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Quito/Otavalo- 5:24 PM
I woke up around 2:30 this morning. I had that weird feeling of not remembering where I was. I was also hungry! I figured 2:30 was too early for breakfast (even though the restaurant opened at 2:00.) I stayed awake about an hour and then I went back to sleep and woke up when my alarm went off at 7:00.
I had packed my suitcase last night so all I had to do was get dressed and get my luggage outside the door at 7:45 so it could be picked up and loaded on the bus.
We went to breakfast at 7:40 and met up with our group at 8. The group is pretty much what I expected- a lot of retired couples and a few younger couples. There is a group of older gay guys traveling together. There also seems to be a mother/daughter duo. We also met Jose, our guide, and Carlos, our driver. Jose seems very knowledgable about the history of Quito and Ecuador.
We loaded to bus and headed toward the old part of Quito. We went to Itchimbia, which is a park that has a "glass palace" and is a great lookout point for the city. We took some pictures there and headed down to a basilica. We didn't go inside but we took pictures of the outside. It is an especially unique basilica because the gargoyles on the outside were all animals.
We then headed off to the square where the presidential palace is located. There was a heavy police/police dog presence because of the changing of the guard and some protest that was taking place near there. My boots must have looked really dirty because I was followed by 3 boys who wanted to shine my shoes. I told them "no, gracias." They said "si, gracias." I finally told them "go away!" They must have heard that before because they quickly left.
We headed over to a beautiful Catholic Church that was built in the 1700's. There was gold everywhere inside. It had an interesting mix of traditional paintings/crucifixes and geometric designs, similar to ones found in mosques. Our guide, Jose, said it was because the people who established the church were Moors. Fun fact- 80% of Ecuador is Catholic.
After the church tour, we went to a hat shop that sold Panama hats. Fun fact- Panama hats originated in Ecuador and were sent to Panama. Because of how they were labeled, with the country they were being shipped to as opposed to the country they were made in, they were known as Panama hats. I would have bought one but I already own 2.
We then had some time to check out another church and then look at some of the shops below it. The shop we went into consisted of multiple tunnels and sold local crafts and chocolates. One of the most interesting tunnels displayed figurines of mythical looking creatures in different sexual positions. The most interesting ones had 3 or 4 creatures all enjoying themselves. Baha!
After getting on the bus, we made our way to a helados de paila shop. Basically, it was a shop that sold sorbets in a bunch of exotic flavors. We got to watch the process of how it is made. A large copper bowl is stuck in an even larger bowl of ice. The fruit is blended with sugar. You then spin the copper bowl around in the ice while mixing the fruit with a wooden spoon. Eventually it freezes and becomes sorbet. Some people from the group got to try to mix it. One lady tried and hit the spoon too hard and sprayed fruit all over me, including my ear, hair, shirt, and nose. That was fun.
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