Quito

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Well, we´re in Quito. We´re only a few miles from the equator, yet 9,000 feet above sea level, so we´re simultaneously hot and cold, but in a different way than when you´re skiing. We wandered through the Ciudad Antigua, the historic center of town, and the colonial buildings, streets, cathedrals, combined with the city´s setting completely surrounded by mountains and volcanoes made for a lot of scenery. Quito is generally considered the religious capital of South America, and it´s clear that the Spanish wasted no time before setting in to build cathedrals after their arrival. We toured a monastery and were allowed to climb to the top of that church´s bell tower. Then we had lunch at a Krishna vegetarian restaurant with a friendly couple from California who are, seriously, riding a tandem bike through South America.

We also checked out some other neighborhoods, including one of the modern malls in the city (which Keith quickly decided was nicer than U.S. malls), and spent a while in the city park looking at crafts and watching everyone play futbol. Last night we had dinner at an amazing restaurant at the top of a building, with a pretty much 360 degree view of the whole city of Quito. One local specialty- potato, cheese, avocado soup- we will definitely be looking for again. Also, apparently a traditional breakfast here includes a free bowl of popcorn...

Tomorrow we will be leaving here for the Galapagos Islands in order to stalk the penguins.

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