Yesterday I ventured into Quito, both the centro historico (old town) and La Mariscal, aka Gringolandia. The old town is beautiful and it has 11 - yes, really - churches. Not being religious and as it was Sunday I didn´t go into any of them. There was also a huge parade taking place. My host family told me that it is because Wednesday is a national holiday but the official holiday isn´t until Friday. Are you confused yet? Good, so am I! The parade was mainly made up of lots of army officers on horseback, half of them playing instruments (drums, glockenspiels, trumpets and two sousaphones) riding around in squares. There were also lots of different dance groups about. I wandered around getting a feel for the place but didn´t go into any of the museums or churches.
I then took a taxi to La Mariscal which is the main tourist area of Quito full of bars, restaurants, shops, etc. As it was Sunday it was very quiet, pleasant to wander round and get my bearings. I had a late breakfast at a lovely café run by a German couple. Should I miss Germany too much I can always go there for Frankfurters and Käsespätzle! They also had free wifi so I was able to update my Kindle. It doesn´t work on the mobile network here as it isn´t a quad-band device. I bought a new mobile back in Germany so that I can send texts and make local calls. I also visited a small craft market and treated myself to a lovely bracelet made of tagua nut, known in Britain as vegetable ivory, and a keyring, as well as some Ecuadorian chocolate filled with Andean blueberries and chocolate-covered coffee beans. When in Rome...
I really like what I´ve seen of Quito so far and am looking forward to visiting some of the sights at the weekend.
Lx
No comments:
Post a Comment