Quito

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No photos as half the time the camera was in the shop getting the CCD cleaned and can´t manage to upload the slasa videos 😞
So I got on the plane to Quito from Santiago via Lima (Hi Liam 😉 I was a little tired and emotional after having spent the afternoon haring around looking for some place showing the Ireland v England Rugby which I managed to do by half time but caught up anyway. The plane to Quito was about 262 pounds but had I wanted to get off half way to visit Derek in Lima it would have been 500 😉 Go figure!
Having received word that Tom and Hannah were heading off to Galapagos the morning I got in at 6.30 I hung around the airport when I got in at 3am and then met the for a happy short reunion in la Mariscal in Quito Centre and found my hostel shortly afterwards at the Blue house. There were plenty people to hangout with here though this area of Quito was definitely edgy at night and I found myself breaking into a trot once or twice when it seemed like I was about to get too much attention from the locals. In the first week in the hostel one couple was mugged, one pick pocketed and one had a camera stolen in a bar. It was great to hear that while I was in the Galapagos an Irish visitor decked a pickpocket who blatantly stuck his hand in the Irish lads pocket going for a fish and grab. Needless to say he had to hightail it when the rest of the hoods mates started to chase him but he made the hostel gates in time.
I never fully relaxed there as a result. Every bar had an armed guard and there were civilians walking around with handguns in their waistbands. However that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy myself. It was a short run to Finn Mc Cools two blocks away from the hostel and socializing with Emma (mad one form Ireland who is cousins with Eddie Coogan from salsa (small world) Linda John and Caroline and a few others was great fun. During the day Quito was more relaxing and I took up salsa lesson with the diminutive Araceli Beltran at Ritmo Tropical for 13 hours of one on one. She’s a brilliant teacher and she danced the legs off me. By the end of it I felt like I had learned loads but unfortunately couldn’t remember much of it when I was dancing with Linda when we went out for a salsa night - Doh - However I made some good videos of her leading me around the place making me look like a salsa god.
I tried couch surfing while I was in Quito too - this is where locals offer travelers a free bed and Carmen offered me a place at hers even though she already had the wayward Rachel staying there and I spent the following night at her mums place. It was a really intresting experience both to try out this amazing hospitality community and to spend time with locals. Carmen held a bbq at her place the following day and Rachel and I were treated to fantastic home cooked Peruvian fare. I was sad I didn’t have longer to stay as I was heading off to the Galapagos the following morning.

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