Flambé dinner our first night in Ambato

It took us 12 hours of driving yesterday to end up at Black Sheep Inn — an isolated vegetarian eco-lodge that had gotten rave reviews.  Suffice it to say that our reviews were not as high, and that we left early to arrive in Ambato today…  We have rented a car, using our new Ecuadorian drivers licenses, and are traveling with Ann and William, friends from the US that we met here a couple years ago, and who return annually.  We had an excellent dinner at the hotel where we are staying — The Roka Plaza.

After dinner, we walked over to the main square in town (the Parque Montalvo), where we heard lots of free music, and saw an amazing amount of art — both in display galleries and on the street.

The church on the square is lit in blue, while free music was playing in the art galleries

The theme of Carnaval in Ambato is “Flowers and Fruits” so flowers abounded

The galleries were filled with fine art of several media