Day 17 - Free Day in Quito

We had a bit of a lay in this morning and after breakfast did a bit of packing and then took a taxi to the Botanical Gardens which are situated in a very large park called La Carolina, to the north of the city.

It was very peaceful there and they had a lot of native plant species with specific areas for orchids, roses, bonsai and water features -  plus a few birds.

Pond at Botanical Gardens

Fish in Pond

Blackbird with food in its beak

Cactii

Cactii and succulent Garden

Orchid

Orchid

Multi coloured rose

Trumpet Flower (scent is intoxicating)

Bromeliad

Moorhen type bird

Moorhen type bird walking on lily pads

Rufous Collared Sparrow (Tico Tico)

Japanese Garden Lake

Paul in Japanese Garden at midday - no shadow

Bonsai Tree - Japonica

Bonsai Tree garden

Bonsai Bougainvilla

We then walked further into the park until we reached a huge outdoor fitness area which consisted of a running track (must have been an 800m around) and inside the track were numerous items of fitness equipment which were being very well used by the locals.

Running track and fitness area in the background at La Carolina Park

Hummingbird statues in lake at La Carolina Park

We took another taxi back to the old town and had a final walk around and managed to see the inside of the San Francisco Convent (which was closed when we did our city tour on Thursday).  It was really beautiful although no photos were allowed.

We had lunch in the old town but it started to rain so we returned to the hotel and finished packing.

We just had a walk around the area around the hotel and found a bar for a final drink.

It is unlikely I will be able to publish any more blogs from today as it is unlikely that we will have the internet available for the next 7 nights.  I will continue with it and update when we get back to the mainland.