La Ronda Condo Adventure

(L to R: On the balcony of the La Ronda condo with El Panecillo in the background. A five minute walk up Morales brings you to this plaza and an even more amazing view of the monument.)

I had a wonderful time staying at Liliya and Leo’s La Ronda outpost.

It is magnificently situated with a vertiginous balcony overlooking cobblestone streets with the statue of El Panecillo in the near distance.

Readers should know that this handsome, two bedroom Quito unit is available for rental. At the time of this writing, the condo is miraculously available for the peak season (from May 18, 2012 throughout the summer.)  

Frequency Hopper readers who book Liliya and Leo’s La Ronda condo can receive a $25/mo discount!

Bear and I greatly enjoyed our comfortable Queen size bed.

This may not seem like a lot of cash, but as your dollar goes further in Quito, $25 will get you to any of the nation’s borders on a bus AND pay for your snacks!

You can contact the owners and see more pics here.

There are all sorts of other money-saving reasons to use Quito as a base.

Flights to Guayaquil, where all Galapagos Islands cruises board, are about $200 round trip if you pay cash for a local airline instead of booking credit card style with a provider in your home country. (The savings over a flight booked directly to GYE from SFO was around $100 to $150 per person.) 

The only way you can do this is if you are on the ground in Loja or Quito.

Also, from Quito one can more readily book or build day trips to the makets of Otavalo, the natural beauty of Peguche/Lago San Pablo, the not-in-Lonely-Planet adventures of Mindo’s cloud forest, and the hot springs resort of Papallacta.  Again, you MUST be paying with cash. 

A table in the living room area where I set up my writing desk. 

I favored Liliya and Leo's condo over a number of comparable units primarily due to it's location. I had the opportunity to stay in New Town, but the vibe isn't at all the same.

Once one is on the ground in Old Town, bakeries, fruit stands, and family run restaurants are all about. One of the best adventures is finding your favorites. 

There are numerous activities within a quick walk. It is difficult to think of a European capital with so many cathedrals of architectural and historic interest in such close proximity to one another.

The Changing of the Guard at the Plaza Grande is a must-see every Monday at 11 am.  I was fortunate enough to book the first part of  Holy Week and got treated to a street carnival on Palm Sunday.

(L to R: The archway to La Ronda just West of the condo. Yours Truly with my traveling companion Iona outside the condo after Palm Sunday festivities.)

Weekend nights, one hardly needs to venture into La Mariscal (aka “Gringolandia” in local parlance) for entertainment. Andean music, street vendors, and artists populate Morales Street.

When one does elect to explore, the inexpensive transit lines are all nearby. Taxi drivers always know Plaza Cummanda for fetching and dropping off.

I had a guest for two of my four weeks here. We enjoyed cooking meals in the clean, serviceable kitchen and posting details of our adventures online using the secure wireless internet. It was lovely to have a washing machine on site, also, for when we came back wet or muddy.

(L to R: The condo's lovely bath. Liliya's "welcome kit" for renters features dish and laundy soap, spare lightbulbs, paper products, and tea things.)

Liliya has a philosophical attitude about the distractions and annoyances of Quito. I found her wisdom and experience to be a generous bonus.

She and Leo clean the place top to bottom between tenants. In fact, the day I left, they put every piece of fabric in plastic bags and washed it.

I can’t wait to return to Quito for another writing retreat and expect to use it as a weigh-station for future travel in South America.

Old Town Quito Adventure

Mounted swordsman preparing for the weekly Changing of the Guard.

The first thing I notice hiking around hilly Old Town Quito is that everyone has a dog.

Most are big dogs. Most will not be attending obedience school.

The dogs in Old Town bark all day and all night at car alarms, ambulances, and, of course, the barking of other dogs.

The neighborhood of La Ronda was home to poets and other artists during the Modern period.

These dogs are generally working as guardians. They are well fed and attended. The social function of companion animals is just different for Quiteños than what U.S. citizens are used to.

The second thing I notice is lots of police.

There are two or three uniformed officers at every plaza or major intersection.

On the balcony of the apartment where I am staying in La Ronda.

Another surprising fixture downtown: men wandering about selling coca leaf tea.

You cannot find matte de coca tea at the two chain grocery stores in Old Town, but it is entirely legal to purchase and enjoy throughout South America.

It is touted as a cure for altitude sickness. Quito is 2850 meters above sea level. 

To put that into perspective,  Denver, in my home state of Colorado, is 1609 meters above sea level! 

A statue of the Virgin Mary watches over Old Town from El Panecillo.

Things commonly found in abundance in Spanish Colonial capitols are exceptionally well preserved and functional in Quito's Old Town. 

The architectural influence is deep: Stone churches, elaborately carved wooden doors, red tile roofs.

One of Old Town's many churches (San Augustin) which mix local and Spanish elements.

Nearly every available archway or shelter is occupied by a "tienda" or little store. Baked goods, produce, yarns, and durable items are all sold in different tiendas.

There are scads of endearing lunch places, typically run by families. They are affordable, and filled with locals.

I don’t know how the Quiteños decide!

Yours Truly in Plaza Grande for the Changing of the Guard

The big event weekly in Old Town is The Changing of the Guard on Monday mornings at 11 am.

Unlike similar ceremonies in other world capitols, the President of Ecuador is regularly present for the event, waving from the long balcony at the top of the Presidential Palace.

In addition to swordsmen on horseback and pikemen, a marching band plays the national anthem and a choir of schoolboys sings along.

It is a tribute to the people of Ecuador that other nations regard it as stable even though it has had a major domestic war in the last 25 years and an awkward coup attempt as recently as 2010. 

With all the upheaval in Ecuador's history, the regulating contribution of an event like this to the national psyche is estimable!