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Published: January 11th 2008
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Bufallo Airport
The first photo....and what a photo it is Holy cow, it is finally here. It has been so long coming; so much thought, so much planning, so much excitement, so much worry. And here we are. In the blink of an eye it came. And it is basically the end of our third day (or second if you don't count the day we arrived at midnight.)
Anyways, here is our story so far, with pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Our trip down was alright. No major hassels, althought the 7:05am departure was a little early, the 4 hour layover in Cleveland was a little long, the landing in Houston was hella bumpy, the one hour taxi on the runways of Houston was a little long, and the constant minor turbulence the whole way to Quito was complete nerve wracking, we arrived a-ok, and the landing in Quito was an absolute breeze. Who would have thought. The landing in the Andean city, at like 10,000 feet, in a big valley surrounded by mountians and volcanoes, would be the easiest one. Oh, and the hour long line at Immigration was rough after about 18 hours in transit. But, again, we arrived in one awsome piece. And then we slept.
Crossroads Hostal
Here it is...in the heart of the Mariscal Sucre...Gringolandia Our hostal is quite cool. It is the Crossroads Hostal in Quito in the Mariscal Sucre. $18 for a double with shared bath. No matter how scetchy it looked after midnight on our first day, and how scetchy the streets seemed, it is quite cool. Simple room with three beds (rather than the one double we hoped for,) reasonable shared baths, good cafe, no worries. And the beds are super comfortable with nice thick blankets. A little louds though; but we brought earplugs.
Our first full day was very exciting. We began with breakfast in the hostal, then sent emails home telling everyone we were alright, then caught a cab to the old town ($3.00.) We woke at around 11am that first day, so we missed alot of things due to the cooky Siesta afternoon closing hours.
We began at the plaza San Fransisco (passed on the museum), walked over to the Compania de Jesus, whichwas spectacularly guilded and beautiful, and the headed to the Plaza Grande, which is probably the prettiest spot in all of Quito. Checked out the Palacio Arzobispal (which is now a pretty nice little mall like thing with shops and restuarants,) then
Plaza San Fransisco
The first sight....lovely walked a bit more around before having lunch at Fruiteria Monserrate. Lunch was amazing. Go there. If you are in Quito that is. A nice bowl of fruits with creme and a cheese fillled deep fried empanada of greem banas for 3 dollars. The fruit bowl was amazing.
It started pouring so we cabbed it to the Museo del Banco Central rather than walking the old town anymore, and spent about 1.5 hous in there looking at the exhibits and art and all that museum stuff. The diaramas are always the best part, and they had plently. We walked over to South American Explorers where we got a quick tour and some information from them, the headed back to the hostal. We went to a Supermarket (Supermaxi) to get some supplies (nail clippers, conditioner etc...), and then out for dinner at Chacha, a little joint right by our hostal and had a nice dinner. Sent some emails, worked on our budget, and then off to bed. A wonderful first day. And not much in the way of altitude problems. A little it tough on the hills (and Quito sure has a lot of those), but no big deal.
Our second day (today) was also great. We woke up early, and got our arses in gear and walke to the old town - taxi bills add up. First stop, get ripped off for bananas, 2 for a dollar...what a bunch of idiots we are...never again. Then on to the Basilica Voto Nacional. A beautiful large cathedral like church thing, a little messy and under repairs, but very nice. Lots of pictures were taken. And then the real saga began. The towers awaited or advances. we payed the 2 dollars, and began assending. First stop, the balcony over the interior. Very nice. the second stop, the first test, the rickety wooden bridge to the ladders that lead outside to the creepy hanging stair case to the tower. Jackie got super freaked out, and could not make it across the bridge and up the ladder. I later learned she made it half way up the ladder while I was on the top pooping myself. So, atop this ladder, you get the set of stairs strapped on the the flying butresses of the tower, completely exposed and completely crazy. Oh well say, and I grab ahold and climb away. Knees shook and
photos were taken. What a time. Jackie was still freaking a bit when I returned down and was super let down that she didn{t make it all the way, but promised herself to get it done before we leave Quito. And she will...I can see it in those big beautiful eyes.
So, we progressed down into the rest of the old town where we cheked out the Cathedral, then had lunch. A nice ecuador dish...I think. Green banana soup with banana balls. Pretty good. And an empanada. Afterwards we went to the Mostary of Saint Catalina and bought some all natural shampoo that the Nuns make through one of those turning lazy suzanne things that prevent you from seeing them. Fun...and we'll see abou the shampoo in the morning.
After a long walk back to the new town and a yet unsuccessful hunt for some odour eating dr. scholls, we went to price shop for our Galapagos and Amazon trips. We've decided to go with Happy Gringo, and hope to have it all settled up by tomorrow. Crunch time for sure. Change the itinerary a bit, work out the finances, and we're rockin.
And here we are.
In Plaza Grande
I call this one Gents and a Fountain After dinner, in Papayanet, write emails and blog entries and having a blast. Quito is cool. And the weather hasn't been all that bad either. Some rain yesterday, just a touch today, a little sun burn, and good times. But we haven't seen Pichincha yet beacuse the hills have been shrouded in clouds since we arrived. Oh well. But what we can see is truly spectacular.
And we're done. This has alrady been too long, and you are probably bored by now, so we'll get out of here and head off to bed. I hope you enjoyed this.
See you soon
Jack and Jackie
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