8/1/23
Today, I got up early to go hiking with Kai and Evan, a guy from the US. We set off after a small breakfast and got a taxi straight to the teleferico. We got a cable car up from around 2900 to 3900 metres, after the woman in the ticket office warned us of rain and snow. We were then planning to hike to 4600 metres to reach the summit.
We shared the cable cable with two Americans and there guide. They each had helmets along with water proof trousers as well as the obvious waterprro coat and walking boots. Their guide warned us that there can be falling rocks so helmets are advisable, but there were many other people hiking without so we decided it would be fine without. When we arrived at the top of the cable car, there was no snow, but it was very cloudy, pretty chilly and mildly rainy. We put on extra layers and coats. Then we hit the hills!
Periodically, on the way up, there were signs announcing ‘Miradors’ or viewpoints which was funny since you could barely see ten metres in front of you. The altitude was noticeable for sure! I had to stop a good few times to breathe (the post Christmas lack of fitness definitely didn’t help!), and sadly there was no excuse of stopping to look at the view. We had a few stops for snacks and otherwise continued onwards. There were a couple of pinch points – the worst one was when we needed to climb up and across a cliff face with a steep drop on one side. There were only small handholds and minimal footholds and I wasn’t a big fan of it to say the least. My legs were shaking and in the end, I had Evan in front of me, Kai holding one foot on a small foothold and a nice Ecuadorian man holding my other foot and advising me where to go. Later we saw him with a nina (a young girl) attached to him with a guide rope – what a responsibility!! I scaled that rock and one more rock successfully, before the sky finally cleared and the glorious panoramic views opened out over the valley. We stopped for lunch before reaching the summit and heading back.
I successfully scaled one further rock before we arrived back to find a bustling tourist town a few hundred metres away from the top of the teleferiQo. I was pleased to see that there was another person having a minor meltdown on the mad rocks too – it was somehow comforting! 🤣 Back at the ranch, there were lots of horses, a few alpacas and an outdoor restaurant. We decided to wait and have food in the cafe with comfy chairs. We got coffee and relaxed on a sofa with a view of the valley beneath. The cafe was nice but the ordering system was chaos. It took twenty minutes to get one coffee, but it was worth it! We shared a cable car with a French couple, one of which had gone to England as a kid to learn English. There was also an old American guy who just went up to the tourist area, not for the full hike. He had travelled a lot though and the six of us had a good conversation on the way down.
At the bottom, we negotiated for a taxi back, I got a cake from the panaderia and we chilled for a few hours before having snacks. I replaced dinner with snacks since I had smacked all day and wasn’t super hungry. We drank tea, played uno and chilled. I went to bed early ish ready for my first Spanish class in the morning.
9/1/23
Today was the first day of class. I had to be there for 08.15 in the opposite side of town. Kai was going to come because he also wanted some Spanish lessons. We left at 07.30 and found the right bus to go to La Floresta, the area where the school was. Despite there being one road blocked off by police, we made it with enough time to stop for breakfast. We got humitas (a corn based steamed dish) with a fried egg and coffee. Then we headed to class.
For the first two of my four hours of lessons, I was paired with an 18 year old German girl, Lima who had travelled halfway across the world, alone, to learn Spanish – I was impressed! Afterwards, we had a break with coffee and bread on the roof, with views of the mountains before I had two hours solo.
After class had finished, Kai and I headed for lunch at a moderately fancy fish restaurant. It was pretty good! I had fish soup, with some kind of brownish fish and Kai had seafood soup. They gave us a bowl of plantains chips and popcorn to add to our soup along with some chilli salsa. It was yummmmy! 😋😋 After lunch we headed back, walking from north Quito to central, trying to dodge the rain. We went via a couple of parks, and stopped to buy a huge 1.5 litre bottle if Chilean red wine for $10. Once we were close to the hostel, I stopped by the panaderia for cake and then we went to chill in the hostel.
I had a very productive afternoon planning the rest of my Ecuador trip so I could figure out where to go to after my Spanish classes finish. I also messaged some couch surfing hosts in Spanish, which was testing! 🤣
Around 6pm, we regathered for wine and snacks. I wasn’t so hungry after the big and delicious lunch, so we decided to get instant noodles and have them with a fried egg each. We ate our noodles and played a dice game with Carlos, a Mexican trucker who lives in California. Later, a guy in a Beatles top rocked up. Of course, he ended up being northern, from Manchester. We chatted awhile before I went to bed.
10/1/23
The second day of class! We got the bus again, after leaving the hostel at 07.30. We got off in La Floresta and headed straight to the same breakfast place as the day before. Today, I tried the tamale, which is another carby steamed dish, wrapped in banana leaves but served with vegetables instead, some of the first vegetables I’ve had since being in Ecuador! Again, I had a fried egg on the side and a coffee.
Today, all my class was one-on-one and we made a start. After two intensive hours, we had a coffee break on the roof. The view of the mountains was clearer today. I chatted with a Dutch guy who had an Airbnb in Amsterdam. After break, we powered through another hour and a half and by the end, I had really had enough!! We headed for lunch, three people from class (one English guy, one Swiss gal and the Dutch guy) and Kai and I and had the menu of the day in a vegetarian restaurant with Hindu gods pictured on the walls.
Afterwards, Kai and I were going to go to the Mirador del Guapulo, and the English guy, who is from Newquay and has been living here since August joined us. The walk took us off the main road, down a quiet street with a big taxi rank and then along the side of a hill to the viewpoint. You could see the old town of Guapulo at the bottom of the valley with a big and beautiful church and many pretty houses.
Afterwards, we parted ways with our English pal and headed for the artisan market. They sold many beautiful things including alpaca wool jumpers and scarves, jewellery (both silver and beaded), natural soaps, chocolate and coffee. Kai got an alpaca jumper and I got an unpractical but beautiful beaded waist belt/jewellery which I’m excited to wear at the beach! We also tried some amazing te de cacao (chocolate tea), which I definitely should have bought because I can’t stop thinking about it!
It rained pretty much the whole time we were in the market and once we finished, we decided to try and wait out the rain in a nearby cafe. We headed to one that looked shiny on Google maps, Gracia Cafe. The waitress was super friendly and spoke Spanish to us while also clarifying things in English. We chilled there awhile and I did my Spanish homework before we continued our walk home.
It was basically 5pm by the time we arrived back at the hostel and we rested a little and chatted with newbies before heading out for empanadas (Spanish/Latin pasties). Kai, Carlos and I were joined by northerner Adam. I had a mince pasty which was super tasty with a spicy salsa. After, we headed back for wine and to play a dice game. I ended up staying up pretty late because after the dice game, we went to drink tea on the roof, with a view over Quito. So beautiful!
wanderingwelshie2 travels 