Fine dining in Riobamba. After sunset I walked down the hill to the Calle Primera Constitución, where I sought out the restaurant El Delirio. After all of the adventures of the previous days, it was time to treat myself to an elegant dinner. I had a delicious meal of ceviche de corvina (ceviche with yellow croaker), loma a la plancha (grilled steak), vegetables, french fries, and a half a bottle of Chilean Sauvingon Blanc. It was a beautiful way to end another exciting day.

The restaurant El Delirio takes its name from a poem written by the South American liberator Simón Bolívar, Mi Delirio sobre el Chimborazo (My Delirium on Chimborazo). Bolívar, who was in the midst of leading the wars of independence from Spain, was heavily influenced by his friend Alexander von Humboldt, and shared with Humboldt an intense fascination with the Chimborazo volcano.