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!