Well, after almost a year of talking, a few threatened trip derailments and a couple of months of frenzied planning - I’m here! 9 hours after leaving my LA hostel I was greeted by the organizer of the volunteering program who chauffered me to my new home - giving me a great view of the city in the 40 minute drive. Quito sits in a bowl built of surrounding mountains and volcanos (some active, some not - lap of the gods type stuff). The city is a triumph of against-all-odds architecture with much of the urban constructions resting precariously on 45-plus-degree slopes. The topography makes for some devastatingly beautiful views and some terrifyingly unlikely structures. Thankfully, the place I am staying sits comfortingly on ground solidly parallel to the horizon. Whatever ill-conceived ideas I had about
... read more