Our last day in Ecuador

 

We left our AirBnB after a very satisfactory breakfast with a clear, fast and smooth run to Quito. The road was duel carriageway for most of the 153km and took us by Cotopaxi volcano, the largest of a neckless of volcanos that surrounded us. Reaching a height of 5897m Cotopaxi is amongst the highest active volcanoes in the world

 

The road at the end of our drive took us straight onto the pan-American highway and soon we hit the excellent duel carriageway all three cars purred along like kittens. This was indeed a pleasant surprise since the previous evening, by the time we eventually found our AirBnB, all three cars were sounding like a bag of nails. Cleaned spark plugs seem to have made all the difference and in Nigel’s case cleaning his carburettors. Unfortunately, under the omnipresent gaze of Cotopaxi, Nigel smelt an overpowering smell of petrol and had to pull over. One of the carburettors was pouring petrol out. On  the road side a rapid dismantling, cleaning and reassembling of the faulty carburettor soon fixed the problem and we were off once again.

 

Chris had joined the repair late on and whilst he came to advise, Barbara remained in the Rolls. She was approached by Edgar who had worked in Pizza Hut, Croydon, for 12 years only returning to Ecuador to look after his parents during the Covid outbreak. Edgar provided a very different perspective to the one all of us have gleaned during our time in the fantastic country. Edgar told a sorry tale of a country struggling to recover from Covid and the savage lockdowns that were forced upon the population. Many businesses have never reopened, many people are finding it difficult to find work, there is a huge influx of Venezuelan refugees and the cartels have taken over much of the tourist areas, particularly on the beach resorts. It is always so instructive to get the local perspective, the reality of how a country really lives.

 

Quito is huge city situated across a number of very high hills. We passed through on the pan-American highway and as far as passing through a major city is concerned it couldn’t have been easier.

 

A few miles beyond Quito we visited the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo which is a plot of land which contains the Monument to the Equator. It’s a bit of a tourist trap and marks the exact line of the equator. We took our mandatory photographs, had a delicious cup of coffee, lunch and then, to celebrate such a moment all purchased new, and rather magnificent, hats.

 

Our AirBnB was a Hacienda just outside Tabacundo which seems to be the centre for growing flowers with mile after mile of polytunnels churning out cut flowers. Didier cooked us a delicious roast chick and the fire was lit. It was an excellent stop