Altitude

It's been a while since I was as high as Quito (2800m), and I had a little trouble sleeping, as my pulse was raised so it was hard to relax. Breakfast of fresh fruit, watermelon juice, warm bread, granola with yoghurt, and coffee, was excellent. It was served by a lovely old woman called Clara, whose Spanish I was just about able to understand, and I was able to communicate my wishes regarding choices. Like the rest of the hotel, the eating area was pure colonial era charm. I also met the hotel owner, a Venzuelan who speaks fluent English, and it feels as if I'm the only person staying in this small hotel.

Refuelled, I left my hotel (see extra, in which my room has the two windows right of the front door) and went for a walk through the old town, visiting Independence Square. I remembered it well from 1992, and in taking its Turf zone, I got a badge for visiting 20 Turf regions. I then visited Iglesia de la Compañía, that L had encouraged me to see, due to its fabulously gilded interior. 

I then left the colonial quarter to walk up the small hill topped by the Virgen del Panecillo. It's just a steep 200m climb but, at this altitude, it was good exercise! The statue wasn't worth including as an extra, but it's a fine viewpoint over central Quito, and beyond to snow-capped 5000m volcanoes if the weather is clear. However, today the cloud was down and the intermittent rain reminiscent of a bad fair day on the West Coast of Scotland in August. Since tomorrow's forecast is the same, my chances of it being worth climbing a 4600m peak above Quito look low.

This afternoon, I'll go out to eat in a restaurant and follow the rugby. Fortunately my phone is charged, as there's no power to my room at the moment!

The meal of fine dining Ecuadorian cuisine was generally excellent, highlights being a cheese and potato soup with black corn bread, a white wine sangria, and a very pretty dessert (see extra) in which a 60% chocolate hemisphere was filled with a stiff mousse of naranjilla (a sharp but flavoursome tropical fruit).

Back at the hotel, where electricity had been restored, I was asked when I wanted breakfast. I mentioned my plan to go on the teleferico, only to be told that it wasn't running at the moment. So, since I wasn't going to walk up and down an extra 1000m, I was short of something to do tomorrow. I had a quick search for the guy I knew in Dundee who had inspired our first visit and soon found him on Messenger. Within the hour he was at my hotel, and we chatted for an hour in the lounge. Tomorrow we travel north of Quito...