My first day in Quito actually ended before it started! That is to say, Katrina and I didn’t get to bed until about 1:45 am, but at 9 am we were awake again and ready to start the day. The Hotel Plaza Junior served us breakfast in the basement of the building, and after finding some snacks for her 8 hour bus ride, Katrina caught a taxi to the bus station in the south end of Quito. I was very sad to say goodbye to my one-day traveling companion. Hopefully we will be able to meet up again and travel together again later this year!
After Katrina left, I decided to go on a grand walking tour of “la Mariscal” neighborhood where my hotel is located. Locals, including the driver that took Katrina and me here from the airport yesterday, have dubbed it “Gringolandia”. However, I did not encounter many other tourists on the streets, probably because the busiest part of tourist season is over and it was too early in the day for everyone to be out partying at the bars. At any rate, I found the tourist info center, a lot of interesting looking restaurants, and a place to access the internet.
For the afternoon I decided to stick around the Mariscal and get my bearings. Highlights that I saw were the trole routes, a little bit of two different universities, and historic buildings such as the Academia de Historia, the Arco de Ejido, and a Sagrada Familia-looking church!
My favorite part of the afternoon was definitely exploring Parque El Ejido, which is less than 10 blocks south of my hotel. Not only did it have the most unique playground equipment of any park I’ve seen; it also had a library, café, outdoor and indoor art exhibits, biking and walking paths, statues galore, and a kid-sized Zip Line! But instead of playing with the kids, I talked to a inner-city park ranger of sorts named Carlos who was meandering around and singing to himself.
I also spent some time watching three-on-three “volleyball” games. It was more like a game of grab-and-throw than volleyball, but it was still very entertaining to watch! The net was about 12 feet high and everyone on the court was very short, which made spiking the ball quite impossible, so it was more of a mental game in out-thinking ones opponent and placing the ball in the right spot on the court.
After my afternoon walking adventures I returned to the hotel, and then at about 5:45 pm I went out in search of dinner in order to eat and get back before dark. Thankfully the Marsical area is alive with restaurants! So I found an “empanaderia” (empanadas are a crispy fry bread turnover with a filling) and had a delicious cheese empanada and blackberry juice, which was really incredible! On the way back to the hotel I also treated myself to some cookies and three postcards. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in my big hotel room and getting to sleep early because I was so tired!
i'll probably be getting to sleep when i arrive at the same time you did. unfortunately i wasn't able to get a flight that arrived in the afternoon. i arrive at like 10. i hope that's not a problem. blackberry juice YUM. shortly after you left that blackberrys were pretty much gone. jesse and i did our best to at least pick all the ones on the property. mmm empanada!
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