Day 144 – Quito, EC
January 15, 2011 1 Comment
Day 144 – Quito, EC 01/12/11 Mileage: Local miles
The coffee that came with breakfast the last few days has been un-drinkable, and I’m not super picky by any means. Today, I figured out why. When my coffee came this morning, there wasn’t any coffee in it….just a hot steaming cup of milk filled to the rim. And by milk, I mean unpasteurized, whole milk as thick as cream….but piping hot. The coffee part of the coffee was Nescafe instant that you added yourself. So, coffee con leche was really leche con however much instant coffee you put in it yourself. Like yesterday, when left alone for a minute to cool, a skin forms on the top that one would need to scrape off the top before you drink it. No complaints though…I’m eating in the super local joints, where my complete breakfast, eggs, bread, cheese, fresh juice and leche con coffee, was only $1.80!
After breakfast I returned to the hostal to get another blog post up and return some emails. I also decided to replace my rear tire now after looking at the roads ahead of me and knowing the next place I could for sure replace it would probably be Lima…which is 2,000 miles from here. I also decided to save the the more aggressive T63 tires I’m carrying for Bolivia and the Altiplano, so I’ll get them put on in La Paz. That was the plan anyway, so I set off for the Kawasaki dealer in Quito. The traffic was horrid getting there, which made me wonder why anyone would drive a car if they could ride a motorcycle. At least on a motorcycle you can splits lanes and weave between the traffic and make some progress. Anyway, I arrived and was greeted by Andres who spoke very good english….probably because he did his undergrad at Iowa State and lived in Atlantic City for a year!!
They had two tires that would fit my bike, the stock Dunlop tire and the Maxxis 6006, which I have on my ’05 KLR, so I knew that tire well. The stock tire sucks, and I had good luck with the Maxxis, so the choice was easy…and I also picked up another oil filter. I was surprised they didn’t have more of a selection, since they sell…get this…over 800 KLR’s per year!
Here are just SOME of the KLR’s they have in stock!
Yep, you read that right boys…almost $12, 000 US dollars for a KLR down here! The price does include tax though… 😛
They had the new Maxxis mounted in half an hour and I was on my way.
That’s Andres on the right…
Ahhhh, nice chunk of fresh rubber goodness…. 😀
Back at the San Blas, I parked again in the living room and then went out in search of dinner. Since I only spent $1.80 on breakfast and $2 on lunch, I splurged on a nice (but lite) dinner of tuna tar tar at a wine bar called the The Atrium.
And no comments from the peanut gallery because I’m having red wine with fish… 😛
From Deadhorse Down 
Well Lenny, think of me and Dad drinking the instant all the time. You get used to it. It is much easier for us and we don’t drink as much as we would if we made real coffee. But I must say that your grandfather, my Dad, used to make his own butter milk from the cream when I was a little girl. He had this dark green huge ceramic mug. Thanks for the reminder.
Can’t believe $12,000 for a new bike…….you did say that before you left.
Hoping things work out with the UPS package. Love, Mom