Day 2 -- Quito con Angel

After a great night sleep Dana and I woke up and did some streching then walked to the internet cafe down the block to write some on the blog. Later we returned to the Hostel and had breakfast, which was wonderful. Eggs, toast, juice, banana, and coffee. (Side note: the coffee here is awesome!) After breakfast Angel, the guide that picked us up from the airport the day before took us on a city tour, something we had organized with him the day before.

We first headed up to the Mitad del Mundo (the equator) He showed us this huge volcanic crater that an indigenous tribe is living in and cultivating. We were surprised how winded we became just from walking up the short hill to look down into the crater.

From the crater we went to a little site at Mitad del Mundo that was very informative. We learned about the Pre-Colombian indigenous tribes that lived in Ecuador and how they lived and about the tribes that are currently living in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Some are still naked and others shrinkheads, no joke! The other part of this little museum and tour were the equator games. Our guide balanced an egg on a nail head. We got to try but both me and Dana were both unsuccessful as well the other tourists. We also tested our strength and one is very weak or just less strong when standing on the equator. It was a lot of fun. From there Angel took us down to the Old City, the part with all the cathedrals and old churches. Side note: our guide is so informative and talks to us a lot in the van on the way to different locations. It was great to get out and walk aroud the city and streets and feel safe; Angel is shorter than us but at least he is a guy. He showed us all the important monuments. We walked inside the Basilica and looked at many different churches. It started to rain when we go to the square in front of the Iglesia de San Fransisco. We ran through the rain to the Plaza de independencia, which I imagine is a very beautiful place when it is sunny because it was very impressive in the rain too. From there we ran over to a little place for lunch that Angel had picked out. It served traditional Ecuatorian food. Me and Dana both got the same thing Seco de Pollo: a piece of chicken smothered in a delicious sauce made of tomatos and onions, with rice, and an avocado salad on the side. All under $3. After that Angel drove us back to our Hostel and we all said bye. Tonight we just hung out in the Hostel and made soup that we bought from the Grocery store. This is probably the plan for the rest of the trip is to go out and explore during the day and then spend the nights in. I forgot to mention all the stray dogs; they are everywhere! Tomorrow is a new adventure in the Cloud Forest before we take off for the Galapagos on Thursday. Chiao.