After getting up and having our free breakfast this morning, we took an Uber downtown to the historic center of Quito. Just before getting dropped off, we observed someone get robbed, but the robbee also gave chase with a knife. Transit cops were preventing our Uber from dropping us off close to the main plaza, so we hopped out and tried to make it on foot. Welcome to Quito.
As it turned out, the police had formed a perimeter fence with a two block radius outside the Plaza Grande and bomb sniffing dogs were patrolling inside. This made navigating a bit difficult since it is kind of the central spot of the old town. We walked around for a little bit, but partially due to the street closings, people were now congested on the streets that were open and it wasn’t exactly relaxing.
We didn’t have any destination in mind, so we just kept looking for streets that were quiet or more pedestrian-friendly. I guess we can say we saw the old town, but it very much underwhelmed. This is where people would say how ungrateful we are and how we’re unappreciative tourists, but I will say this much — we were easily the only tourists.
By chance we ended up at a different plaza at one point and took a breather. The altitude wasn’t bothering us too much as far as physical exertion, but Nicole was tingling and I had a headache. We took a break inside the Iglesia de Santa Domingo. We popped in just for a bit because it did seem like there was some sort of informal mass going on and we didn’t want to accidentally end up in a line for communion.
The inside of the church was very colorful and relatively calm compared to the streets outside. Eventually, however, we went back out and decided we had pretty much gotten as much as we were going to get out of Quito’s old town and summoned an Uber back to our hotel.
There are, of course, other things that tourists could do in Quito, but they’re not for us. There is an equator museum and monument where you can pose on both sides of the “equator” (in quotes because the line is in dispute). Furthermore, you are required to hire a guide to show you all the tricks that can happen by being close to the equator, but it’s all nonsense. Most of what they show are optical illusions or other deceptive rubbish. We didn’t think it was worth it, but I’m sure others would get something out of a photo of themselves straddling the “equator.”
We relaxed and had lunch for a spell back at the hotel room before packing everything up and catching the shuttle back to Quito’s Mariscal Sucre Airport. Checking in for our LATAM flight was somewhat involved. I had forgotten that Colombia wants some passenger attestation with a bunch of questions, so that took me a few minutes, then the ticket agents were really going to town on tackling our standby situation. We still don’t actually know why it took so long, but at one point three people were assisting us. With plenty of seats on the plane, they issued us seats together right away which is a bit of a relief.
We then walked across the road to a small clinic where we got our covid tests. They prodded a bit deeper than I was expecting, but not as deep as some other places we have been. By the time we went through security and border control, we had our negative test results. We did a bit of last minute shopping in the small terminal before boarding the LATAM Airbus A319 aka “Short Bus” to Bogota.
Nicole booked a night for us back at the Hilton Garden Inn – Bogota Airport. She found that the price on external websites was significantly cheaper than what Hilton was offering. From experience in acquiring an absurdly underpriced overwater bungalow on Bora Bora, Nicole knew that Hilton price matches. After a quick . . .well no. . .rather lengthy phone call, not only did they price match, but it is their policy to then give an extra percentage off the matched price. This yielded a final price of $34. Nicole was rather pleased with this outcome. These are the benefits of being a Hilton Honors Diamond member.
Our flight entered a holding pattern around some thunderstorms near Bogota before eventually being cleared to land. Compared to last time we were here (a whopping five days ago), the airport seemed significantly more chaotic. Passport Control was less friendly, customs was going by different rules, and the simple act of exiting the airport was a bit of a challenge. By the time we got in a car to go to the hotel, the rain had started coming down quite hard. We checked into our room and had a late dinner in a very crowded lobby. Tuesday night is the night to be out and about apparently.
During this time, it appeared that the direct flight from Bogota to LAX tomorrow is oversold, so we will likely be making another stop before getting home. Either way, with any luck, we should be back home tomorrow night.
passports & pepto bismol 