We were glad we paid the extra cost to have a trusted private driver take us on our midnight ride from the airport to Otavalo. A couple days later, we were feeling confident enough to take the bus back to Quito. It was cheap ($10 total for all four of us), fairly comfortable, and efficient.
The location of our place in Quito could not have been better. It was right behind the Basílica del Voto Nacional, and a 10 minute walk from all the other historic buildings you want to see, including the gilded Compañía de Jesús (photos are not permitted, and you know what a rule-follower I am, so I’ve included one that somebody else took).
The relatively expensive restaurant we tried had a great view, but the food was kind of a bust. We did, however, love the unique ice cream flavors at Haladeria de Placer; carrot, corn + queso, jamaica + tamarindo.
From a zoomed-out view, Quito looks and feels a little bit like San Francisco would if it was 3x as big and the hills were even hilly-er. We could have used one more day there, especially because we killed a whole morning trying to get some money in our pockets (a story that deserves its own post).
We debated whether to take another cheap and efficient bus ride straight to our next place, or use some extra hours and dollars to have a driver take us to Quilotoa on the way. We’re really glad we opted for Quilotoa.
We all took the steep hike down. Chelsey and the girls opted for a “taxi” ride back up, and I managed to hike it out staying just ahead of them.
The drive out there looked just like what I imagined rural Andean life would; llamas and sheep grazing on the steep patchwork of greens and browns, rounded peaks in every direction, often covered by clouds.
