Carolina Park

It was Sunday afternoon and I had not been for a ride for days...was feeling lazy and decided to go for a quick ride in Carolina Park before sun down. The park is looking rather nice and the bike routes are great!  The remodeling is on its way!

 Love just hanging out near water even though its an artificial greenish lagoon it's refreshing to be around it. It was fun to go in the "olla" old skate and bike park and see the new skate park that was built less than a year ago. Looks great. Was able to take some nice pics.. Nice ride !

The NEW Carolina

This is a remodeled area of the Carolina park, you can see the new paths. Looking Nice!

La "Olla"

This is the "Olla", I was a little hesitant about going in but its looking good, a little littered and tons of Graffitti, but its been there for years. I remember going there back in the day when I was an avid rollerblader. The Bike people would call us "Rollers" and would always want us out of "their" park. When I went there on Sunday there was no one there really... just some girls rollerblading with their mother. Most of the skaters and bikers are congragating at the new bike park, which is looking quite pimp.

Laguna Carolina Park

I love the Laguna at the Carolina Park. Im glad I was able to get this picture. I think the short time before sunset is the most magical time of the day in Quito. You get a strange weird light which illuminates everything in a beautiful manner. 

Its really fun to go on the little row boats, but I chose to circle around the lagoon and just catch some nice views, a beautiful sunset and just a sense of tranquility in the midst of the city.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

El Churo de la Alameda

On my way back from the Historic Center and Corvinas de Don Jimmy (post 1-2), I decided to make my way through the Alameda Park. A lot of people say that Quito is getting more dangerous by the minute, but I dont agree. Back in the day when I was graduating from High School (1998) I would have never in a million years tried to go to the Historic center on my bike (it wouldve been stolen as soon as I set foot there) or worse go to the Mercado Central (like I said in post #2 you do have to be extra careful and have your spidey sense on high). But what takes the cake is my ride through the Alameda park and up to El Churo. 

Why you might ask? 

Well, I remember the Churo quite fondly since when we had to do something in that part of town my mom and I would go up to El Churo and take in some great views of the city. This was a tradition we had and I really liked it. But alas, everything changes and the Alameda Park became a beacon and a restpoint for burglars, thieves, drunks, etc. It was no longer advisable to go up El Churo since on the way down you could get robbed blind. And on top of all this nonsense, the park became heavily loitered and a restroom for all the aforementioned. Instead of remembering this park and El Churo fondly I used to get flashbacks of being disgusted and frightened from what me and my mom saw the last time we tried to go there. 

So I entered the park a little overzealous but determined to cross it as quickly as possible. But to my surprise....it was lovely. The artificial lake is looking great with countless people renting small paddle boats to sail across it. There are some really cool fountains and people hanging out having picnics, ice-cream or just walking around the park with their family. BEAUTIFUL! 

And then I saw it.... EL CHURO. I do have to say that it was bigger in my mind but it still has that   je ne sais quoi that makes it very attractive. I went all the way up carrying my bike with me and took in some great sights of Quito. 

You can take some selfies at the top.. I did! 

Chaquiñan Like a Boss!

I have been trying to do the Chaquiñan bike route for quite a while now. How long is quite a while?

Well, ever since it started being built. I lived all of my childhood in Cumbaya, before it was CumbaYork or whatever they are calling it now. There used to be very few houses, a very old looking and gloomy town and a lot of construction sites, empty lots, creeks, two rivers, a reservoir, and a  ritzy country club  for me and my friends to explore, This was probably the best time of my life, a lot of people dont look back fondly on their childhood but I do, I loved it, and miss it everyday. But Im going on a tangent here.

So, when I lived in Cumbaya they announced the Chaquiñan, said it was going to be a bike route from Cumbaya to Tumbaco. I saw the construction of the first portal in Cumbaya next to the traintracks and was excited, couldnt wait for it to be inaugurated... and nothing happened. They built the first portal, left it there and never touched it for years to come. Everytime I came back from the States while I was in college I would ask about the Chaquiñan and would never get a good answer. In the end my parents moved from Cumbaya and I forgot all about it. Until recently (5 years ago)  when I started to hear about the Chaquiñan and how it had been finished and how so many people were biking and running on it and having a great time. I was curious. Then I did a short stint with the Peace Corps and they had their offices in Tumbaco right next to a section of the Chaquiñan. Again I reminsced on it and wondered what it would be like to ride on it. I didnt have a bike back then (I bought my Schwinn Voyageur February 2015) so again I couldnt do the Chaquiñan.

