Escape to WHAT?

In a dash to leave Quito we jumped on a bus headed south for a little place called Latacunga, thinking we'd just spend the night in some small peaceful pueblo.  Well, not so much.

Firstly the bus simply dropped us off at some nondescript section of the PanAmerican Highway - no phone, no internet access, no restaurants, no bathrooms, no hotels - and for a few moments - no hope.  We just stood there with our luggage looking at each other trying to figure out who to blame.   OK, it was my bright idea to be free flowing, spontaneous, cast care to the wind.  This was payback.

We decided to flag down a taxi who took us to the marketplace (as though we seriously wanted to wander through some Latin American marketplace with day packs and dragging our luggage - NOT.  What were we thinking?!!

Thank goodness the market was shutting down so we redirected the taxi driver, asking him to take us to the town center.  We couldn't do much in the way of checking the place out while dragging luggage around town.  Plus it just plain looks tacky.  So we opted for a hotel right across the street from the main town plaza; nothing fancy at all, but functional.  

We parked our luggage (thank God) and headed out on foot to explore this late great pueblo of Latacunga. It didn't take long for us to decide that though it was a darn site better than Quito, it was not for us.

We were greeted by a hummingbird with a long dark tail in a small park on the outskirts of Latacunga. This tiny connection with nature resounded as a reminder that this  connection is central to our existence. What are we doing in these cities anyway? Going rural presents challenges, but we are up for it!