January 13 – Back to reality

I slept so soundly that I didn’t even hear Kathleen’s multiple bouts of coughing fits. She was feeling better except for the blasted coughing. Me? Compared to my lethargy and gastrointestinal issues of yesterday, they may as well have never occurred. I felt completely fine.

We were going to leave Cabañas San Isidro today around 1pm for Quito, Ecuador. So, after breakfast we hiked a portion of the Curisetas Trail. We quickly determined the trail was an old road given the width of the path. We later learned we were correct in that the trail use to be a road accessing agriculture fields some distance into the forest. However, this was long ago, and since abandoned.

Kathleen and I walked along stopping to eke out bird and critter sightings. Made some bird observations, but by mid-morning the happenings died down. The rain we had received a couple mornings ago had been replaced by a warm dry steady wind since then. So much for the damp cloud forest environment we were supposed to be hiking.We turned about at the third creek crossing and arrived back at Cabañas San Isidro for lunch. Tortellini and salad. Yum! We packed up our meager belongings and loaded into our chariot. We vowed to return to Cabañas San Isidro as a visit would be a quick week-long trip. Cabañas San Isidro is only two hours from Quito by car – probably 4 by bus.

As our driver pulled off the dirt road on to the highway I suddenly realized that we had been in a whole different world while staying at San Isidro. I mentioned this to Kathleen later and she too, had been shocked back to reality as we began driving down the highway to Quito. We were back in the real world of little shacks alongside the roads; towns full of hustle and bustle; slow moving trucks on the highway; and just throngs of people. Wow! We didn’t realize we had been in such a state while staying in the cloud forest.

Traveling to Quito required crawling over a 13,000-foot pass. Kathleen and I commented to each other that the highway would be fun on our motorcycles. As we neared the pass, our driver . . . I’m horrible with asking, and then remembering their names . . . pulled over and allowed us to snap photos of Volcano Antisana. We marveled at how this stratovolcano just leaps from the surrounding landscape sporting snow and glaciers in the tropics of South America. Perhaps because the dormant volcano is over 17,200-feet.

Shortly after topping the pass we were arriving in Quito. The Hotel Sebastian was recommended to us so the driver pulled up to a modest multi-story building. Kathleen and I noticed we were only a few blocks from where we stayed the first time we came to Quito. The cost per night was a little high, however, we just didn’t feel like hustling about the city looking for a hostal. Besides, the young lady behind the counter put us in a suite for the cost of a regular room - $75. Why not?We settled into our room and headed out to find the Crepes and Waffles restaurant Kathleen noted in the guide book. We liked the huge salad we had at the C & W in the Bogota airport. We wanted another.

After each polishing off an Ensalada Portofino and a café milkshake at the Crepes and Waffles we walked back to our room. The last time we were in Quito was just before Christmas and the hustle and bustle was in high gear. Now, the streets were fairly active but not near the degree as before.

We ended our night with Kathleen watching TV and, me . . . yup, writing blog updates and processing photos.