Quito, Ecuador - Day 5

Friday, March 11

Friday was our last day in Quito. Andi suggested we go out for breakfast at a restaurant called La Bakery that was highly rated on Yelp. The place had great reviews, but as soon as our food arrived we realized why it did— it was a very “American” breakfast with eggs, hash browns and big American cups of coffee. It seems like the only people that write reviews in Ecuador are tourists and all real, authentic restaurants where locals eat at aren’t rated at all.

After breakfast, the four of us took an Uber back to the La Mariscal shopping area to pick up some souvenirs. Andi has been jonesing for an Ecuadorian sweater, and he also wanted to buy alpaca blankets for his mom & sister.

Visiting the market first-thing in the morning is the way to go — we had the place to ourselves when we arrived at 9:00am. All the vendors were standing at attention waiting for customers, and they were more than happy when Andi walked through the aisles. He stopped at every one, looking at all the blankets, sweaters, scarves and hats. Tory and Aden wanted stuffed guinea pigs and used their own money to buy them.

Afterwards, we went back to our airbnb to pack our bags. I couldn’t believe it was time to leave Ecuador! This trip has been so amazing.

Before heading to the airport, we met a local artist in La Floresta neighborhood for a graffiti art tour. It was really interesting! I’d read about all the murals painted on buildings in this area and we’d tried to find them on our own a few days prior, but didn’t have any success. This artist knew where so many of the murals were, and all the backstories of the artists who painted them.

The tour guide also took us to the flagship Pacari chocolate store also located in La Floresta neighborhood. We tasted some of their more unique chocolate varieties like cardamon and passion fruit. Andi purchased several bars of chocolate to take home with us.

Our guide also took us to an artisan craft market in the neighborhood where we purchased a handmade doll for Andi’s new niece and some local coffee beans.

Of course it was the one time we adventured around Quito without our sweatshirts and rain coats & it was cold! After two hours wandering around the streets of La Floresta neighborhood, I was ready to go inside and get something warm to drink. Andi and I decided to eat at a restaurant called Warmi. It was the cutest place! They offered us alpaca blankets to wear at our table. The open-air was a little chilly on this cold, dreary day.

Andi ordered a fish and coconut dish for his meal that he said was out of this world!

After we ate, it was time to head back to our airbnb, get our bags, and head to the airport. All the flights from Ecuador to the USA are overnight, so we had to leave for the the Quito airport around 8:00pm. It took two hours to drive there — traffic was terrible in the city on a Friday night!

Once we got to the airport, we had to go to the airport travel clinic to take COVID antigen tests. The USA still requires all travelers to have a negative test within 24 hours of arrival. It couldn’t have been easier to take the tests at the Quito airport — 45 minutes later, we had our results and were able to check into the airport for our flights.

The worst part of our airport travel clinic experience was when Aden locked himself in the bathroom. Andi, Tory and I stood outside the waiting room area for 20 minutes waiting for Aden to get done in the bathroom. Finally I went to check on him and the poor guy was crying & yelling for us. He was locked inside the single stall bathroom! I could not get the door open, so I had to go get an employee to wiggle the door handle until it opened.

The remainder of our travel experience from Quito to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Minneapolis was smooth sailing. We tried our best to get some sleep on the 5-hour overnight flight. By 9:00am Saturday morning, we were back on USA soil and in route back home in Wisconsin.

I can’t say enough good things about Ecuador — the people, the food, the geography — it was all amazing! We will forever hold this special country in our hearts.