TelefériQo

The volcanic mountain, Pichincha, looms over Quito, hemming it in on its western flank. At 4,784m, the peak is one of the nearest and tallest and, as such, is a pincushion for masts and pylons of all sorts. There is also a cable car (teleférico) running up to 4,100m, branded as El TelefériQo. The journey up the side of the hill offers splendid views of the enormously long sprawl of Quito along the valley floor.

Birds of prey watch over Quito

From the basin of the capital, the high altitude was cold and windy, so we warmed up with humitas (corn dumplings) and coffee sold in a polystyrene cup at an inflated price tolerated by the captive market.

Humitas

From here, there is a five-hour walk to the summit of Pichincha, but since it was covered in cloud we abstained and returned to ground level.

Church at Pichincha

For lunch we investigated the vegan restaurant, Quinoa, in La Mariscal. Selling 'health food' products such as tofu and chia seeds, it seemed popular with locals and tourists alike and we had trouble finding a seat. The set lunch featured 'arepa' - a kind of flat bread - that was stuffed and covered in a white sauce.

Arepa

Heading home, we were tempted into Sweet & Coffee for some of their delectable and heart-stopping cakes before continuing and finding ourselves coming upon the tail end of a protest march. Today's remonstrations continued the trend of the last few days' strikes and saw many more people joining the movement against President Correa representing various causes: those against new taxes, those demanding equal rights for indigenous people, those against violence directed towards women, as well as a general uprising against Correa's attempt to pass legislation enabling his indefinite reelection.

Protest against Correa