Sunday, April 27, 2014

Final Day - Quito, Ecuador

We had a free morning to explore Quito on our own.  It was too overcast to take a cable ride into the mountains, so we explored on foot with another couple.

We headed to El Ejido Park just a few blocks away.  Of course there were craft vendors, as well as artists, sculptures, and unusual plants.






From there, we went on a journey to find an upscale gallery and shop called Olga Fisch.  Our directions weren't the best but we finally found it.  And ... It was closed!  ( it was Sunday)


Still, we had a chance to see many parts of Quito.  (And lots of graffiti)







Then we met up with the rest of our group and our local tour guide, Lorena, for lunch.  We had Ecuadorian pizza at a nearby restaurant.

After lunch, Lorena took us to an indoor food market where we had the chance to taste some exotic fruits.






As we headed to the equator in our bus, we had the first prolonged heavy rain of our entire trip.  But when we reached our destination, there were only a few sprinkles.  Lucky for us since the Inti-Nan Museum is outdoors.  This museum celebrates the lives of the indigenous people of Ecuador.






It is also the sight of the actual equator.  We were shown how water swirls down the drain in different directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.  We tried balancing raw eggs.  And we attempted to walk on the equator with our eyes closed - nearly impossible because of the gravitational pulls from each side.




And we all had our picture taken at the center of the earth!


As we headed back to the center of Quito, we made a stop at a sorbet shop.  All the sorbets were made on location daily using freshly squeezed juices.  Excellent!  

Our final stop was the Mindalae Museum.  It was a small, modern museum with artifacts from the various indigenous cultures.  




And we had the lovely treat of enjoying our Farewell Dinner IN the museum!  Hard to believe we would soon be saying goodbye to our wonderful travel companions.


The only thing left was the long bus ride back to the Quito airport and our all-night flight to Miami.



































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