After a quick lunch of chicken tetrazzini "fridge cleanings" (wherein I look for overlooked leftovers, and nuke anything that doesn't smell iffy - mom had chicken stew) it was time to head out for a delivery to Pelileo, a town about 20 minutes (ha!) from Ambato on a good day. I'm laughing at the idea of a 20-minute trip, because about the highway between Ambato and the 493B turnoff is ripped up right now, so it's one lane and very slow going - it actually took close to an hour to get there.
Pelileo was a bit of a bust - everything there seems to be closed in the afternoon! However, I did find a stall preparing the town's signature empanadas - they're cooked on a clay tiesto, and they're amazingly soft and crisp when they're fresh off the pan. I was hoping that the big Mercado República de Argentina would be open for hot chocolate, but no dice - everything inside was wrapped up tight, and the third floor coffeeshops were all closed.
