Sunday, December 29, 2013 in Quito, Ecuador:
Today was a very long fun filled day with lots of sight seeing. We began our morning by waking up at 7:00 am to have breakfast that consisted of bananas and pineapples. We left Hotel Otavalo at 9:30 to drive one hour to the equator called Cayambe Lat 0* 0’ 0” Ecuador. We took many pictures there it was a blast and a very cool to experience. After that, we took another hour and half bus ride to a museum in Quito named Capilla Del Hombre where Guayasamin a famous artist has many of his paintings displayed. We were given a tour and explained everything about each artifact. While we were there, we took notes on each of the paintings. My favorite was the Wall of Misery, which represent social injustices. Next, it was 2:00 pm, which meant it was lunchtime. We went to the mall in Quito and ate at El Español where I got a very yummy sandwich. After, we were given a tour to learn about the city of Quito where we went to many basilicas, parks, statues, monuments, and walked throughout the town. My favorite part about the city tour was going to The Virgin Mary of Quito statue that was high in the Andes. When we got to the top to see the statue, we overlooked the whole city of Quito. It was one amazing view. There I tried their famous drink called canelazo that tasted like apple cider. By the time we were done with the tour, everyone was exhausted. That is when we went to Hotel Quito. The hotel room is very modern compared to Hotel Otavalo, but both are gorgeous. Everyone was starving at that point so we ventured over to this restaurant called Hunters with our whole group. I got the classic burger and a Pilsener. I was very tired after dinner so I went to my hotel room to blog about today! I cannot wait for tomorrow where we make the trek down to Riobamba, Ecuador. A couple things I noticed while out and about today was people tend to stare at you because I am American and they probably do not see a lot of Americans. They do not make you feel weird since they are just curious in who you are. Another thing I noticed while driving was the amount of cars that pass other cars that are driving “too slow.” Even on crazy steep hills where bends and turns come quickly. It seems very dangerous like they are daredevils. The food tastes a lot healthier and in some cases is seems to be better quality because the way they prepare it. Well that it my experiences and observations for today! Talk to you on my next blog! :)
