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Catching the Light Rail to the airport, leaving behind a fresh blanket of snow.
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Arriving at Hacienda La Jimenita in Quito Equador.
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Hacienda La Jimenita was once a farm that has been converted to a hotel. The architecture is that of the original farm houses and buildings.
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Our room.
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The former farm still supports fruit orchards and vegetables. This is "banana passion fruit".
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The grounds now hold a nature walk through a high tropics botanical sanctuary.
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There is also a small herd of alpaca.
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The hotel staff provided a basket of carrots for Poldi to feed them.
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The hotel verandas were visited by many hummingbirds.
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We arrange transport to old Quito, a UN World Heritage site and spend the afternoon visiting basilicas, iglesias, and old architecture.
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One of dozens of such stained glass windows lining the basilica.
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Poldi prepares to venture out into the rain. We got soaked anyway.
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We took refuge at this cafe associated with the assassination of president Moreno (1875). His body was found 100 years later behind a wall of the former monastery where this cafe now resides.
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The view from Iglesia St Francisco, an ornate Baroque church with gilt everywhere, but which is considered plain compared to a nearby Jesuit example of "peak Baroque".
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A sculpture anticipating what we will be seeing in the next week.
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We stayed in Old Quito until dark and watched the city transform to host a festival celebrating its 400th year.
