Day 73 - 74 Quito ( The Ecuadorian Capital )

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Photo Album:  Quito - leaving the Tucan Truck

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All good parties must come to an end, and we have ours.  Today is our last day with Rosita, the Tucan Truck, and the small family of friendships we built over the last 56 days for me, since Santiago.

When the time came, there were so much tears, that we had enough to wash the truck with, one last wash...and Rosita was dustless.

And for me, it was the Galapagos in two days time, go see Evolution at work.  For others, some continue north into Columbia, and some, flying home.  Travelers alike, we're all used to saying goodbyes, and welcoming in new adventures, some friendships continues.  So there it was.

Quito, being the Capital of Ecuador, other than her UNESCO World Heritage worthy colonial architectures and cobble stone paved historical downtown, 

was notable for being the Capital, and attracts her share of protestors, and so the heavily armored police presence surrounding the Plaza de Independencia.

Half way walking up the hill where the towering Virgin Mary Monument is, I was stopped by a squadron of police, wondering what that was about ?!  The were waving their fingers at my camera, oh, I thought may be I was in some sensitive area where I should not be taking photos....after some exchanges in my English and their equally fluent Spanish, I finally understood that it was quite unsafe at the hill top for camera waving tourists.  But they also kindly, provided an escort, so that I could take a few birdseye photos of the city.

But the best views of the city has to be from the bell tower top of the Basilica,

The walk around the city revealed a not so insignificant anomaly, US$100 notes are not accepted anywhere, big or small establishments.  With at least another fortnights in the country, and I was left with only 100 dollar notes, that could become a problem. Bank after bank was telling me that only the Central Bank of Ecuador can break them down into smaller notes.  Fortunately, the Bank is only a stone throw from the Basilica.

In the end, it took over an hour of going through the bureaucratic loops to break a few hundred dollars notes into lesser denominations.  I certainly did not want to be stuck in the Galapagos Islands over the next 14 days, because of cash problems.

The last night was also a time for resetting, laundries to sort, repack the backpack, backing up the thousands of images and videos, exchanging emails and Facebook addresses, kisses and hugs and more farewells, and to setup the alarm for an 4 PM taxi ride to the airport.

Now, where is that ticket for the flight, and it did mention something about some serious quarantine procedures specifically for the Galapagos..........., WTx is it ?!! Fumble, fumble...

Next Post:  The Galapagos - a Virtual booking came real

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