One Year Away

Penny and Joseph

From the Galapagos, we returned for one more night in Quito. From there we hopped onto a bus the very next day and headed into the central highlands. After a couple of hours we were in the town of Latacunga.

The GAP Tour we did of the Galapagos was nice – but we were looking forward to what we consider real travel. Where you have total freedom to set your own itinerary, do what you want when you want to. The cost of that is that you have to find your own way around and decide for yourself what to do. Fortunately, Ecuador has a good bus network and since we speak Spanish it's easy to communicate.

As an aside – theft seems to be a big problem here. Compared to our travels in Asia we've heard of many more travelers getting their money, passports or cameras stolen. The buses are a favorite place for thieves and every bus driver and local person we've talked to on the buses here has made sure to warn us to keep a close eye on our bags. Ecuador is the only country we've been to that bags are never put in the storage area under the bus or above the seats – the risk of theft is too high.

Latacunga was where we made final preparations for the next part of our trip – hiking in the central highlands. We quickly headed to the market and purchased some essentials. Two hats, two pairs of gloves and a scarf for a total of USD $9. According to our travel guide and other travelers, the nights were cold in the central highlands.

While at the market, we were hoping to get a picture of one of the traditionally dressed women merchants. Unfortunately, every time we asked we were turned down. The common excuse was “Soy muy viejita” – I am very old!

The town had two surprises for us:

1. The centre of the town revealed a colonial gem with beautiful buildings, churches and central squares. We stayed at the very friendly Hostal Central and our simple room had an amazing view of the of main square

2. The town also had a great Italian restaurant that served freshly made pizzas and great pasta and lasagna dishes. The Buon Giorno restaurant was a great stop for dinner. Through our travels in Ecuador we have been astonished at the quantity and quality of Italian restaurants.  We attribute this to the fact that Ecuador is a cheese making country and the people are familiar with all the ingredients necessary for a good Italian dish.

Next stop, the Quilotoa Laguna!