Ecuatorianamente Refrescante
I knew I would miss many things from my daily routine on this trip but waking up to the sound of my alarm clock was not one of them. It’s the third time in a row that I wake up way too earlier than usual. But at least I can take this opportunity to sum up the events of the weekend.
Barcelona-Bogota-Quito flights were mainly uneventful. Bogota airport was larger than I expected and seems to have good shopping to keep you entertained. Quito could do with some more direct connections from Europe though.
Our hotel is perched up in the hills in a affluent neighborhood overlooking a beautiful valley. It is surrounded by luxury residences, restaurants, bars and other businesses.
Just after breakfast a couple of us who had already arrived took a stroll down the valley to the beautiful buildings that can be seen in the photo which are a church, former convent (now converted into a university) and the embassy complex of Spain.
Quito, like many cities of emerging countries is full of contrasts.
The surrounding area is full advertisements for new office and residential buildings equipped with the latest technologies. The old is mixed with the new.
But you are never too far away from local tradition, entrepreneurship and ingenuity!
In the evening we had our first team dinner at the famous Urko restaurant that serves up local amazonian cuisine with a modern twist.
With all the team members in place, Sunday got off to a fast start with a Team Orientation meeting where we covered the basics around logistics and did some team building exercises.
Lunch was served at a very charming and bohemian restaurant Cafe Mosaico overlooking the historic center where we enjoyed great food, met our project assistants and had a photo shoot with a professional photographer.
Then it was off to the center for some sightseeing.
Energy levels were a bit low when we returned to the hotel but we still squeezed in a few more activities to build our project charters. The night came to an end at the local Italian Cassolette and was topped of with a last beer with the brave guys still standing!
Finally, the title of this blog comes from the slogan of this local beer Pilsener, which means Refreshingly Ecuadorian. It was the first national beer to be produced in Ecuador back in the late 19th century after a couple of entrepreneurs seized the opportunity after seeing that all the beer in the market was imported. The brand and refreshingly good beer continues to be a national icon!
