel room at the Hotel San Francisco de Quito. It happened to contain his passport, credit cards and laptop. He had a flight scheduled for Bogota the next morning that he couldn't take without his passport and he was in disarray. I offered to push back my bus ride and help him the next day, which he gladly accepted. We walked Vanessa back to the Secret Garden, had a beer from the roof patio, which had a fantastic view of the city, then left the hostel to find some dinner and make it back to our hostel and hotel. Everything was closed for dinner, which was tough as all I had eaten that day was a snack and ice cream, but things could have been worse, so I kept my head up.

Day 3 (Monday) - I met Jimi at his hotel around 7 in the morning. We ate breakfast at his hotel then took a cab to the Tourist Police Office to be there when it opened at 8am. It was a little difficult to find but once we did, we were relieved to find that we were the only ones there besides the Hotel San Francisco de Quito's owner, who was a woman of about 30. Immediately, she told Jimi that the police did not need her there so she was going to leave. Jimi asked if she would stay and she said alright. The woman taking the report asked Jimi for his story and he started telling it. Jimi said that he left his bag in the locked hotel room because Quito has a reputation for being a dangerous town to which the hotel owner said that he didn't lock his hotel room. Jimmy was caught off guard but said that no he did lock his door as he knew there were valuables in it. The owner then said that maybe she just thought he locked the door, to which Jimi said that he knew how to check if a door was locked. Then he said that he left the key at the front desk, to which she responded that he didn't leave a key (South American hotels usually give you big keys so you leave them at the front desk rather than carry a bulky item in your pocket). He said no, that he was sure that he left his key (I saw him leave his key as we left from his hotel that morning). The police officer then asked what was in the room. As he was listing the contents of the bag, another officer came over to ask the owner what the situation was. I am not the best in spanish but I do know when someone is laughing and she was smiling and laughing through the whole thing, even though Jimi was in a serious predicament. Afterwards, the officer questioned her how a locked hotel room through a locked entry gate was opened to which she didn't have a ready smile. Jimi did not have a lot of money so he asked if the room would be comped at the hotel. The owner said they would talk about it at the hotel. Jimi, smartly pressed her while in the presence of the police and she said that it wouldn't be a problem. Later, she limited it to just two days. If you are in Quito, DON'T STAY AT THE HOTEL SAN FRANCISCO DE QUITO. This took less than an hour so we stopped for a coffee before going to the British embassy. Valerie at the embassy was very helpful and worked out an emergency visa for Jimi so that he could at least leave by Thursday. We were done with everything by noon, so we grabbed a celebratory lunch at TGI Fridays before taking off. I missed my bull fight but I have already seen one in Spain, so no big deal. We then parted ways for him to get a little rest and for me to take care of a few things. I moved my bus to the following morning and then did a little work on the internet, backed up my pics and picked up my laundary. I met back up with Jimi that evening when we went up to the place we had a beer in the plaza a couple days back and had dinner. I had a great soup. We were then going to go to watch a movie but we couldn't catch a cab and it was raining (the cab drivers apparently took the night off for Quito week). We went back to Jimi's hotel where we watched Batman, Dark Knight in the lobby / computer room. Afterwards, I left to pack and get a good night's sleep before traveling.

Day 4 (Tuesday) - I had breakfast with Jimi then went to the bus station.

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Photos

Down a Thoroughfare
The church at the end is famous and quite ornate

From the Secret Garden
From the fifth floor rooftop patio

Comments

[Grenade]

shirt
I noticed you didn't decide to straddle the equator with your great shirt Danny and I got you...