Riobamba Region

We left Quito on Wednesday morning. En route, we stopped at a convenience store. Outside, there was a man selling tourist goods, like "alpaca" sweaters. My students found another stray dog to cuddle with.

For lunch, we stopped at a restaurant in an area called Palacio Real, named such because Simon Bolivar spent one night there and declared that he had been treated like royalty. We were served a very good quinoa soup and llama. Later, we found out that eating both quinoa and llama is very rare in Ecuador.

Atanah with tree tomato, our dessert

One of the cooks was named Trinidad. She took us on a nature walk around the restaurant. We learned about the plants and the history of the area. I recall one plant in particular - zigzi. It is used for knitting, cutting umbilical  chords, and curing myriad skin ailments.

Everyone was very excited to guide Manuelita, a baby llama, on our nature walk.

Our guide, Trinidad

Riobamba plaza

A shopping find in Riobamba

We only had a little bit of time in the city of Riobamba before heading a little ways out of town for our hotel. We split into groups for students to get a little bit of shopping and plaza time.

Nighttime view from our hotel roof