Ecuador at last!

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Well here I am in Ecuador at last!

I started my trip in Quito, and certainly did not expect it to be such a huge, modern (and polluted) city.... I was here to learn Spanish for 3 weeks before moving on to the volunteer project that I organised.

I stayed with a lovely host family, Marisol and Paula. When I arrived (late) at Quito airport, there they were holding a placard with my name on it, greeting me with big smiles and kisses. Before I could gather my thoughts they had whisked my bag away and off we went to the place that would be my home for the next 3 weeks. They were wonderful and did everything for me (often to my protest) - and all with a smile. Unfortunately their dog Jacob took a bit longer to warm up to me!

My Spanish teachers were great and at the end of 3 weeks I can get by, but practice is the key, and unfortunately while I was in Quito, I did not get much of that (except at Marisols'). The other students spoke English in their down time, which is understandable - you have no idea how long it can take to form a sentence in a new language, especially after a few drinks, lol!

Before I could blink, 3 weeks had flown by, and it was onto the next adventure - a volunteer project in the Amazon - Santa Martha flor de Amazonia.... I couldn´t wait!!

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Photos

My host family!
Marisol and Paula, who made my 3 week stay with them great!

First Day
My very first day in Quito, after 4 hours of Spanish lessons and seeing an INCREDIBLE Guayasamin exhibition

Ecuadorian Cultural show
On one of my first few nights in Quito we all went to an event showcasing Ecuadorian music and dance

Ecuadorian Dancing
Everything was so vibrant

Marisol and Jacob
Marisol´s baby took Quite a while to warm up to me... but eventually I got a kiss and a (small) wag of the tail

Me and Helen at an Indian restaurant
Helen was also living with us, and here we are the weekend before I left Quito. It was really strange speaking to the Indian waiter in Spanish!! And I think he was pretty intrigued himself, lol

The all famous Cuy...
Or in layman terms - guinea pig, ech!

Centro Historico
An amazing example of some of the architecture here in the old district of Quito. You can climb right to the top of the belltower and I squeezed out of the window to take in the amazing view

Centro Historico
On a Sunday this place is full of families enjoying the day

The Virgin Mary
Overlooking the city on top of El Panacillo

Wanna buy a...
Dalmation?! This woman was wandering around the street with a basketful of puppies!

Southern Hemisphere. Northern Hemisphere. South, North, South, North...
Ok so you just have to get into the spirit of things and take a damn picture already!

The real Ecuator
So then I get told that This is the site of the real Ecuator after more accurate calculations were done. A couple of crazy water experiments seemed to prove the point.

Graveyard
We also got taken on an interesting cultural tour... Here is an example of how people were once buried - in the foetal position in a jar

Look out!
And I tried spear shooting

Beer Pong
The opposition has to get a ping pong ball into one of the cups (half full of beer). If they do, you have to down it. Then they get to go again. The rules get complicated and it doesn't help if you get drunk (I didn't do so well)

A few more
Lethal fish bowls

It was a long night...
but a lot of fun!