Soaking up Quito!

A beautiful, full day in Quito!

We made breakfast here (arepas con aquacate y juevo) and then walked to an artisan market. Auguste found some little gifts for friends, a pair of pants and a great sweater. I have a bit of sweater envy now so we might have to go back so I can get one! Maddie was a great help with determining fair prices and generally navigating us through this city she has already gotten to know.

They did NOT think this photo was necessary!

We then had to make a stop at Juan Valdez (praise the coffee gods) and caught an uber to the historic district.

The historic district was amazing and also packed with people. We walked a bit, got some helado, gelatina and “foam”, stopped at a panadería for tasty bread.

We tried the "foam". I still have no idea what it is.
Some kind of whipped sugar, but it's not cold and not like meringue or cotton candy. 

And then decided to hike up the hill to the basilica. It was STUNNING. Auguste convinced us it was a good idea to take the stairs to the top. It was quite the hike! I opted out of going up the final steps to the very peak but those two nuts did it! We were quite high and it was breezy up there. The view was amazing though.

This was where I said, no thank you! I waited at the bottom for the other two!

After returning to the Airbnb and grabbing a late lunch/early dinner taco meal, we headed out for a MOST fun experience!! I had signed us up for a chocolate making workshop and was a little hesitant, not really knowing what to expect. But it was amazing! A really lovely woman, Monika, met us at the grocery and walked us a short way to her home. 

*Quick side note here: as we were waiting for Monika at the grocery store, Maddie ran into a friend! There is nothing that makes you feel more like you belong somewhere than just running into someone. So we got to meet this friend (the founder of the program she was in!) which was amazing!

At Monika's house we met her adorable mom, her dogs and then headed to her gorgeous garden to identify and pick some plants to use. We then learned about the history of cacao and made chocolate! We roasted the beans, peeled them, ground them up and cooked them down. She had us try the chocolate mixed with several different things including some of the plants we picked in her yard. We made a skin scrub from the shells and had a little hand spa. It was amazing!! She and her mom fell in love with Augustito and had him dancing and laughing the whole time. It was so perfect!! A truly lovely day! Enjoy some photos of the whole process:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 3, Galapagos

Image
Both children are dealing with a bit of travelers tummy, so we opted to not do any activities involving long walks today. Maddie and I went into town for breakfast and to grab a few groceries while Auguste had a slow morning. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the water taxi, which takes maybe 5 minutes to cross the little inlet into Puerto Ayora. So not difficult, but takes a little time. When we got back we decided to take the kayak out. After situating all three of us into the kayak, we set out for a beautiful paddle in Franklins Bay! We paddled along the mangroves, saw lots of crabs, iguanas and pelicans. We spotted a blue footed booby on the cliff too! There was a little inlet tucked into the cliff that was so amazing! The water was bright turquoise and it was quiet and so beautiful. We’re so lucky to be in this spot and have the kayak right here off our own dock! Just amazing. After our kayak, we booked a time to visit Las Grietas with the company just outside the gate. Las Grietas i...
Read more

Amazonia

Image
We packed up our many bags and headed out to Tena! The main road into Pintag is currently closed, and apparently will be for another 2 months. This has meant some businesses aren’t receiving water and it’s much harder to get in and out of the town. Maddie walked the few blocks from our Airbnb into town to flag down a truck taxi and asked if he’d come to pick up our bags. She’s gotten so comfortable and resourceful! After a taxi ride into Pita, and another quick taxi ride to the bus station after a bit of confusion about where we were going, we got on the bus for the 3+ hour ride to Tena. It was mostly uneventful and a gorgeous drive as we descended into the rainforest. Tena sits on the edge of the Amazon. So we aren’t deep in the rainforest, but close enough that it’s hot, humid, rainy and there are monkeys!! The ride here was through thick vegetation, lots of valleys and cliffs and we followed a river for much of the time. There were absolutely gorgeous, huge waterfalls and we gradual...
Read more

Another climb to the top of the world

Image
Ok, not really. But for the second time this week I found myself climbing to the top of a very tall structure when it seems like our current elevation should be high enough! This morning we took an uber into the old town to a favorite restaurant of Maddie’s for breakfast. The food was fantastic and we got to try quimbolitos. It is a fluffy little cake-like dish that is cooked in banana leaf. The mora (blackberry) flavor is Maddie’s favorite so that’s what we got! It was tasty. After breakfast, we headed up the side of the mountain to see the Virgin del Panecillo. This giant winged Virgin Mary is larger than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil! We decided to, you guessed it, climb up inside. It was quite cool. On one level they had a series of stained glass depictions of Mary in a variety of different cultures. I had to get a photo of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The view from the highest level we could get to was amazing! We could see the whole valley that Quito sits in and several mo...
Read more