We thought that breakfast at the Sheraton was included with our room, but with the language issue, we weren’t certain. In any case, breakfast was an excellent buffet with many South American items as well as a few US favorites such as waffles. There was a large selection of fresh fruit juices, many fresh tropical fruits, breads, meats and pastries.
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| Golden Angel's Trumpet |
We visited the Jardín Botánico De Quito, the national botanical garden. It contained a great variety of plants throughout the large garden, and most were clearly labeled with scientific name, botanical family, country of origin and common name in Spanish. 
We especially enjoyed the cactus and succulent area with plants from all over the world. A display of bonsai trees showcased winning displays from a recent competition. A specialty of the Quito botanical garden are the orchids from Ecuador’s tropical rain forests.
While we were at the botanical gardens, we saw a number of birds that were unfamiliar to us. We were especially taken with the many hummingbirds in the area. There were very few other visitors at the botanical garden while we were there. However, being an overcast Wednesday morning, we didn’t expect it to be crowded. We enjoyed our visit to the area very much and left around 1:30 to find a place for a light lunch.
Mary and Cindy spotted Panificadora Ambato, a local bakery. We all got empanadas, flaky bread with chicken or beef filling and shared desserts. The bill for Mary and I was $8, and the Whittington’s bill was about the same. We all enjoyed the lunch the came back to the Sheraton to relax. We were all tired from rushing around on Monday to make an early departure plus spending the previous day in airports or on planes. In addition, none of us are adjusted to the altitude here of nearly 10,000 feet. A midafternoon break was welcome for all of us.
While Mary finished resting and exercising, I went for a walk between the park and hotel. I checked for possible places to eat and got an overall view of this part of the city. Quito is a large city with nearly three million residents, but we are only seeing a small part of it. We understand that we will have a tour of the city on Friday with the Road Scholar group.
We met with Mark and Cindy in the lobby at 6 pm and walked the path I explored this afternoon. We decided to try Chalaca, a Peruvian restaurant. Our waitress could speak English better than most people we have met here in Quito and was very helpful. We started with a shared appetizer of chicken, shrimp, and fish. The waitress also brought a very hot sauce with a name that translates to an unmentionable word in English. She also recommended a local white wine which was a good accompaniment to our meal. I ordered taco-taco con saltado with chicken which is Peruvian beans and rice with stir fried chicken and a light sauce. Mary had chanchito criollo which was whipped sweet potatoes topped with pork in a slightly sweet sauce. Cindy had corvina al escabeche, sea bass with a relish of yellow chili pepper, onions and aji panca. Mark went with the lomito saltado en su jugo, Peruvian stir-fried pork tenderloin with fried potatoes. We all enjoyed our meals and were pleased that the entire meal cost less than $80.
By the time we finished eating, it was after 8 pm so we came back to the Quito Sheraton for the night. For tomorrow, we booked a tour to the Mindo Cloud Forest, on the western slope of the Andes, with a departure time of 7:15 am to meet our naturalist guide.
While Mary finished resting and exercising, I went for a walk between the park and hotel. I checked for possible places to eat and got an overall view of this part of the city. Quito is a large city with nearly three million residents, but we are only seeing a small part of it. We understand that we will have a tour of the city on Friday with the Road Scholar group.
We met with Mark and Cindy in the lobby at 6 pm and walked the path I explored this afternoon. We decided to try Chalaca, a Peruvian restaurant. Our waitress could speak English better than most people we have met here in Quito and was very helpful. We started with a shared appetizer of chicken, shrimp, and fish. The waitress also brought a very hot sauce with a name that translates to an unmentionable word in English. She also recommended a local white wine which was a good accompaniment to our meal. I ordered taco-taco con saltado with chicken which is Peruvian beans and rice with stir fried chicken and a light sauce. Mary had chanchito criollo which was whipped sweet potatoes topped with pork in a slightly sweet sauce. Cindy had corvina al escabeche, sea bass with a relish of yellow chili pepper, onions and aji panca. Mark went with the lomito saltado en su jugo, Peruvian stir-fried pork tenderloin with fried potatoes. We all enjoyed our meals and were pleased that the entire meal cost less than $80.
By the time we finished eating, it was after 8 pm so we came back to the Quito Sheraton for the night. For tomorrow, we booked a tour to the Mindo Cloud Forest, on the western slope of the Andes, with a departure time of 7:15 am to meet our naturalist guide.
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