Another leisurely breakfast on the hostel roof taking in the view over multiple cups of tea I then set out to find several realiable ATMs from which I could make multiple withdrawals to pay for the Galapagos tour. It took me around 2 hours and eight attempts to get all the cash but I did it, mixing up the mission with some fresh juice and a tasty empanada to keep me going.
On the way back to the hostel I managed to pick up a few things I had been needing to get for ages - a new bra, hair ties and leggings! I was searching for shoes that weren’t my hiking boots or runners - like cheap boots that I could wear with jeans because Quito was freezing but quickly discovered they don’t stock shoes above a six 6 almost anywhere in Ecuador. Still, a win on many fronts even if I will have to wear socks and thongs or sneakers and jeans…
As well as picking up what I needed, I had a really sweet Ecuadorian man called Luis try to pick me up. He walked with me for quite some way back to the hostel before giving me his details and asking me to go out dancing with him that night. Very sweet but never going to happen. A man in a ute a the traffic lights then told me that he loved me. The perils of having blue eyes in Ecuador - hilarious nonetheless.
After paying for the tour I ventured up to Quito's Contemporary Art Museum. It is in an incredible refurbished old building and had some fantastic exhibitions, including a FEMLINK digital film series. I stayed and watched all 24, 1 minute films made by woman around the world and had the entire cinema to myself! Left the museum planning to walk to La Mariscal to check out the market but ended up caught in an epic hailstorm. Drenched and freezing I took shelter in a random cafe on a random street and settled in with a hot chocolate and random banana type snack to wait out the storm.
It took a good hour or so for the rain to stop by which time it was getting too dark to walk to La Mariscal on my own or back to the hostel if I left it any longer so I hot footed it back. Dry and warm again our random crew convened on the roof for some drinks and then Amy, our Brasilian friend Ricardo and I headed to Calle La Ronda in the Old Town for dinner and to fiesta. We ate roasted Guinea Pig (Cuy), drank the horrible warm local alcoholic drink, Canzela and then settled into a little bar to listen to some live music with giant mugs of warm wine.
Feeling sleepy we decided on a change of scenery and grabbed a cab to La Mariscal, also known as `Gringolandia’. We visited a few seriously seedy local bars, made further terrible drink choices and called it a night at around 2.30am, noting we all had to be up at 5.30am to go to Otavalo market!
