Weekend in Quito

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12-16 April
The week was spent in Spanish lessons. During the week, one lesson in Salsa convinced me I´m going to need loads more to be any good.

Sat 17 April
I took the cable car from Teleferico to the top of the mountain which overlooks Quito but the sky was too cloudy and couldn´t see down to Quito. Hoping the clouds may clear I waited for an hour but no luck. I returned to Quito after approx 1 hour. Felt quite tired by the time I returned to Quito - assumed it was due to the altitude.

Sun 18 April - As it was bright sunshine and clear skies when I awoke, I returned to Teleferico the next day. After the 20 min cable car trip to a height of 4100m, I was able to see all the surrounding mountains clear of clouds (except Cotopaxi) and also down into Quito. I walked from the cable car station to the next mountain - took nearly an hour and was pretty hot and breathless by the time I stopped. There were plenty of people on the mountain this day - both Ecuadorians and tourists. Turned back after an hour as I had taken plenty of photos and wanted to return to Quito for the afternoon.

The effects of altitude were not so harsh on the 2nd day.

After returning to the host family´s apartment to leave my camera, I walked to the Museo Nacional del Banco Centro del Ecuador. Spent a couple of hours checking out the exhibition of the history of Ecuador. This was well laid out and worth a visit. The exhibition on Colonial Art was mainly paintings with a religious theme, so that didn´t take long to get around. Unfortunately other parts of the museum (Sal d´Oro) were closed for renovation.

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