I had just returned from my bike ride to the Historic Center on Saturday (1st post) and was feeling good and ready to take on the Chaquiñan. The only problem now was that I didnt have a bike carrier for my car, and I didnt want to fork out $80 USD for a carrier. So, I decided to disassemble my bike and stick it in the trunk of my car. It worked out perfectly and I was tre-happy about this. I had saved some money and was able to buy some snacks for the ride (A banana, some Beef Jerky and some Powerade)

Lets sidestep to make a plug-in:

I found this at the store next to the first portal of the Chaquiñan. That store used to be a video club called VIDEO DRILO. just a random Cumbaya fact.

Beef Jerky locally made 

This was a great snack for the road and a great find. Beef Jerky is seldom found in Ecuador ever since the tax rise on imported goods hit us. This is a decent substitute good.

So now I had a banana, some jerky and water and was ready to go. 

This is the route: 

I went from Cumbaya to about km.12 and back. I didnt want to go all the way to Portal La Lomita since I didnt know how tough it was. Next time Im doing it all. It wasnt too tough, there are some parts that are uphill but they have done a good job with the route since there really is no insane uphill to tackle. Maybe if I had gone all the way I would have had to do the uphill from the Chiche Bridge to Tumbaco which seems tough.

Loved the ride, really nice, you go up and down hills, find some great look-out points, many portals that have hydration points and bathrooms. Very well organized and a great experience all together.

 This is my favorite spot of the entire ride:

Such a cool place, if you stand beneath the bridge you hear an echo as you speak. Really old looking and just a great spot to stop, take a break and a take in the views.

THE CHAQUIÑAN : Tons of fun and great exercise. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

Detour to Las Corvinas de Don Jimmy

I had my pound of ground Aguila de Oro coffee, and biking to the Historic Center had sparked my apetite. I was in dire need of a refueling. So I decided to head down to El Mercado Central, a traditional market in Quito. This is a great market but you must have you spidey sense on high to avoid any problems.

So I circled the market trying to find a parking spot for my bike, finally found a spot on the railing of the stairs to the second floor of the Northern side of the market where a food court is located. Here you will find an array of traditional Ecuadorian cousine, but I head straight to Corvinas de Don Jimmy, a decades old spot where they serve the best fried corvina Ive had in Quito hands down!
They add a bonus of Ceviche mixto but I ordered only Shrimp Ceviche. The potatoes are perfect and the ambiance (a fight broke out in the far side of the market) is quite entertaining and down to earth.

Highly recommended spot, the Corvina Tradicional costs $5 USD.

Coffee Run on a bike to Historic Center Quito

I had just ran out of coffee.. yikes! And so it was the perfect excuse to go for a coffee run to the Historic Center.

I commute to work on my bike everyday, but this week I had to drive to work for whatever reason and boy did I feel it when I started to bike this morning.

But nevertheless I got through it and was able to have a nice ride to the Historic Center.

Quito's Historic Center is always filled with energy and people. As soon as I get there I buy myself a fresh squeezed orange and carrot juice to re-energize as I try to capture all the hustle and bustle of the people in the Plaza de la Independencia.

Having finished my refreshment I make my way up to Benalcazar St. and before I make it there I can already smell the coffee, luring me to my favorite coffee shop in Quito- The Cafe Aguila de Oro- a traditional Quito Coffee shop; where you can buy premium roasted Ecuadorian Coffee ground or whole bean. No coffee tasting here, they only sell coffee and have for decades.

Its great coffee with lots of character and a bold roasted taste to it. I brew it in my French Press and it is simply delicious!

A great day of exercise and a fun adventure in Quito.

A pound of coffee ground or whole bean costs $6 USD

The spoils !