Quito, Ecuador City Tour (Day 1)

 

 

The day time view from our room was breathtaking and you could see for miles.

We were up and out the door by 7:45 am to have breakfast before out tour. Yes, we were eating again!!! The buffet was quite good and they had a chef making omelets.

The view out of the  restaurant windows was even more spectacular during the day.

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We hadn’t even taken the tour yet and we were all enamored with  Quito. At 9 am sharp Jorge arrived and we began an interesting morning of touring. .

Our chariot,  with Sylvana as our very competent driver.

 

 

 

 

 

The views from the hilltop were nothing less then spectacular and we couldn’t wait to get into the city proper.

 

The streets in Quito are very narrow and the entire city is built on a mountainside making the roads very steep and winding. There are very unusual traffic patterns but our driver was expert in her driving skills.

 

 

Interesting buildings

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Basilica was spectacular but yet unfinished. Inside pictures were prohibited but we did get to go inside  and take a peek. There was a Mass in progress so we didn’t stay long.

Super narrow streets and they are not all one way!

Ecuador is celebrating there independence from Spain so there were great festivities occurring in downtown Quito. The police were out in full gear. Notice the fancy swords. We couldn’t get a good answer out of Jorge when we asked him if the police really used those swords.

             Some interesting sculptures on the balcony

We were lucky enough to be in town for the celebrations and got to see some extraordinary costumes and watch a great celebratory parade.

Check out the little girl  - she was having a blast!

The monument built in honor of Ecuador’s Independence from Spain.

Buildings in Quito City Square

 

This is NOT the one percent staging a protest. It is the military camping in the plaza to protest something else. Not sure what and couldn’t get a good answer.

On the balcony of the Presidential Palace with our tour  guide Jorge.

Looking down on the parade route from the Presidential Balcony.We were eventually thrown off the balcony by the military police because we stayed beyond our allotted time!!!!

 

 

One of the two guards standing outside the entrance to the Presidential Mansion. They change guards every three hours. At first glance from a distance we thought they were statues.

 

 

 

 

 

We weren’t able to get into the Presidential Courtyard without an appointment so we had to take pictures through the  gates.

Ecuador has a democratic government and their elected president is only allowed two consecutive four year terms like the USA.

 

Sure would have liked to see the inside of the palace.

The parade continued for a long time and each group’s costumes were more stunning then the previous.

Both the older and younger generations were represented in the celebration. How lucky we were to be there to share in the festivities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the interesting art work for sale. Ron almost bought this one.

 

 

 

 

As we walked along the streets we were taken in by the magnificent architecture of the La Campania Church.

 

The oldest colonial building in Quito houses the Museo Franciscano where paintings, art and furniture are on display. Also on the Plaza San Francisco is the ornate, gold decorated La Compañia church

Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures of the gold interior but we did find some pictures on the internet.

Although it was spectacular to see, unfortunately it is in disrepair.

The church courtyard was very impressive and well maintained. There were several parrots and birds that were free to roam in courtyard. The parrots were responding to Patrick by squawking at him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our three hour tour was regretfully was coming to an end and we headed back to meet our driver. She drove us back to our hotel through some difficult traffic and at one point had to drive the wrong way down a one way street.

Old Town Quito closes off all of its streets to cars on Sunday. They have laws similar to the Massachusetts blue laws many years ago. No alcohol is sold anywhere on Sunday and all retail and food stores are closed. It makes walking around the squares and plazas easy with no cars to contend with.

 

Hills like San Francisco

 

 

 

 

We got back to the hotel around lunch time and meandered across the street to eat. Ron asked for a simple cup of coffee but had no luck getting anyone to understand he wanted some milk to put in it. After several tries in English and Spanish he drank his coffee black.

We had two hectic days of travel and a busy morning of site seeing and no real good sleep since leaving home so we opted to go back to our room for some rest.

Kelly and Patrick went back into town for a while and walked around. Ron napped and I blogged.

Clouds had been hanging over the mountains most of the day but around four they lifted and we were blessed with the opportunity to see the snow capped peak of  the Tumbaco volcano from our hotel balcony. What an incredible unexpected sight!!!!

The clear sky did not last very long and we could watch the clouds rolling back over the peak until it completely disappeared again.

Pink clouds over the valley at sunset. Just spectacular!!!!

Then it was time for another great dinner. And I thought I was going to lose weight on this trip. If the food continues to be this good we should all have gained. UGH! but a good UGH!

The main course for the four of us was beef medallions with au gratin potatoes and every one had a dessert but me. Good Debbie LOL!

Another good meal and then off to our rooms to pack and get to bed early for our adventure in the Galapagos Islands. We are being picked up at  6 am then off to the airport for our flight to Galapagos, then we will be transported to the boat the Galapagos Legend. Later we will be doing a tour of one of the islands – geeze, I’m tired already so I better get to bed. Ron already under the covers and the clock is ticking.

