I woke up early on Wednesday the 27th as Ecuador is not on daylight savings time, so it is an hour earlier there. I looked out the window at the beautiful view – it is amazing how close we were to the mountains – and saw that at 7 a.m. the town was already stirring – people and dogs were walking from here to there and cars were traveling along the streets and curvy roads. The view was marred by thick fog, but you could tell the mountains were there through the fog.
Breakfast
Daily breakfast was included in my tour, and never one to miss a good meal (or miss an opportunity to take a picture of it), I headed to the hotel restaurant to see what I might be able to eat since I can't eat a lot of standard breakfast fare served in hotels as most of it is wheat-based. I was cautiously hopeful and was pleasantly surprised that there was a variety of fresh fruit – papaya, pineapple, cantaloupe, and watermelon along with eggs mixed with bits of ham. There were breads and jams available also and fresh juices – and I mean fresh. It was yummy. I was having a wonderful culinary experience already.
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| Breakfast at the Stubel Suites in Quito, Ecuador |
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| Christian, our bus driver, on the left and Alberto, our Ecuadorian guide on the right |
Olga Fisch Gallery
Our first stop was not far from the hotel in Quito, it was the Olga Fisch Gallery. (On our way, we passed Casa Giron Funeralia, the only funeral home I saw while in Ecuador – just a side note for those I work with.)
Olga Fisch was a Hungarian woman who is credited with raising Ecuadorian craft to art, and her gallery shows that. There are fine arts from all over Ecuador in this one small shop. There is a museum upstairs, but it was closed the day they were there and no pictures were allowed in the store. The items were beautiful, some in a primitive way and some were just plain beautiful and not so primitive. The handmade paper there made me think of my college roommate, Martha, who made (and I assume still makes) handcrafted paper.
I bought a set of glass coasters that caught my eye and they were packaged up for me for travelling – a nice touch. It is one of the few places in Ecuador that takes a credit card. Some places had a cash price and a credit price. I paid in cash and one of my bills was torn. The lady asked for another. Apparently the banks in Ecuador are very strict about the bills they will accept and if the bank will not take the bill, then the store is out the money. Interesting. I gave her an un-torn bill and collected my beautifully packaged coasters. There were a number of things I would have liked from the Olga Fisch Gallery, but it was my first stop, so I restrained myself to see what else Ecuador had in store for me.
Hilana
Hilana, a store in Quito, weaves and manufactures fine textiles that are absolutely gorgeous. The store had a very beige and white feel about it, very neutral, but also very beautiful, and there was some color. I bought a very roomy and lovely purse with an alpaca design. There were coats and shawls and blankets and even very lovely women's suits. Absolutely gorgeous. Exquisitely crafted and I'm proud to own the purse.
El Crater
Lunch was in or maybe just outside Quito – I'm not sure. Quito is miles and miles long, and also at about 9200 feet elevation. It is the capital of Ecuador, but not its largest city. Quito has around 3.5 million people, but Guayaquil has around 5 million people.
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| View from El Crater |
The restaurant, El Crater, is on the rim of the Pululahua Volcano, an inhabited volcano. It was interesting looking down on the farms that were down inside the crater. We were pretty high up as the farms had a grid-like appearance. The soil is rich there, I'm sure, but I'm not so sure I'd want to live in a volcano, even one that's been extinct for many, many years. I guess it's all in what you're used to and grow up with. The restaurant was quite nice and we were told it would probably be one of the most expensive meals that we had in Ecuador.
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| Shrimp Ceviche at El Crater |
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| Popcorn, plantains, and corn nuts served with the ceviche at El Crater |
I had shrimp ceviche served with popcorn, corn nuts and plantain chips and water all for around $12. Popcorn is served instead of crackers in Ecuador. It's great for me since I can't have crackers, and I never would have thought to use popcorn instead of crackers in soup. It's actually a lot better than it sounds like it might be. The ceviche was excellent and the view was amazing. The signs on the bathrooms were not expected, however. On the ladies room, a pair of breasts, on the men's room, well, it was what you might imagine it to be. Yes, really, it was. Honest.
They had a small art gallery on the El Crater property and they opened it up for us to take a look. We looked at the art – it always amazes me what people come up with, turning whatever raw material they have or can find into a piece of beauty.
Mitad el Mundo (Middle of the World)
Admission was $2 to see the monument at the Equator and to see the shops and everything there. And Ecuador uses the US Dollar as their currency, by the way, so buying things was easy – no exchange rate. They used to have their own money, but have adopted the dollar. They do have their own coins, but also use US coins as well. I saw more Susan B. Anthony dollars there than I've seen in a while!
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| Me, goofing off at the Equator |
Anyway, back to the Equator…we stood with one foot in each hemisphere and everyone had their pictures taken like that. The true Equator is not quite where the French placed the monument, but they were close. There is also an indigenous part of the park and they were a little closer to where the Equator actually is, but neither was quite right.
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| Toilet paper sales - there's a business in everything, I guess. |
While at the Equator, I learned an important lesson about Ecuador. Only luxury bathrooms in Ecuador actually have toilet paper and soap at no charge. There was a toilet paper machine where you could buy toilet paper for ten cents. Well, I didn't have change, and I do not like tinkling au natural.
However, some things can't be helped and sacrifices made when in a foreign country. I would be prepared the next time, I vowed. We even had one lady on the tour who thought to bring toilet paper, but it was in her luggage. It would be in her purse the next time!
The weather cleared a bit while we wandered around the shops and such at the equator. The weather, because of the altitude was somewhat cool. And we could just see a snowcapped mountain/volcano in the background while at the Equator – kind of paradoxical, but that's the way it was.
People keep grilling me about the weather thinking that at the Equator it has to be hot. It wasn't hot. The weather was quite mild most of the time I was there. Some days got a little warmer, but it was, for the most part quite comfy, around mid-sixties most days and most days I wore a jacket only taking it off in the middle of the day.
Land of the Sun Inn
Cotacachi, Ecuador
We stayed at the Land of the Sun Inn for most of our stay. It reminded me of old Western movies with its wrought iron light fixtures and courtyard surrounded by meeting and dining rooms and the kitchen on the lower level and guest rooms on the upper level. There were beautiful hardwood floors and tile and it was lovely.
When we arrived, there was coffee, aromatica (a lemongrass tea that quickly became my favorite), and a cake made out of quinoa. Quinoa is a seed that is often used as a grain and it is gluten free, so I was in heaven. Do you know how long it's been since I've had cake? It was delicious – even to those who have had cake recently. The kitchen also used amaranth flour for me as well to stay within my gluten free limits. I quickly fell in love with my newfound culinary delights!
We checked in at the hotel where we were given a real, honest to goodness key. Not a key card, but a real key. And filled out a form with our passport numbers. Apparently you have to do that at the hotels in Ecuador. I wonder if people traveling from Ecuador to the US staying in hotels have to record their passport numbers. It would make sense, I guess, I just don't know.
Soon after, our group rambled toward our rooms – our bags had already been carried there by the hotel staff. The room was rustic, with a large bed, hardwood floors, throw rugs, a wrought iron overhead fixture and wooden furniture. The bathroom was distinctly 1950s, with a shower, toilet and sink and the tiniest little shelf to put your things on, but it was sufficient, if not luxurious.
The profits from the Land of the Sun Inn go to helping the Indigenous people of Ecuador. There was a young night clerk who was going to college on a scholarship through the program. An American couple created the foundation to help the people there and the hotel is part of that foundation now. It's a noble cause and I'm sure has helped many and will continue to help more of the people there.
And that was the end of my second day in Ecuador.
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