13/10/12

As it was Saturday and therefore no Spanish class, we had a big lazy breakfast together of fried eggs on toast and a cup of tea in the hostel, still finding it novel to have access to a kitchen to cook! We then got ourselves together and headed on foot to Parque El Ejido where we had heard there is a craft fair at the weekends.

The walk down to the park was eerily quiet - it seems many locals do not go about on foot - but once we got to the park it was a different story. Helped by the sunny weather the park was full of families with children playing on the rides, juice carts and candy floss stalls doing a roaring trade. As we always do, we took a seat and took some time to take in the scene before us. Interestingly there were childrens' pedal cars of different varieties for hire and many youngsters (and parents!) were enjoying pedalling the toys around. Perhaps because, unlike here in the UK, these families are too poor to own their own pedal cars at home?

We had a walk around the park which is a large flat grassy area interspersed with various statues and fountains. There were families playing football and groups of youngsters just chilling out in the shade. All in all a very convivial atmosphere.

We took a stroll through the various handicraft stalls, with vendors selling all sorts of clothing items from shoes to woolly socks to hats and lots of lovely baby stuff. Kirsty was in her element, finding something at most stalls that took her fancy!

Having not done quite enough shopping (!) we made our way to the nearby Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal an entire block dedicated to craft stalls selling many souvenirs from Ecuador ranging from Ecuador lighters to alpaca sweaters. Kirsty really enjoyed this area although once again she struggled to narrow down what she wanted to only one or two things (the budget not allowing for more!).

Our next destination was Mercado Central, a two storey market selling fruit, vegetables, flowers, meat and fish. Alongside these vendors were also stalls selling some of the cheapest food in town (the pork crackling in particular looking amazing!). We both decided we wanted to make more of an event of lunch so we bypassed these in favour of the sausage stall. After much thought (there was simply too much choice) we purchased some chorizo together with some red sausages, so much cheaper than the supermarket.

Having had our taste buds tickled at the central market we returned to La Mariscal for a sit down lunch at a Mexican place. After stuffing ourselves we returned to the hostel via the supermarket. The late afternoon and evening was spent mooching around the hostel, dinner was some hot dogs with our newly purchased sausages!!

14/10/12

After a lie-in we had a quick breakfast before leaving the hostel. We were headed for the Historic Centre and enjoyed the quiet streets along the way. Once we arrived we could see what a difference it made shutting off the streets to traffic, something they do in Quito every other Sunday to encourage more people to use their bikes. Because only cyclists were allowed through there was a lot less noise and pollution.

After browsing a few of the shops en route we found a coffee shop with patio just off the main square, Plaza de la Independencia where we took a rest and had a drink.

Leaving the coffee shop there was clearly some sort of festivities going on on the far side of the square judging by the number of people crowded around. Like all good nosey people we couldn't ignore this and wandered over to see what the fuss was about.

We discovered some dancers dressed similarly to Morris dancers but somewhat more threatening with scary masks covering their faces (see photos), a little odd!!

We moved on uphill through the swathes of people to a shopping centre. In contrast with yesterday's shops specialising in souvenirs this was a place where locals go to buy everyday items. In search of a hoodie (due to Quito's cool climate as a result of its high altitude) it became apparent that haggling was the order of the day, something we hadn't had to do since India. And we were a little out of practice. It didn't help having to do it in Spanish as well.

But after a little to-ing and fro-ing we reached a price agreeable to all and I'm now the proud owner of a grey hoodie, exactly what I wanted. The shopping centre really was a great place to get any clothing items needed for everyday, I think we may end up returning in the coming weeks.

We continued circulating around the old town taking pictures as we went and enjoying the Sunday afternoon atmosphere among the locals.

We visited the central market for some lunch but not fancying anything on offer we lunched at a dingy restaurant just outside the old town where we both had a big fill and drinks for under $7.

15/10/12

After another morning with Alba learning the intricacies of the Spanish language I met Kirsty outside Alba's house in the park.

