Catching the Light Rail to the airport, leaving behind a fresh blanket of snow.
Arriving at Hacienda La Jimenita in Quito Equador.
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.
Our room.
The former farm still supports fruit orchards and vegetables. This is "banana passion fruit".
The grounds now hold a nature walk through a high tropics botanical sanctuary.
There is also a small herd of alpaca.
The hotel staff provided a basket of carrots for Poldi to feed them.
The hotel verandas were visited by many hummingbirds.
We arrange transport to old Quito, a UN World Heritage site and spend the afternoon visiting basilicas, iglesias, and old architecture.
One of dozens of such stained glass windows lining the basilica.
Poldi prepares to venture out into the rain. We got soaked anyway.
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.
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".
A sculpture anticipating what we will be seeing in the next week.
We stayed in Old Quito until dark and watched the city transform to host a festival celebrating its 400th year.
