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Timmy's!!!!!!!!!
Eric brought some RRRRRRRRoll up the RRRim cups with him, the best present EVER I might add. It was nice to have a taste of home, even though it wasn't Timmy coffee.... ahh Tim Horton's, I think I miss you most! After being in Ecuador for 2 months, it was really nice to have a taste of Canada, which came in the form of Eric, a good friend from school, coming to visit me! I was able to take a bit of time off work and so we spent some days seeing parts of Quito I hadn’t seen yet, going to the Amazon Jungle (see next entry), and then checking out Mindo (see next next entry!).
Eric’s trip unfortunately started out a little badly. After battling snow storms to get from London to Pearson airport, he flew to New York and then to Miami where, due to the inclement weather in Toronto and New York, missed his flight to Quito. So, I met him at the airport a day after his scheduled arrival, but minus his bags…. I think I am cursed with this: airlines always lose my bags, and since he was carrying things for me, they were definitely subject to my misfortune. Anyhow, it was great to see him once he finally arrived!! While I was at work, he went around the city by foot and managed to find lots of stuff that I had never seen and
He arrived!!
It's kind of fun to watch people come off the plane!! have been able to subsequently check out - he’s quite adventurous and so it was cool to share these experiences!
My first day off, we took the day to attempt the climb Pichincha, the volcano that overlooks the city. Grossly underestimating how long this would take, we started out for the TeleferiQo, the city’s cable car, far too late. The TeleferiQo takes tourists to the top of Cruz Loma, one of the mountains leading up to Pichincha. It’s quite developed with cafes at the top, loads of tourist traps, but great views of the city (if it’s clear) and glimpses of some of the snow-capped mountains. We started from there to make our way to the volcano. It took a really long time, and I was very underdressed and unprepared for the cold that awaited us. We ate our lunch right beside where the trail takes a sharp turn up the mountain and decided that based on the time (we had a bus to catch to the jungle) that it would be best to head back down without summiting. This was a great decision as we had to RACE to make our bus from that time on.
As
The Theme Park at the TeleferiQo
Complete with the theme from Back to the Future! I think they're trying to be Universal Studios but failing, saddly, miserably! I said, the jungle is the next entry.
The following week, Eric took off to Baños for a few days, which was good for him to see some more of Ecuador, and then returned later in the week. Although I didn’t formally have any more time off, we were able to take advantage of some of my free afternoons to continue our exploration of the city. One of the highlights was our visit to the Basilica, the church that is very visible from my apartment. It was built in the early 1900s and although built in a kind of Notre Dame Style, instead of Gargoyles, features local animals sculpted all around the outside of the church. The inside of the main sanctuary was kind of bare. Eric has travelled extensively in Europe and in comparison to churches and cathedrals there, he told me, it looks like it’s still under construction due to the lack of ornament. Pretty nice nonetheless. The best part, however, was the possibility to climb into many of the churches towers to get, what the Lonely Planet describes as, “dizzying views of the city”. It was really fun, and very cool to be able to see
Boarding the TeleferiQo
Quite fun, like a chairlift! my apartment far off in the distance!! Going up above the clock tower was quite an experience; it’s all just metal scaffolding inside the tower. You have to climb up narrow staircases and really steep ladders to get up and once you do, there’s really not that much holding you in!! Thrilling and dangerous. Great combination!!
After spending his last weekend in Mindo (another entry), Eric left on Tuesday morning back to Canada. It was a great visit and so good to see him. We really had a blast, Ecuadorian style!!
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Christine Pickering
non-member comment
lol... I love that you miss Tim Horton's the most out of everything in Canada... it's just not the same, not having 17 Timmy's within walking distance, is it? P.S. I accidentally hit the "unsubscribe" button on your blog e-mail, cuz I'm an idiot, so if I'm not on your list anymore, can you re-add me? Why do they make that the first link in the e-mail anyway????? They're just asking for ppl to accidentally unsubscribe!!!!!