Quito, Ecuador

Opposite La Merced
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Greetings from Quito everyone!

Jan and I can´t believe we´re actually here.  It´s a bit surreal realizing that you don´t have to be anywhere in particular or answer to anyone for a year.  Our start was a bit hectic.  My brother Frank decided to give us a special parting gift in the form of a cold.  And of course we were busy until the last moment..two hours of sleep the night before.  Poor Jan had his first case of traveller´s diarrhea even before we left. (nerves do crazy things to the body). At the airport in Chicago the security guards were certain they spotted a knife in my backpack, so they emptied it from top to bottom and ran everything through the scanner separately.  Then Jan was of course selected for a special security screening (being Belgian we expected nothing less).

Panecillo
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But we arrived in Quito in one piece!! Yesterday we spent most of the day orientating ourselves.  The highlight was having our first almuerzo.  The main meal here in Ecuador is a two-course lunch that costs a whopping $1.25  We´re trying our best to stay within budget.

Today we visited the old city, starting with a trip to a monument overlooking the city called el Panecillo.  You take a taxi because it´s too dangerous for us conspicuous Americans to walk through the poor neighborhoods.  The view from the top is spectacular! Quito is simply staggering in size--2 million people squashed between the mountains over a 26 mile stretch. The rest of the day we wandered, got lost a bit, and ended with some scrumptious ceviche.  Hate to say it, but the ceviche in Chicago doesn´t compare!

View from el Panecillo
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Tomorrow we´re off to the galapagos and then the adventure really begins :-)

hope you´re all doing well,

Jan and Anna