18/2/23
Aisling and I chatted awhile in bed when I arrived before going back to sleep til 10.30 ish when we figured we should go on a breakfast hunt followed by a carnival hunt! We went downstairs to discover there was a free breakfast of sorts, including shitty weak, black coffee and shit white bread with margarine and jam. We went for it and then headed out. We left our phones in the hostal incase carnival was as sketch in Ambato as it is meant to be in Rio and Barranquilla, and followed the road signs to the city, memorising the route. We had a business card for our hotel just incase we got stuck! After nearly an hours walk down the main road in the sun, we made it to Ambato’s centre. For some reason, we wandered into a shopping centre (possibly for some shade), only to find that carnival tings were going on inside! There were women in assorted green Bridgerton style dresses, a girl dressed like a prom queen with a tiara and all and a woman who was given an amazing crown of flowers! There were some speeches followed by a couple who did a dance routine in traditional dress, followed by the VIPS dancing badly to music. Then the ceremony was done and everyone filed out. We wanted to find water, which we did before going to a market over the road because a guy had told us there was good local food there. When we got there, the whole market (with multiple floors) was decorated up, with bunting, balloons, fruits and flowers. We knew it was the festival of Frutas and Flores but didn’t particularly expect the celebrations to take place in a fruit and flowers market with a few carcasses hanging in the butchers at the back!! There were more speeches, some kids came on stage dressed up in matching dresses and suits and then a singer came on and the VIPS danced, munched and drank juice. There was also streamers and indoor fireworks which were so close that they were falling on people while they were eating their lunch! Wild! After the antics were over, we went to get food in the market. We ended up going for quinoa soup which was bloody glorious and creamy and one of the best soups I’ve had here! Mmm!
We mooched about the town a little more after this, passing through various squares before picking a cafe to chill out in a little. We had coffee and cake before we mooched some more passing some places which were showcasing displays made purely of flowers. Some were really impressive, one of which was a hummingbird with its beak in the middle of a giant flower. It was so impressive! We went to see a few of these places, found an independent market fit for Digbeth 💛 as well as a random art exhibition from Bhutan before we went for a caipirnha. We chilled and chatted before grabbing a hot dog each in one of the main squares and catching a random bus from the main road. We hoped it would take us where we needed. As soon as it turned off the main road, we got off and walked the rest of the way. After the previous night of no sleep paired with not being so well, I was very ready for bed!!
19/2/23
Today we planned to get up early. My friend from Quilotoa loop, Greta was staying with a local and had the inside info on what was going on. She said there was an early carnival procession in the street and that people went there early to prepare for it. We weren’t too sure when it started but Greta said they were aiming to be there for 07.30 ish! We aimed for the same. After another quick hostel breakfast, we caught a bus into town. We were on high alert for foam spray, which kids and adults alike use in carnival to spray each other with for fun! We found where the carnival procession was due to be quite easily and bought seats to watch it. Then we had a couple of hours to wait until it actually started. Lots of hawkers were walking up and down the street selling their wares. We waited to see what the options were before getting some water and chicken fried rice to set us up for the day. Someone had told us that the procession was four hours long and we worried that we may not be able to get snacks in this time!! We sat next to a family, a father, mother and son, with a family friend. The dad was jokes and chatted to us a little in Spanish, offered us his food, shouted the vendors for us, asked for free promo hats for us, opened my water bottle and overall just ensured we were A OKAY. He became our carnival dad! There was a lot of seating drama and people kept trying to use the seating area as a cut through to the main road. There was minimal policing of this (a high vis jacket or two would have been oh so useful, but alas!). Instead hoards of people pushed passed a grandma with a new born baby in her lap and tensions rose among us seated folk! Eventually, the procession started, shortly after a fight between two women broke out in the road! What a drama!
First, police and army marched through the streets and the floats came by, each displaying a different idea made of flowers and fruits, followed by a dance troupe, sometimes with a live band on the same theme. It was fab!
It last only two hours (thankfully, as the sun was getting really strong and the promo hat had ripped) and then everyone started filing out. There were foam fights everywhere and we struggled to navigate back to the cafe from the day before what with road blocks, thousands of people and tons of foam fights. Eventually, we made it to the cafe and took a breath and had a coffee. In the cafe, we saw the same Ecuadorian wizard with a long white beard as the day before and we chatted to him a little more before leaving. After the cafe, we got a menu del dia in a local cafe before attempting to dodge foam attacks until we were safely on the bus back to our hostal. We would rest a little before the evening’s entertainment. I read my book on carnival in Rio and ended up finishing it (good timing).
In the evening, we headed back into town for a concert, or so we thought. On arriving back to town, I realised the concert was in a different part of town. We hit back the indie market and Aisling bought some beaut jewellery from a woman we had spent quite some time talking to the day before, bought some empanadas from a shop and then got a taxi across town to the concert venue. It was sold as a reggaeton concert but Greta had got there before us and said it was quite a mix of music. On arrival, we were searched and many foam canisters were confiscated at the door. Then we negotiated our way to the stage, searching for Greta and her pals. After very specific instructions from Greta, we were eventually united and had a substantial gringo group going on!
The first band played slow ballads which really weren’t the vibe of carnival that I was expecting, but the the second band livened up and by the third band, most people were bobbing about! Aisling and I were waved over to a group of local teenagers and so we danced Brum style in the middle of their circle! Then the rest of our group joined and eveyone danced together in a massive group! After a song or two, we escaped back to our own patch for a bit. Various people gave us shots of canalazo, a hot alcoholic drink which I had tried once before. A slow traveller guy Seb, who looked very Bristol, but was actually from Cuenca, Ecuador and studying in Chicago joined us after we left the teenage lot. He was travelling around Ecuador for a few weeks before he had to go back to uni. The rest of our group left and me, Ais and Seb stayed for a few more songs before we also left. Ais and I tried to get street food on the way home but when we ordered in Spanish, the stall owner just gawped at us and served others. We gave up and headed home empty handed.
20/2/23
Today was moving day. I was headed to Quito, and Ais to Banos, the parting of the ways. After breakfast, I headed to the bus terminal and got a bus a few minutes later to Quito. I arrived in Quito mid afternoon, after having to navigate a big bus terminal on the edge of town. A nice security guard asked if I needed help and walked me to the bus that would take me to the centre – what a babe!
On my walk through the historical centre to the hostel, I stopped for empanadas with a sweet corn based filling and a cappuccino. I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the hostel! I chatted with the owner, David, for awhile and found a jew book to read, before I headed out to buy food to cook with. David had given me the idea to cook Tigrillo, mashed plantains with an egg on top, and since I was in need of veggies, I chucked some of those in too. Since it was the Monday of carnival, people were still out on mass with their foam sprays. Even on the fifty metre walk from the hostel entrance to the corner shop, a guy got me right in the neck (and hair😭😭😭)! I got a discounted fancy cake with fruit and a lot of cream on the way back and then chilled and chatted the evening away.
wanderingwelshie2 travels 