Arrival in Quito

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We are here! Quito Airport closed last night due to rain so the last leg of our flight turned to Guayaquil for the night, adding another hour onto this leg from Lima... (And I thought I would have to wait for a return visit to Ecuador to see Guayaquil! The waterfront and lay of the city was beautiful viewing from the plane window!) We all looked pretty hilarious strewn about the airpot chairs sleeping waiting for other accmodations. At 4:30 am they opened the VIP Lounge for us so I quickly targeted a couch. The bar opened and sanwiches served along with the other usual amenities. I slept, Greg was on the computer, and others drank coffee, etc. This morning TACA flew us all to Quito where we landed mid-morning. It sounds like the airport closing is common during the rainy season. We are staying at Hostal Alcala so feel free to check out their website and see where we are staying tonight. It is very clean, in a convenient location, and has e-mail and computer amenities. However it is cold with no heat possibilities so we may revise our plans to return here later this month.
Taking a taxi to Centro Historico, the Old Town, we walked for a few hours among the plazas, churches, museums, & shops. Quito is built on many hills with lush vegetation. We ate in a small hole-in-the-wall where the locals seemed to frequent. It was quite busy. I had a delicious super-sized bowl of soup that contained spinach and potatoes. Yummy! Greg had their combo 4 which included a large glass of juice (he chose hot apple juice since it was drizzling), rice, beans, a chicken leg, and small salad. The food was tasty, salad fresh, and all-mine included- for 2 dollars. Can´t beat that with an ugly stick!
Later we found the restaurant we had been looking for, La Tienguez (right where it was supposed to be on the plaza) so had coffee, cappacino, and shared a moist carrot cake. We were not disappointed.
Taxis are easy and reasonable to use. It was 6 dollars from the airport to the hostal, 5 to Old Town and 3 for the return trip so apparently w/o meters, it is up to the taximan.
Presently enjoying a siesta so we can take in the Quito evening with pleasure. We have not taken in many REMs in the last 48 hrs. I will upload some photos soon.

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