Off to Ecuador

The star attraction of our 2022 Holiday trip was Glamping on Santa Cruz Island at the Galapagos Safari Camp. This gave us a fine way to enjoy the renowned fauna and flora without overnight shipboard stays. We followed this up with a stay at the Lodge in the Mashpi Cloud Forest. Both places offer a menu of activities so we were usually up at 6 and heading back to bed (exhausted) by 9.  We booked things a bit late which resulted in having only one travel day between the two lodges. This added to the exhaustion, but it worked out.

We flew out of Terminal 2 of the Mexico City airport for a change and had our first stay at the NH Hotel located above the terminal, quite a pleasant experience. We had an after dinner glass of wine at the bar at the NH and were quite pleased with the offerings. Next trip we will try their restaurant, which  appears to be the best restaurant in Terminal 2. Our drive to the airport entailed little waiting even at the toll booths.

We had a mid-morning flight to  Panama City and then on to Quito. Pat caught a shot of ships exiting or waiting to enter the canal on our departure from Panama City airport.

All went very well with our Copa Airlines premium class flights and we arrived quite rested. After a short wait for our checked bag we were transferred to the Illa Experience Hotel in Old Town Quito. They served a welcome cocktail with wine and fruit, (we were not on our game and therefore no photos).

Dinner was a real treat with some great food and a chat with the owner and the chef who we learned trained under the renowned Basque chef, Juan Mari Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain.

We enjoyed our first Ecuadorean wine, a quite fine cabernet sauvignon from the Dos Hemisferios winery. It is the most noted winery in Ecuador. The appetizer (banana crepe served in a soup spoon) was delightful. For mains Pat had Lomo Silvestre (beef loin and anticucho veal heart, with chimichurri and mashed white carrots). The strips of heart, seasoned with chili pepper and cooked on a brochette were served on a tiny clothes line (perhaps we should say "heartline"). Bill had Cerdo con Naranja (Pork with orange) served with pancetta, Andean potatoes and chicha (a local fermented corn brew). The dessert (Viaje del cacao / Cocoa journey) consisted of chocolate mousse rock, cocoa biscuit with banana vinegar, with sweet corn cream and a netting of caramelized corn. Intriguing and tasty. We closed out the meal with  a sip of Pamplonica Pacharán Navarro, a liqueur from Pamplona Spain.

After a good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast we headed for the Plaza Grande. After wandering around the Square and visiting two churches and a convent (La Compañía de Jesús church, San Francisco Bascilica and Convent).

The Compañía church is considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Baroque (think extremely ornate) architecture in South America. The outside is nice and the gold entry doors are especially nice, giving a hint of what is to come. Inside La Compañía de Jesús church is primarily decorated with carved cedar wood covered with 23-carat gold leaf on a red background.

Unfortunately pictures are no longer allowed so we had to borrow a couple from Atlas Obscura and Expedia. A feature of baroque is balanced design. Consequently since there is a spiral staircase at the left of the entry door, there is a painted replica to the right of the door.

The 16th C San Francisco Monastery complex includes the main basilica, a convent, thirteen cloisters, three temples, a massive courtyard, more than 3500 works of art and a brewery. The basilica is decorated with lots of gold leaf in the main sanctuary but, having been built earlier than the Compañía, it displays a more modest amount of gold leaf. The Jesuits came late to Quito and apparently felt compelled to show off. On a return trip (this time with our guide) we discovered the catacombs, now occupied by a store featuring regional arts and crafts. 

We headed back toward our hotel and planned a stop at the Muñoz Mariño Watercolor  Museum. Sadly the museum was closed (they seemed to be working on a new exhibit) but we had an enjoyable lunch at La Purísima of Ossobucco and Roasted Cauliflower with an Argentinian wine. We also got samples of several liquers. The dessert, Good Thursday Black Tart, was quite special. They are proud enough of it to provide the, somewhat complicated, recipe in the menu.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reworking our luggage so we could leave one bag behind for our trip to the Galapagos Safari Camp. We enjoyed another dinner at Illa. This time we shared Brujo encocado, a fish from around the Galapagos, on coconut sauce, rice and caramelized coconut) and paired it with Morande Enigma, their Estate Reserve Chardonnay. Very fine.