2 Days in Quito – Lost and Found

Our arrival in Quito was met by Santiago (the taxi driver) with light drizzle and a much cooler than Santiago (the city) 15 degrees. Quito has an odd street numbering system that keeps the locals as confused as the tourists – demonstrated by our driver Santiago having difficulty locating the apartment.

The skies cleared the next morning so we set off for the Teleférico – a chairlift up Mt Pinchincha that towers over Quito to 4100m above sea level. The ride up the mountain was spectacular and with amazing views over the city of Quito from the top, showing the city deep in the valley and winding its way down the valley. Having only just overnighted in Quito and with the additional height of the chairlift, we all had to take it slowly at the top as climbing a few stairs was enough to make you puff – though the views were well worth the effort.

After our descent we got a taxi into the town with ‘Marco’ – and by chance we took his phone number for a trip out of town in 10 days time – this was a very lucky break for Will. After lunch, while gathering our belongings for a trip to the bank, Will realised he was missing his new camera – hmmmm. The options for where the camera was hiding included some 1250 metres up the mountain, the taxi or the lunch venue. Given we had taken Marco’s phone number, we first tried his number – those with experience losing valuables in transit (camera’s included – hey Mum/Margy) will understand we were not hopeful. However, luckily Nat’s Spanish was up to a conversation with Marco over the mobile phone – and sometime later in the afternoon he turned up at our apartment, camera in hand (much to the surprise of our hosts) and he secured himself as our driver for our trips out of Quito next week when we return.

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