We met our guide Estevan at the airport and had a very pleasant
40 mins drive to the hotel. March was
apparently the rainiest for 30+ years and this has caused quite a few problems,
there was a mini landslide on to our road which delayed us a bit. Our hotel is situated in the old town and on
a pedestrian street so we had quite a walk, pulling the bags over cobbles and
uphill!
The hotel is an old colonial building which has been
beautifully renovated and furnished.
This is our bed, two kingsize pushed together and covered with a mattress topper - looks comfy.
We dumped our bags and went out for a quick wander around to orientate ourselves before it got dark.
Supposedly our hotel, which is lovely, is on the prettiest street in Old Quito so our expectations are already very low. We went up to the main square which was fairly busy with locals sitting around and a group of clowns entertaining some others.
Your average Ecuadorian looks to us very similar to Bolivians, ie. short, fairly wide, jet black hair and quite a wizened orangey brown face. There is far less noticeable European (Spanish) influence that we've observed in other South American countries.
The ladies, again like the Bolivians, favour hats but this time it's the trilby as opposed to the bowler. They also seem to like crochet and knitting and avoiding having their photos taken so I'm guessing it's a similarly matriarchal society.
The streets are not particularly attractive and the pollution from vehicles is quite bad although we understand it has improved in recent years. Rather think its somewhere we just have to put up with being, rather than enjoying, until we get away on Monday.
