Back In Quito

Today I retraced my steps and returned to Quito. Instead of camaraderie and adventure, this time it was a 40-minute flight in a plane with many Americans, on an airline where, according to the on-board announcement, “everyone is giving their everything,” which probably isn’t a bad way to live.

I’ve been up since 5:00 am, so my first stop in Quito was here to pick up a coffee and what passes for a croissant in South America.

 

But I declined this option.

For tomorrow, my original plan was to take the teleférico (cable car) up the mountain above Quito and then hike to the top, which takes a couple of hours. But a few days ago, it had a "mechanical issue" and suddenly stopped running, which resulted in people hanging in mid-air for up to 10 hours depending on where they were because while Quito was very good at getting people on and off the teleférico at the ends, it had never thought about how to get people off  from the middle. As a result, the city wisely decided to keep it closed until it figured out exactly what went wrong and what a workable rescue plan might look like.

Due to a quirk in the airline schedules, I have slightly more than two days here. On the way from the airport, the taxi driver advised me to be sure I only ever take licensed taxis in Quito. He said that in recent years, two separate foreigners took private taxis and were never heard from again. When I was in the park having coffee and eating a croissant this morning, a policeman walked up to me, welcomed me to Quito and advised me never to stop to talk to any local who approaches me and that if I ever have a question about anything, to make sure to only ask someone with a Policia insignia on his/her sleeve. And yesterday, someone told me to never, ever use an ATM unless it is in, or attached to, a bank building. It’s just great that so many people here want me to have a good time!