Ecuador!

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Hello from Ecuador, South America!

We arrived in Quito on the 10th of November, which is a whopping 2850m above sea level! Needless to say, Kristen and I felt a little light headed and drunk-like the first day or so due to the altitude.

We stayed at a really cute place called Hostal Villa Nancy in the new town (Quito is divided into the new town and the old town). Although we were staying in the new town, which is very modern like and boasts many trendy looking cafes and restuarants, we definatly took a day to check out old town, which is the historical part of Quito that has all the chapels, churches, etc. It was absolutley gorgeous, and such a contrast from the new town. We spent the day wandering around checking out the beautiful arcitecture. We went to the Basillica, which is a huge old church on top of a steep hill that we decided to climb (it was a lot harder than it should have been because of the altitude!). But, it was worth it as the Basillica was stunning. We walked around inside as well, and discovered that we could climb all the way to the bellfry, and well...the views of Quito and the surrounding areas were amazing. I definatley had a ¨moment¨while we were up there.

Another day in Ecuador found us in Otavello, a small town about 2 hours outside of Quito. We went to check out the famous Otavello market, where all you can see for miles is handmade wool goods! Kristen and I were in our element as we wandered around the seemingly endless market (and we wern´t even there on the big market day, saturday!). It was so cool to see everyone dressed up in their traditional Ecuadorian dress, the woman are quite beautiful. The bad news is that we only had an hour and a half to spend there so we for sure felt rushed, but still ended up with some great goods! Kristen picked up some super cute little wool sweaters for her nephews and neice, as well as some other great finds, and i got the cosiest wool sweater and socks for $13! bargain! We also checked out a local weaver who is the only one in his community that still makes wool goods the natural way, by hand, with no synthetic materials. It was pretty amazing to watch him and his wife work..it takes them 1 week to make a scarf! We also got the chance to visit a "music making house" i guess i would call it..where we watched local musicians make their insturments and then they played us some ecuadorian music..it was pretty amazing.

All in all, South America so far has been amazing! I have been pleasantly surprised by Ecuador, as I didn´t really know what to expect...but it is absolutley stunning. Next stop....GALAPAGOS ISLANDS!!!!

Love Jenn
xxoo

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Photos

Quito
Old Town

Quito, old town
Us at the top of the Bellfry..overlooking Quito..it was amazing

Quito
Old town...close up of the Basillica

Quito, old town
my tooties overlooking Quito...

Otavello
wool goods at the market!

Otavello
one of the ladies at the market

Otavello
husband and wife working on wool goods