Miami to Ecuador–Travel day Number 2

 

After an intermittent  night’s sleep we were up and ready to start a new day. First on the agenda finish yesterdays blog and get it posted. DONE!

Since our flight doesn’t leave until 4 pm we opted for a late check out at the hotel. 

Ron is a detail oriented person so we had to go over every aspect of todays flight, arrival in Ecuador and how we are getting to our hotel once in Ecuador.CHECK!

Not sure how the eating issue will play out in a foreign land. (no guinea pigs please!)

Around 10 am we went to the Café for breakfast with Kelly and Patrick.

We walked around the hotel grounds and got a cool picture of a salamander. Small compare to what we will see on Galapagos.

 

We arrived at the airport around 1:15 pm for our international flight to Ecuador at 4:05 pm. We were checked in quickly and were at the gate by 1:45 pm.

We were flying LAN for the first time and were really surprised at how comfortable the seats were. Lots of room with our own TV and controls to play games, listen to the radio, play movies or just about anything else.

The   ticket agent was very nice and went out of her way to get Patrick an exit aisle seat so he would be confortable with his very long legs.

The flight from Miami to Ecuador was 3 hours and fifty minutes. Again we were surprised because we got a meal on this leg of the journey instead of the usual bag of nuts provided by AA in coach.

The landing in Quito was more then rough and a little frightening. I was by the window with the engine just slightly behind and I could see the tops of the buildings. The plane was rocking and it looked like we would be sheering  the roofs off of the buildings. I was not the only one nervous because when we finally landed and were on the runway the majority of the passengers were clapping. WHEW!!! It felt good to be safe on the ground.

We were at over 9000 feet above sea level and landed in a high valley with mountains all around us. Can’t wait to see it in the daytime.

We had to go through immigration then through customs. It was a fairly quick process until we got to baggage claim. It took forever to get our luggage and then one of my bags had been crushed and the pull up handle would not work.

Lugging the bag was not easy but doable. We met our travel guide Jorge and he and the driver brought us to the Quito Hotel for our two night stay.

Although we had upgraded our tour package we were more then  pleased with the quality of the Quito Hotel. It was very beautiful and the rooms lovely.

 

 

Who are those people on our balcony??

After dropping our bags we decided to go to dinner in the hotel. The restaurant was quite impressive with beautiful views over looking the city of Quito. So impressive that we thought the food prices would be exorbitant. Another surprise for us.

Not only was the food great but really cheap. I had a fillet mignon  for $13.50 with taxes and tip included. Yes, that is what I said – and it was superb. Believe it or not the other meals were less!

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I don’t usually spend so much time discussing food but overall I would have to say it was four star ****

Although the food was great it took forever to come out. By the time we finished eating it was 10 pm and we were all pretty tired,so after dinner headed to our rooms for a good night of sleep.

We were to be picked up at 9 am for our tour of Quito – so no sleeping in for us. The fun begins!!!!

Boston to Miami (Travel Day)

 After months of anticipation and planning we are finally en route to South America for our dream of a lifetime trip! We were fortunate enough to have our good friends Ginny and Wes volunteer to drive us into Logan for our flight. Thank You again Ginny and Wes. And  to Kaia (I think I spelled it right ) thanks for the great hugs!

We booked our flights on AA using our air miles and were pleasantly surprised to be able to secure two seats in First Class. What a deal. Warm wash towel, great meal and not only warm nuts but a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie!!!! The seats were comfy and if it wasn’t so very expensive to fly first class it would be our choice of travel. 

The flight was quite turbulent especially descending into Miami. There was a thunder and lightening storm going on and when I looked out the window a lightening blot exploded right by the plane. A little too close for comfort. Once on the ground we had to sit in the plane holding area for twenty minutes before we could get to our gate. I guess there was a lot of traffic so it was slow moving just like on route 24. LOL. Another benefit to flying first class is that our bags were also marked priority so they were the first on the baggage belt.. Yeah!!!

We booked at the Miami Hilton ( LINK Hilton Hotel) for the night and we were provided with one of their newly renovated rooms – very nice.Kelly and Patrick will be meeting us at the Hilton after 7 PM. Very much looking forward to their arrival.

 

The  grounds of the hotel were very nice.

We walked out to the gazebo on the peninsula and enjoyed the breeze.

It is not as humid here as it was in Massachusetts. Go figure.

 

Kelly’s plane arrived on time and they were at the hotel by 7:30 pm. It was great to see them both again.

We had dinner in the Café at the hotel and enjoyed the food and company. Kelly and Patrick had a really long travel day and none of us got a good night sleep on Thursday so we headed back to our rooms and were sacked out by 10PM.

 

Another travel day scheduled  for Saturday. Our flight to Ecuador leaves at 4:05 PM. and our journey begins!!!!.