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Quito- 10:45 PM
Surprisingly, it wasn't that cold when I woke up, even though we didn't have our heater on all night. Mimi was up around 6 to go on a morning walk with a few people. I "slept in" until a little after 7. Mimi took a cold shower because apparently there was something wrong with the heat. I went up to breakfast and she met us up there about 15 minutes later.
It was a sit down breakfast with tree tomato juice and rolls to start. Then, we all got crepes that we put a fresh blackberry sauce on top. Then, we had eggs and bacon. It was all really good!
I went to pay my bill from the night before (1 Sprite) but Fernando, the hacienda manager, said "Don't worry about it. You have a good energy. Come back and stay at my hotel!" I told him if I came back to Ecuador, I would definitely stay at his hotel.
We boarded the bus and got on our way to a very large fruit and vegetable market. All the locals come to sell their products and everything is freshly picked. There were mounds of cilantro and 50 lb. bags of carrots. There were also onions, peppers, potatoes, strawberries, squash, watermelons... There were so many different items I couldn't keep count. It made me wish we had something like that back home. It made a farmer's market seem pretty small!
We then got back on the road to go to a rose plantation. The name of it was "Roses & Roses." Ecuador is known all over the world for its roses. They export mainly to the US, Russia and Europe. The ones we saw at the plantation really had no scent. This really bothered Rudyard, one of the guys here with his boyfriend. He kept saying "I guess there's no point in stopping to smell the roses!" The roses were beautiful and came in a bunch of different colors and color combinations. They all had different names, too, like "wild sexy" and "movie star.
We got to see where they're cut, put into a chemical bath, arranged in boxes, put in cold storage and ready to be put in a cold truck. The workers had the day off so nobody was working but we got to see all the machinery and the work stations.
After the plantation, we made our drive to Hacienda La Cienega. It is one of the oldest haciendas in Ecuador and was owned by one of the wealthiest families. It is now a hotel/restaurant. Fun fact- it is believed to be haunted!
We drove down a long path lined by eucalyptus trees. When they sway in the wind, it sounds like ocean waves. There were llamas wandering on either side. There was a water fountain on front of the building that was beautiful but showing its age.
We walked inside and it definitely had an old feel to it. Our tables were set up for lunch in the restaurant area. We sat with the couple from Asheville, NC. My first course was a delicious creamy leek soup. I ordered ravioli with pomp door sauce for my main course and fruit for dessert. While we were eating, a 5 piece band called Cotopaxi, named after the volcano, came in and serenaded us. They were great!! They played about 5 songs for us. They had a pan pipe, drum, guitar, flute and violin. They sold some of their cd's afterwards and sold a couple flutes to our group mates. The ones who bought them had some difficulty playing them. The musician made it look so easy!
We then had time to walk around the property. We went out front to take pictures by the fountain and pictures of the llamas. Then we checked out the cute little church on the property. We then met up as a group to take a group picture in front of the small church. Everyone wanted a picture on their cameras so it took a long time.
We boarded the bus again for our short ride to Quito. It only took about another hour. When we got there, we tipped Carlos, our driver, and said goodbye. We got our welcome beverage and our room keys and headed up to our rooms. I wanted to do laundry really badly so as soon as our bags came I grabbed all of my clothes and headed downstairs.
I ran into Rhonda in the elevator and we both walked down the street to find the laundromat together. We got a little bit turned around because I couldn't exactly remember where the laundromat was. We doubled back, asked for directions twice, but eventually found it. I had my clothes weighed and got my ticket... I only had to pay $5! They said we could pick it up at 11:00 the next morning. I was elated to have clean clothes in time for the next half of my trip.
We walked back to the hotel and hung out for a while. At 6:30, we met up with José and about 20 people from our group in the lobby. Together, we walked about 10 blocks, past the busy plaza, to an Ecuadorian restaurant. It was pretty packed but they found a spot for all of us to sit.
I ordered chicken skewers with a side pasta salad and a carbonated water. The food took forever to come out but it was well worth the wait! My chicken and veggies were delish! The pasta salad was strange, but it had pineapples in it that were pretty good.
Afterward, we walked back to the hotel and said bye to everyone. We took pictures with Josè and some other group members and exchanged names so we could add each other on Facebook. We then headed to the bar with David and Kristina and Frank and David. We had free drink coupons so we ordered a drink called the "Blue Mulatta." We hung out for a while and talked about TV shows. Apparently I'm not the only one that likes the show Dance Moms! I also entertained everyone with my story of being on the Price is Right.
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