Ecuador 🇪🇨 from a lofty height

This morning I read in the travel guide that on Mondays at 11:00 AM on Plaza Grande there is always a changing of the presidential guards with a horse parade. Wow, we didn't want to miss that and we were able to combine it perfectly with the Rucu Pichincha mountain.

The weather was great and off we went. We called a taxi that took us to the old town. The driver was nice and showed us sights along the way. When we arrived in the old town, we got stuck in traffic. Next to us was a vendor stand with ice cream, or so we thought. I have to describe this in more detail. There were two saleswomen in front of the store holding two ice cream cones. Daniela said to the driver, the ice cream must melt in this weather. He said to us, that's not ice cream! Hm, it looks like ice cream, what else could it be? In no time, he had ordered one of those treats for us. The saleswoman handed me a cup of the 'Not-Ice Cream' inside the car. We tried it and it was actually not ice cream, but rather a stiff cream made from egg white or something like that. It was super sweet and I let Daniela have the pleasure of eating that sticky sweet stuff. But she didn't want it either and the driver was very proud, constantly looking in the rearview mirror to see if she was eating it....funny. I told her to eat it slowly and only a little bit, we'll dispose of it soon. It's actually a shame, but the stuff was really too sweet. Our driver dropped us off at Plaza Grande and we walked around the presidential palace. Suddenly the horses were tied up there, or so we thought. We stood in front of the palace and wanted to wait there. Hm, somehow strange, why weren't there any crowds of people who wanted to see this spectacle too. I said to Daniela, go ask the guard if the horse parade passes by here! Daniela came back to me and said, the parade was today already! It was at 8:30 AM and it's only at 11:00 AM every first Monday of the month. Wow, what a mess, but the travel guide didn't say that. I was a little disappointed :-(.
Well, after the non-existent horse parade, we drove to the cable car station of the Rucu Pichincha mountain. After getting our tickets, we were already sitting in the cable car going up. The ride took about 15 minutes. The view from the cable car was already amazing and when we arrived at the top, there were several viewpoints that we could walk to, to enjoy the incredible view. The final stop Cruz Loma was at an altitude of 3,945 meters and we walked a bit further up. Along the way, we stopped and enjoyed this stunning view in all directions. Unfortunately, clouds started to move in, occasionally obscuring the view of the Andes, but that didn't change our good mood. It got even better on the way up: two swings. Both were so close to the edge and swinging on them gave you the feeling of flying over Quito.
We walked up to the last viewpoint, where we were at an altitude of 4,026 meters! It was amazing, I can only say that, and the panoramic view was overwhelming. We actually didn't want to go down anymore, but we still had a walk all the way down. At the mountain station, I asked for directions for hikers. The answer was also crappy :-)! There is no such thing anymore, now the MB bikers ride down. Wait, what? And we. Yes, you take the cable car and ride it down, that's also much safer. Daniela and I looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. It was actually good like this, because even just the short walk to the last viewpoint was exhausting due to the incredible altitude. We took one of the next cable cars down and since we still had enough time and the weather was nice again in Quito, we went to the Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden is known for its orchids and its Japanese garden with a bonsai exhibition. We could admire two large greenhouses with numerous different orchids. I especially liked the Dracula Orchid. Its flower looks really spooky. Just before the exit, there is the bonsai exhibition, which is set up with so much love, we were truly amazed. Some of these cute little bonsai trees had awards hanging from their trunks and cameras ensured their safety! After visiting the Botanical Garden, we returned to the hotel, where we are currently planning our journey to Papallacta. We will continue the trip tomorrow by bus. Well, we are excited. Good night and greetings from us in Quito.