Monday, May 20th, 2019.

Todays plan:

“Free day in Quito”

I get up at 7:40 am and go down to get breakfast. Nobody there. Kitchen is super dirty, no dishes there. Good luck I have my emergency cereals and bought yogurt yesterday in the supermarket. I wash a bowl and mix my müsli.

The english speaking managers (a couple) come. They are super friendly and do fruit bowls, coffee, juice, … He: “How do you like your eggs?”, Me: “Poached” (rather unfair), He: “Ok”, Me: -positively surprised-. After five minutes he cones back and says he cannot do, if scambled eggs are ok, too. He looked poached eggs up in google. Yes, scrambled eggs are fine, too. Breakfast is a downgrade after Cranky Croc.

I take a Uber to the city to the meeting point of my free walking tour. It is close to a coffee, so I try to compensate the coffeine free stuff from blue house …

No guide comes. I realize, I am one hour early. The policemen seem to have an interesting date.

So I start walking the city on my own. I try to go to the “gold church”, Iglesia de la compania de jesus. Unfortunately they won’t let me in, Monday seems to be difficult with churches. With public places, too. Everywhere it is locked up by the police, loud music, main plaza locked up, too. One guy tells me there was a change of the guard, lonely planet says it is at 11 am.

The church on main plaza.

The Bank of Ecuador. Comment: they made the usd ecuadors currency and took the 1 usd coins very cheap from us to Ecuador. I read in wikipedia’s about the huge economic crisis in Ecuador which made 2o % of the population leave the country.

I go back to the meeting point of the tour. Others are waiting, too.

We start with churches. Monday is no good day for churches – I already knew – I shall try later in the afternoon.

The cathedral. Not finished yet, nothing runs as planned in Ecuador.

The former governors palace, now inside a market.

Romolo tells us about the most famous painter of quito and recommends to visit his museo.

Then he explains the purple guys are not kukluxklan, they are simple sinners …

The independence monument on the main plaza …

And the besieged Spanish. ..

Romollo explains about the killing of a famous president who had a relationship with the wife of one of his ministers. He was killed with machetes on main plaza.

Then we visit the bishops palace and library:

Romollo explains about the economic crisis and about politics …

I buy some small cooked eggs on the street. One bag, 8 eggs, 1 usd.

Then we go to la Ronda, evening place but also touristic.

We try the best chocolate in town …

Then I finish the tour.

After the tour I go to the local market to have lunch with the locals: Corvina con papa + ceviche mixture + fish from Don Jimmy for 6 usd, a avocado coconut and a carrot juice (each 1 usd) and encebollada for 2 usd.

The thuna is excellent.

After lunch we go to the cathedral. I meet Batman, he has a new job with a Taxi.

The cathedral is huge, but to modern, empty and huge for my taste

We go back to see other churches … gold churches.

A holy man with weird eyes …

The grave of Antonio Jose Sucre.

At last I ho back to Blovar theater and have a coffee and chococake there. They have supercool toilets.

I go home with the bus, 2o cent, hard ride. The route is not as on the sign or in Google maps, at least my station is where it should be …

The room is freezing cold. The group of people which were sitting around the power outlets in front of the reception when I got up and when I left are still sitting there. It doesnot look at if the had changed seats or seat position. I decide to lock the door before sleeping. I don’t want to get bitten by a Zombie.

Accomodation: The blue house