So after visiting Uncle Ho for the damn finest food I`d had in South America - glazed garlic pork skewers on a grapefruit and coriander salad - I rocked in to the nearest hospital to get looked at by no less than 5 different medical staff before being jabbed with the first of my series of rabies shots. Afterwards I tracked down a great 24hr (!) coffee shop to ease my pain at the loss of Jesus. Its surprising how few properly trained barristas there are here. Then being St. Patrick`s Day I had a green and white Yin-Yang painted onto my face and we went to messy Finn McCool`s to celebrate the Irishness of it all.
The Mariscal Sucre area is ultra-touristy with tour agencies, restaurants, clubs, bars, cafes, backpacker/adventure shops, drug dealers and a bad reputation for crime, which we were assured by our hostel staff had improved greatly recently. It certainly appeared a tightly secured area with rent-a-cops and security everywhere, along with regular police. Although as I found out on-line later this is not necessarily a guarantee of protection in the event of a crime.
The evening at Finn`s was a predictably boring experience of trying to avoid alcohol, absorbing cigarette smoke and enduring Oasis singalongs. But fun enough to be in the company of my travelmates. :) Guiness was $14 a can. In comparison a pint of local pig-swill would set you back $2.50 (expensive even then). I rose the next morning and found a well-kept local park to exercise in, unlike in Bogota where I found none. I returned to my overcrowded dorm room at Blue House hostel which seemed full of cokeheads, chimneys and piss pots, none of which seemed to bother the staff. Oh well.
That day and the following I spent in Mariscal sampling amazingly good and cheap food. A perfect cappuchino and lush `Chocolate Volcano` dessert... $9? No, $4. A yummy real mince burger with bacon and self-serve gourmet sauces... $7? No, $2. A fresh garden salad, coconut chicken with veg and rice, a raspberry juice drink, and fresh fruit salad... $20? No, $3.80.
I found out the rainforest revegetation and nursery project I had been lining up as a several month live-and-work project was indefinitely on-hold. Bugger. I was really looking forward to it too. Oh well. I also hung out with Sister (pronounced Zyster) and Maria from Germany who together with the Brits formed a ruthless quintet of female techno-dislikers. I didn`t like any of them anyway. I took Maria who was staying in Latin America for about a year to join the South American Explorers clubhouse, a beautiful colonial mansion with a ton of resources for researching travel in this great continent. There I tasted great Ecuadorian chocolate. If Colombia has the world`s best coffee then ditto Ecuador/chocolate.
I transferred to my new and essentially deserted hotel in the Richie Rich part of town, paying a bit more per night but having my own room and lots of quietude. Later I said farewell to Claire, Abi and Hannah, of whom the latter 2 were heading off for a jungle adventure for a few days. The next day I returned to the Explorers Club to research hikes and look at volunteer opportunities. There the idea of a volunteer `tour` of Ecuador formed in my head. To spend a month or so at 5 or so different volunteer places around the country, probably spending more than I`d wish but (hopefully) not getting bored either.
On Sunday with the Americans Laura (whom I`d me at the Cranky Croc) and Daniel I explored the renowned Old Town of Quito, the gorgeous and expansive colonial centre with ancient gold-laden churches, impressive cobblestone squares and the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a tall gothic cathedral you can climb to experience fantastic views of the city. While there we saw this baby-clothes store, who (rightly so too) decided to enhance their display window with these Chucky and Jason the 13th dolls. And that guy`s jeans.
For the next day with Laura and Amri and Adi the Israeli brothers we decided to set out to Baños, probably the most touristiest place in mainland Ecuador.
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