One of the great things Quito has done is to implement ciclopaseo every Sunday, running from the historic centre to La Mariscal. Traffic is cleared from one of the major city streets that runs through the city, and it becomes a cycle and pedestrian pathway. I decide that my activity today will be to walk this path from the historic centre, down the barrio of La Mariscal, Quito. I end up walking for 6 hours, with a one hour break for lunch and coffee, which at my usual 4km per hour pace means I must have covered around 20km. Not a bad hike in a city at 2800m above sea level.
It is a great walk, which leaves the old part of the city behind, and links a series of parks that end up at Parque La Carolina. This is a huge public park that covers everything from playing fields, paddle boats in an artifical lake, and some long-suffering trail ponies, which is well-used by local families on the weekend. My achievement for the day is to impress a group of local boys by returning their soccer ball with a long, straight kick. Yep, the gringa can kick a ball better than most.
