The past two days have felt like a lifetime. Never ever before, have I ever, have had such a jam-packed 48 hours.
Day 3 of Quito started with a beautiful awakening. Despite the early mornings and long days, some of the other fellow Plus3 travelers and myself decided to wake up extra early to catch our last sunrise in the city and grab a refreshing cup of coffee. After the lovely sunrise, we left the hotel and wandered in search of a coffee shop, or cafetería. We were pretty shocked to find that despite what seemed to be many Ecuadorians up and early, out and about, there were not many things open, especially many of the coffee shops we had seen immediately surrounding our hotel. However, uphill a few blocks away, we found a quaint little place called Un Buen Café. And buen was the café! We all ordered cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and were surprised to see the concentration of the coffee. It seemed even thicker and stronger than a typical espresso that I may find in the United States, yet the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the coffee make it quite one of the best coffee cups I’ve ever had.
One thing that I’ve observed is how nice and welcoming all of the Ecuadorian locals are, especially to us travelers. At every place we’ve stopped, been, explored, they’ve been the most caring and happy persons I’ve seen. Lots of smiles, welcomes, and friendliness! Despite the potential language barriers, I have never felt so cared for yet these were people we had never met. At Un Buen Café, when we had asked for sugar, the lady showed us three different types of sugar that she had and explained the differences between them all.
After breakfast back at the hotel, we departed for the Iyarina lodge about four hours away from Quito. On the way, we had two stops: the Termas Papallacta hot springs pools and the Cloud Forest. Beautiful places, but even more beautiful were the people that we had met. At the pools, we met a man named Juan. He was from Ecuador but went to college in Kentucky and currently lives in Tennessee. We had a long and lengthy conversation about his life, his goals, his experiences, and what he hopes to accomplish to improve the Ecuadorian community that he grew up in. Outside of the Cloud Forest entrance, there was a stand selling empanadas and coffee. Not only were the empanadas absolutely delicious and the coffee quite actually being the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had (I will be so upset when I come back to the United States and my Dunkin’ tastes like the Monongahela River!), but the locals working the stand were so kind and lovely. They were located by what seemed to be a major highway and every car and truck that drove by honked and waved hello! And this continued to be a common occurrence. Lots of waving and honking in all different kinds of places! They seemed very excited to see us visiting and I’m glad to have shared some awesome experiences with many of the people here.
And all of this occurred on Day 3. Day 4 was jam-packed with hikes, excursions, chocolate tasting, and various beautiful delicious meals prepared at the Iyarina Lodge. I can’t wait to talk more about the beauty of the lodge, but for now, I’ve been absolutely enamored with the sense of community and openness I’ve witnessed here in Ecuador. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading on a long canoe ride to another part of the Amazon where we’ll be interacting with some of the local Indigenous people and culture. Hasta luego!