From Quilotoa to Quito

Quilotoa – 

Right before breakfast, I sneak out of the house to watch the sunrise – what an amazing view! This completely makes up for the cloudy sky yesterday, which made any attempt to take a picture of the milkyway impossible.

After a rich breakfast we have to say goodbye – Olympia told us that the busses don’t leave reliably “at exactly the right time”, but one should leave every hour, so it shouldn’t be a problem to return to Latacunga. Hmm, Tiana from the hostel in Latacunga told us something else… All right.

We walk to the village entrance, pass beneath the archway and sit down at the roadside. Today the weather is much better than yesterday – the sun is shining and we have an incredible panoramic view. I think I’ve admired the blue sky at least 50 times so far.

While we are waiting, a small van pulls over and a young couple wants to know where exactly the volcano crater is. We give directions and both of us have to grin after they drive on. Although they were definitely locals, we as tourists were asked for directions! Achievement unlocked! “Blend in with the locals”…well, almost .

Latacunga – 

For just 2,15 USD we drive back to Latacunga where we want to pick up our remaining luggage at the hostel.

A little bit surprised we are told that storing baggage costs 2 USD per piece of baggage and per day. Nice. Nobody told us that – we would have probably taken all our stuff with us then. What do people who book a tour to Cotopaxi from here do then? Not very cool. I kinda have the suspicion that the faulty information about the buses to Quilotoa was perhaps intentional to sell their own tours… Hmm.

Whatever. We pay the 8 USD, grab our stuff and stroll to the bus station – our ride to Quito is already waiting…

Quito – 

Quitumbe Terminal

After arriving at the bus station we take the C4 bus to Santo Domingo to stay overnight at the hostel “La Posada “.

Calle La Ronda

It’s not that late yet, and since we both are a bit hungry we take a little stroll through the pedestrian zone of the old town. By the way, Quito is not as ugly as I initially expected – the little alleys have some rustically furnished restaurants. With a delicious Canelazo in our hands, which we treat ourselves to at a street stand, we start our search for something extraordinary to eat… We find what we are looking for in the restaurant “La Leña Quiteña”…

The menu offers many traditional dishes with a “twist” – “experimental cuisine” or something like that . I order a dish with guinea pig, since I have not had the opportunity to try it in Baños at a street stall. The serving is generous: 1/4 guinea pig in quinoa panade with peanut sauce. Served with potato salad and queso empanadas made from banana flour. Extremely yummy – guinea pig tastes somehow like a mixture of duck and deer. Ena orders herself beef llapingachos with morocho and potato tortillas. Not bad either. The icing on the cake is the view of the Virgen de Quito.

I wonder if you can also get guinea pig in Germany? Probably just in a pet shop?

– “I’d like to have guinea pigs.”

– “How many of them? And which ones?”

– “For 4 people. About 800g approx. With very little fat, please.”