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Published: October 24th 2009
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We arrived safe in Quito and were super happy that we chose to fly. As for Quito, not much to say other than it is quite similar to the other large South American cities we've seen. One thing that is nice is the massive presence of the policia - makes the city feel a little safer (especially since Quito is known for its theft). It is pretty crazy though to see police on horses in the middle of busy streets, or roaming around the city with large dogs, some wearing full camouflage gear, and all of them carrying huge guns - we´re definitely not in Canada anymore! Like all foreign cities though you do see strange and unbelievable things like 6 year-old children selling cigarettes on the street late at night and dance clubs packed with people by 5:30 in the afternoon (they definitely like to party here!). One strange thing that Braeden witnessed early one morning right outside our hostel was a fistfight between 2 females, one with a small child strapped to her back - what were they thinking!?!
As for the weather, it is a little cooler here as we are in the highlands (drops to about
Quito, Ecuador
A statue over-looking the city. 9 degrees at night) and I have been suffering with a nasty cold. Unfortunately you cannot buy cold and flu medication without a prescription so I´ve just had to suffer through. The change in altitude also doesn´t help and has taken a few days to get used to. I even had to stay in bed one day - definitely not fun but the responsible thing to do.
We have been staying in the ´new town´which is geared towards tourists and there is nothing but hostels, internet cafes, laundry services, English book stores and restaurants on every street. This area has even been dubbed ¨gringolandia¨ because it attracts so many white tourists (it´s actually been a nice change for us to see other tourists walking around during the day and out having drinks at night as they have been few and far between up until this point). So far we have checked out the old town which (like every other old town) is full of nice churches, statues and old buildings, and we tried 2 days in a row to go to the ´Teleferico´ which is a huge cable car system that takes you up to the top of a
Quito, Ecuador
Convento y Museo de San Francisco volcano. Apparently there is a lot to see and do at the top and the ride and views are supposed to be incredible. Unfortunately for us (and a waste of $10 in cabs) the system was closed both days and we couldn´t speak enough Spanish to understand why...
And so we´re off to school ... Spanish school that is. We have decided that if we want to stop getting scammed, actually be able to have conversations with people, and be able to enjoy our trip a little better we are both going to have to get a better grasp on the language. We are going to Montañita, Ecuador on Monday where we will be staying in a beach hut and going to the Spanish Academy for 2 weeks. The place we will be staying came highly recommended by a couple backpackers we met in Medellin and it sounds pretty good - 4 hours of class/day and surfing lessons and yoga are offered on site. We are both looking forward to getting on the beach!
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