Our first task was to grab some lunch which was duefully done at a corner place specialising in sandwiches opposite one of the universities. Neither of us opted for sandwiches, instead choosing Salchipapas, a dish which is everywhere here consisting of chips and frankfurter sausage. So good! And cheap too. Afterwards we walked to Mercado Santa Clara a locals' market where we bought our fruit and veg for the week ahead.

On our way home from here we went through the La Mariscal neighbourhood passing a cheap stall selling all kinds of naughty foods (similar to our snack vans). Despite recently eating I couldn't resist one of their hamburgers which for under $2 didn't disappoint.

We visited the supermarket next to complete our weekly grocery shop before returning to the hostel to relax. Dinner was made at the hostel while we watched TV. A thoroughly domestic day!!

16/10/12

After Spanish this morning I returned to the hostel to pick up my wife from where we walked easterly for 10 or 15 minutes uphill to the lookout point at Guápulo. Here the view is amazing into the valley below and off into the distance. Unfortunately it was a little too cloudy to make out the volcanoes in the far distance but we could see the new airport which is being built some 25km away from Quito.

At the lookout is a statue of Francisco de Orellana looking down the valley where his journey from Quito to the Atlantic began being the first descent of the Amazon by a European (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Orellana)

We took the steps down from the top of Guápulo eventually following the narrow steep stone-covered streets further down into the valley. The highlight of the "village-like" area is the Santuario de Guápulo built in the 17th Century. Unfortunately the church wasn't open but it still was a very impressive building.

Then followed the hard breathless slog back up the hill to the lookout point. Not only was it steep and at altitude but it was made more uncomfortable by the humid conditions.

Once back at the top we sought out somewhere to eat as we had not had any lunch and it was now late afternoon. The first place we stumbled upon was McDonalds (honestly!) where we treated ourselves following our physical exertion earlier. We returned to the hostel after a leisurely stroll through the various streets of La Mariscal.

17/10/12

Kirsty came to meet me today after class and we went for a bite to eat at a local place. We didn't have any plans for the day so had a very relaxed afternoon of grocery shopping and mooching around a few clothes shops.

We also visited a beautiful gothic church which we entered free of charge and sat down for a quiet reflective 5 minutes away from the noise outside.

Our next visit was to a shop selling girls stuff: earrings, clothes and bags mainly. The shop worker spoke good English which surprised Kirsty when she was talking - Kirsty assumed, like everyone else in Quito, she was speaking Spanish and was looking at me waiting patiently for a translation!

We returned to the hostel so I could do my homework (no, really!) before cooking and chilling out in the living room.

18/10/12

After class Kirsty was waiting and the plan was to go up El Panecillo (the Little Bread Loaf) for the views from the Virgin statue. However the weather had other ideas with low-lying cloud all around.

Instead we made an event out of lunch choosing a Lonely Planet-recommended restaurant. Unfortunately this being La Mariscal we paid over-the-top for mediocre food. The saving grace being the experience of spending time together sat across a table chatting.

We then walked the short distance back to the hostel where we had a chilled afternoon doing some planning for the rest of our travels.

At dinner time we cooked and met a couple of girls travelling who had just arrived in Quito from the Galapagos Islands. One of them was German and the other American and it was nice to swap stories in English with them.

19/10/12

A shortened class today as Alba had a hospital appointment so I was back home earlier than ever. Kirsty was still in bed when I returned and her laziness rubbed off on me and we didn't do too much for a few hours. That is until our tummies started to rumble which was the sign for us to leave the house.

We picked out a local wood-fire pizza place which was absolutely rammed (something to do with the special lunch offer they were running). They got our first course wrong initially which proved a stiff test for my Spanish skills but they happily corrected their mistake and the pizza was delicious!

Afterwards we walked off the food by taking a stroll up Avenida Amazonas, one of the main streets in the area, looking in all the, what I like to call "tat" shops before also walking down 10th of August Street.

We stopped off at a square and ordered a coffee and hot chocolate while partaking in some people-watching as we sipped our drinks.