Machachi

We set our alarm early but didn't feel like getting up so we went back to sleep 😁 At 9 we had packed our stuff, ate the breakfast and were on our way to the Basílica del Voto Nacional to see the interior but we were still a little early. We were able to take a peek through the closed doors and it was "just" a continuation of the foyer area. The view from the outside was more interesting so we moved on without waiting for it to open.
Our next stop on today's itinerary was the viewpoint with the statue Virgen del Panecillo. It is supposed to give you the best views over the city and when arrived we were lucky that it wasn't that foggy and we had some decent views down to the historic center. Our host had warned us that walking up there can be dangerous but we had time, so we decided to walk down. We didn't have any issues but when we were almost back down in the center two policemen came by and asked us if everything was okay or something happened. And there was a sign telling tourists not to walk the street ⚠️ The policemen told us that there had been regularly robberies... When we entered the center we were greeted by a woman of the tourist police who was really sweet and recommended where to go but also warned us of areas that might be dangerous. Generally people had told us to be careful in Quito but we never felt threatened in any way 🤷‍♂️
Then we visited the Church of the Society of Jesus which is famous for the golden interior and had already been closed yesterday. But when we went into the foyer it was too expensive for us and we could see almost everything from the ticket booth anyway 🙂 This concluded our tour of Quito and on the way back to the guesthouse we shopped a local speciality, Bolón de Verde. A mais and banana mashed, filled with either Chicharrón or cheese and fried. We also tried juice from Tree Tomatoes, a sweeter variety but still has the acidic taste. It works better as a salty variant in my opinion.

We took an Uber to the main bus terminal and from there a bus to a town an hour South, Machachi. There we got off and needed to walk 2km through the whole town to our Bed & Breakfast "Casa del Montañero". We had chosen it specifically because they offered individual tours to the nearby volcano Cotopaxi. It had generally the vibe of a mountain hut with a fireplace and tea. We had hoped to be able to do some hike in the area nearby but the town didn't have a lot to offer. So we just booked the tour for the next morning 🥾⛰️
We had time to relax a bit and read about speciality foods of Ecuador. There is an Ecuadorian restaurant in town, "La Posada del Chagra", with lots of options which we visited for an early dinner. Which was lucky because they already closed at 6 and the food was again delicious 😬 Our host had told us that there is a festival in town today but we were either too early or too late... So we just stopped at the supermarket to get some supplies for tomorrow's tour and went to sleep early.

We had also received some news on Ruedi 🥹 He's still alive and well ❤️ The sister of the owner of the Overlander Embassy has been using it the last days and loves it 🥰 Alejandro said that she'll decide what she wants to do and maybe import it...Read more