March 15 – Word of the Day: Rosa (Rose)
We again had an early morining start at Hacienda Manteles where we enjoyed a really delicious breakfast including a glass of jugo de tomate del arbol or tree tomato juice. It might be my new favorite juice.
That morning we headed to a flower plantation to see all the various kinds of roses that they cultivate and export to different countries. What was most interesting about their roses was that they had no scent since they didn´t allow any insects to pollinate the flowers. Apparently they export most of the flowers to Russia where they care more about the look of them than the smell.
All of the different colors of roses were absolutely gorgeous. The temperature difference inside the green house was stunningly different compared to outside the greenhouses.
After exploring the flower plantation, we were headed back to Quito for a night before continuing on to the Galapagos the next day. On our way back to Quito we stopped for lunch at Hacienda La Cienega which is one of the oldest haciendas in Ecuador, belonging to the descendents of Marques of Maenza. The hacienda has been around since the 17th century and from there you have a great view of Cotopaxi national park and volcano. We enjoyed some Ecuadorian music during lunch too… very relaxing.
We arrived back in Quito late afternoon/early evening and explored the artesan market near our hotel and grabbed a drink/played some cards with a few of the other folks in our tour group. Given that we were headed to the Galapagos the next morning, we spent the evening relaxing and having a few drinks with some of our Canadian friends upstairs in the lounge.
Next Stop: GALAPAGOS!!!! Ahhhhh I can´t wait!
andyoumaysayimadreamer 