We’ve spent the first few days here in Quito at the Café Cultura,

Café Cultura

a beautiful little oasis in the midst of city life in Quito. It’s a protected architectural gem with beautiful gardens, cozy fireplaces, frescos and books everywhere, as well as a very kind and a devoted waiter to greet us every morning at breakfast.

cuties in the garden

There are three curious, yet cautious kittens who don’t like to get close, but seem to enjoy listening to me when I do my Spanish lessons. It’s comfortable, we don’t have to worry about anything, and we can rest from the hectic weeks and months behind us. We can take time to really arrive while waiting for our bikes to show up.

The guests here are passing through Quito for a variety of reasons. There are the multi-country “marathoners” maximising their vacation time, who see a blur of South America on their way home; a woman just re-acclimating to civilisation after spending weeks in the jungle studying a plague of snails; as well as a friendly couple escaping everyday in the Midlands. Most have one thing in common, Galapagos. They are on their way or just coming back. As big as my fascination for turtles and nature, and as enticing the stories of Darwin’s Beagle, our adventure is planned differently. We can imagine coming back for the sole purpose of visiting the Galapagos Islands. They would surely be worth a vacation all their own. Right now, I can’t wait to pick up our bikes and get started.