My Last Few Days in Quito: Thursday

Thursday I had planned to follow the advice of you, the readers (are you still out there? comments have been lacking) and either do a bike tour down a volcano or take a bus to Ecuador`s most luxurious thermal pools. But Wednesday I discovered the bike tour was on Friday and I didn`t get out of bed Thursday morning until 9:30, killing any chance of catching a bus in time for the pools two+ hours away. And so I decided to do teleferiQo (yes, that is how it`s spelled): Quito`s multi-million dollar sky tran and theme park. Cable cars take riders 2.5 kms up Volcan Pichincha to Cruz Loma at 4100 meters for a view of all of Quito and a good portion of Ecuador. I had wanted to do this earlier in my stay, but every day in Ecuador around 2pm clouds roll in and cover the city. So since I didn`t have class, today was the day.

I took my time getting out of bed and showering for the day, finally making it out to look for a cab around 10:45am. On the weekends teleferiQo can draw crowds that bring the wait to four hours to ride up. When I arrived I found a couple of dogs laying near the ticket counter. That was it as far as crowds. The ride up with three young Ecuadorians visiting from the coast was quiet aside from a few giggles and questions about where I was from. Once I arrived at the peak I went off to check out the views. Quito doesn`t so much spread out from the center in equal directions. Because of the surrounding mountains, Quito is a lengthy city. A looooong lengthy city. The views were cool. There was a small hike into what was posted, and ignored, as private land where one could get different views from other angles. At that altitude it was tough to hike any where. Even the Ecuadorians were having a tough time of it. Except the old woman who was chain smoking near the trail head. The altitude seemed to have no effect on her.

Finally I made my way back to the park entrance, looking out over the theme park, but otherwise paying little attention to it. And here is where I realized I had no ride back. I had thought cabs would be waiting to take people back into town. But there weren`t really any people on a Thursday afternoon. And so I walked. Down. And down. Until a cab full of people passed me going up. I motioned that I would appreciate a ride on his way back. And 15 minutes later he found me. Thankfully.

I was going to spend the rest of the afternoon trying to get my glasses replaced. My roommate wanted to do some shopping at the mall. We decided to combine these efforts when I returned to Gringoland and after a large meat lunch around the corner. Several optical shops were asked about new glasses. All replied at least three days were needed. I was leaving the next morning. Apparently without glasses. That didn`t stop us from cruising Quito`s malls. I found a trendy shirt for my last evening out. My roommate found several new travel tees. We were both conent. Though it was made clear to us that although food and goods are cheaper in Ecuador, clothes are not. In fact they are the exact same price if not more than in the States. It`s a wonder the Banana Republics, Guess, and Calvin Kliens stay in business.

That night I was picked up and taken to Ataka, a trendy bar on a hill near Quito`s Old Town. I was supposed to get another cool view of Quito. But, on par for my stay, Quito was very foggy that night, and the view was of several blurry lights. Still, the bar was cool, and I got a great calzone and an earful of Spanish from as many as eleven different people I had seen during my stay. When the check was paid around 10:45 and I was dropped at my hostal around 11pm, I was summoned to a dance club a block away by my original host who was there with a few coworkers. I was escorted to the VIP area where, to my surprise, we were the only VIPs. I room full of dancers in the first area, and the four of us in the VIP room. A little tranquilo to say the least. But after three rum and cokes, I had no problem leaving my bar stool and doing a couple of jigs with the others. The VIP area eventually opened to more people, but we also eventually decided to call it a night. My host had work in the morning and I had to be up at 5:15am to shower and catch a cab to the airport.

I also needed to pack. Much to the chagrin of my roommate who was already sleeping. Trying to pack after several rum and cokes is never a quiet task. I think she managed to sleep through it. I was in bed by 2am and awake three hours later for my flight to the Galapagos.

For pics of my last few days (mostly of teleferQo) follow this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15233918@N00/sets/72157603299341498/