Ecuador - June 29, 2023

Quito Again!

After a full day of rest, relaxation, and catching up on a whole lot of laundry, the boys and I were ready to get out and about! This is our last week in Quito (we leave next week on Tuesday), so we are trying to hit any places left on our itinerary. 

One place we have passed a hundred times, but had not yet visited was the Vivarium. It is located just a five minute walk from our apartment building. This small museum featured 40 different species of reptiles and amphibians from all around Ecuador. Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside, but we really enjoyed all of the exhibits. Rick's favorite were the different species of pit vipers and David's favorite were the yellow spotted turtles. Many of the animals here were rescued from animal traffickers and we learned a lot about how to keep animals safe and wild! We walked away with a few souveniers to help support their mission!

After we returned home, we picked up Richard and had lunch together at La Tablita. This is one restaurant we have really enjoyed here and it is only about a 10 minute walk to get there!

Today's adventure required a short Uber ride to the Yaku Museo de Agua (Water Museum). This place was so much fun! The mission of this museum is to educate about the importance of water conservation and where Quito gets its supply of water from. There were so many interactive exhibits and a wonderful outdoor area where the kids could splash and walk trails around the property -- which included several gardens! The number one exhibit for both Rick and David were the bubbles, we spent quite a bit of time in this room!

Other rooms in the museum showed us the importance of ground water and also explained the importance of the Amazon rainforest and glaciers in providing water for our planet.

I took a bunch of pictures on the outside patios of the museum. The vistas were incredible. You could see the entire historic center, the basilica, and the panecillo (the large winged statue of the Virgin). 

We closed out our visit with soft serve ice cream (it is actually not vanilla, but helado de queso or cheese ice cream, yum!) and lots of smiles! Rick even spotted a Quinde Herrero hummingbird before we left!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ecuador - June 7, 2023

Image
 Daily Routine As we settle into our temporary home here in Ecuador, the boys and I have fallen into a routine similar to the one we have back home in Colorado. We try to get out of the apartment by 9am, explore either our neighboring park, or venture to a site we all want to see. Then we have lunch, head home, and have a quiet afternoon with rest time, reading, and board games. Here is a typical morning at the playground and getting some delicious watermelon from one of the many vendors in the area. Botanical Gardens Earlier this week, we spent one of our mornings at the Botanical Gardens, which are conveniently located right across the street from our apartment at Carolina Park. It was such a beautiful oasis, we ended up spending nearly two hours exploring all of the different environments! All of us agreed that the carnivorous plants were our favorite, followed by the koi pond and the orchid gardens.  El Panecillo La Virgen de El Panecillo is considered one of the best viewpoints in
Read more

Ecuador - June 26, 2023

Image
 Galapagos! We departed Quito last Friday, June 23rd for the next leg of our adventure: The Galapagos Islands. We did a quick trip and returned today Monday, June 26th, but we were able to pack in a lot of fun along the way! What made this trip extra special was that our friends, Leigh and Brock, were able to join us on this trip. Leigh and I have been friends since our days at SMU and our study abroad in Spain, so meeting up with her and Brock here in Ecuador was so much fun! Quito Leigh and Brock did not arrive in Quito until late in the afternoon the Thursday before we left. That didn't leave a lot of time for touring so we opted for a leisurely walk through Carolina Park and an early dinner at De la Llama . This restaurant had incredible Ecuadorian food. We loved the limonada de coco  (coconut lemonade), traditional green plantain and cheese empanadas, and the shrimp ceviche.  For dessert we indulged in chocolate lava cake and crème brulee, everything was delicious! Isla Baltra
Read more

Ecuador - June 1, 2023

Image
 Settling In We are finding our rhythm as we get to know our neighborhood here in Quito, Ecuador. We did our first big grocery shop and I figured out the washer/dryer combo machine (I have never used a 2 in 1 machine before!) so we are getting into our routine. It is so interesting to see the price difference between items made in the U.S. versus in Ecuador, especially since they use the U.S. dollar as their official currency. For example, the Spiderman toy is just under $50!  Also, David might starve, because we are definitely not buying peanut butter at this price. I just adore the picture below of Richard and the boys walking back to our apartment with our grocery haul. We can walk through Carolina Park on our way to and from the store, which makes for a really nice outing. TelefériQo Tuesday was Richard's last free day before he had to work for the rest of the week. So we made the most of the day by heading up the TeleferiQo , a cable car that took us up over 13,000 feet! I thi
Read more