The Ambato River....Just three blocks from the middle of the city.

There are many ways to enter and exit this beautiful park on the banks of the Ambato River. This entrance is just a few blocks south of the Ficoa Bridge a couple of blocks from the city center.

Eculiptus

A Lovely Day For A Walk In The Park.

It was a beautiful day today in Ambato. It rained a little last night and it the morning there were a few showers, but by noon it was sunny and warm. A good day for a walk in the park.

On the mesa overlooking the city is a lovely park named in honor of one of the three favorite "Juan's" born in Ambato....Juan B. Vela.

 

The park straddles the highway and the admission is free. On one side is nothing but sculpted trees or bushes. They are beautiful. From time to time the figures are changed but today there was a mixture of animals from the Galapagos, dancing figures and musicians. And many more.

A beautiful view of the cathedral in the center of Ambato.

On the other side of the street are more sculptures, however most of the park is devoted to activities for everyone. There are courts for volleyball, soccor and basketball; Playgrounds for the children; Beautiful flower gardens; A large clean swimming pool....To name a few.

On this beautiful, sunny warm afternoon, I could not believe, in this city of around 300 thousand inhabitants that this lovely pool was almost empty....Then Beatrice a volunteer from Hong Kong gave me the answer. The water is probably very very cold. That has got to be the reason.

Entrance To The 12th Of November Park

 

An early morning view of the entrance to the recently renovated "Parque 12 de Noviembre". I love the entrance showing a broken chain.

Montalvo Park....City center Ambato.

The Best Yet….in my opinion.

The 57th running of the annual Fruits, Flowers & Bread parade,. (I don’t know when the Bread was added), but it was entertaining and very well attended. I don’t care what the official estiments were, there were at least 10 million.











After all the floats had passed, I walked a few blocks to where the parade was to end. In a few minutes the first floats came into view. After about 36 blocks in the midday sun....
The bands were still playing.

The dancers were still dancing.



And the Queen was still waving and smiling..

It's Fiesta Time In Ambato

For the the 57th year Ambato will present their Annual Fiesta De La Fruta y De Las Flores. This fiesta lasts for most of the month of February and coincides with Carnival. The festivities have already started will last for the entire month of Ferruary.

This fiesta was inaugurated 57 years ago after an earthquake leveled most of the city. It draws people from all over the country and for at least a month Ambato is the distination for hundreds and maybe thousands of tourists who put Ambato on their itinerary. This year the big parade is scheduled for Sunday the 18th. Every year it is bigger and better and should not be missed if you are anywhere near Ambato. It is definitely worth a detour.

Ambato is located in the center of the country and is the capital of the Province of Tungurahua. It is easily reached from most parts of the country and is only two plus hours from Quito and a hour from Baños.

There are more than 100 events scheduled and are varied enough to be of interest for almost anyone. From special presentations at museums to musical concerts to bull fights.....and everything in between. Many of the musical events are free or the cost is nominal.

The Ambato Alternative.

After a restful weekend in Margarita Ville, a little sun, a little rain and mostly cloudy, I returned Sunday evening to the big city of Ambato. As I was walking from the bus stop to my abode which is two block from the city center I heard music coming from the Montalvo Park. I changed directions and found the National Band playing to a few of the locals so I parked myself on a bench and spent an hour listening to the music.

Music and the arts are part of the life here...At least two or three nights a week there is something going on that is free or almost free. Friday night there was a performance at the New Acropolis Center. It was billed as new musical talent so I decided to stay the night and check it out. It wasn't great talent but it was defiantly worth the price of two cups of coffee ($0.50 each). There were about 15 people in attendance which was almost standing room only. This coming Friday they will show a film, Memories of a Geisha.

International tourism is not a big business here. Although the city center is an interesting area, the rest of the city has not got much to offer. The finest hotel, Hotel Ambato and Casino, has around 20 rooms and is soon to be out classed by the soon to open Emperador Hotel and Casino with a total of 63 rooms and suites.

On my first all night visit to the city I stayed at the Hotel Garibaldii which is close to the bus station. The room comes with a cover-free entrance to their special club in in the basement. This club offers girls of all shapes, sizes and nationalitiess that are for rent by the hour or the night. The room cost was only $12 per night, the towels and sheets were clean but the noise in the hallways all night long indicated that most of the clients preferred the hourly rate to the all night stay. Sorry, but I do not have any first hand information as to the quality of the merchandise.

Well that is it for the Ambato scene. If you plan to visit Baños, why not spend a night in Ambato. I would love to invite you for a coffee and a little conversation in English.