Quito

Hello friends and family,            


Yewsterday was a day of groggy plane rides and bureaucratically unconformable lines. When we got out of the airport and out to the street to grab a cheap taxi to our hostel, the environment was strikingly familiar to one of us, but a taste of reality to the other. After a quick freshening in outdoor, room temperature showers, we went for a short walk and ended up in a somewhat sleepy plaza with some shops around. We weren't too attracted to the cafes and restaurants, so we decided to check our e-mails and hit the sack. Next morning, we woke up not knowing where we were for a moment, and then realized we were somewhere we've never been before. A place where our roommates are strangers, our meals are not planned, the showers are questionable, and our security is uncertain. We woke ourselves up in the small shared room of four bunks and headed out as soon as we came to the conclusion of how we wanted to spend the day. By 8 am we were walking around a bustling, but interestingly relaxed city,  choosing streets to stroll through as we pleased.

We stumbled across several attractions without realizing it, but enjoyed them. Early in the morning, we saw uniformed children gleefully walking to school,  old ladies with bowler hats walking steadily down the street, and people dressed in business attire rushing to work. It was a refreshingly different scene from what we see everyday at home. We payed our way into a cathedral to appreciate the architecture, the vivid stained glass and  to cool down and relax. Unknowingly we came across some leisurely city parks. We found people sleeping on the grass watching the day go by as well as street performers gathering a crowd. We ended up laying down on a swing blending in with the careless environment.

With the lunch hour approaching, we became attracted to cheap meals advertised on the sidewalks. One menu was particularly aesthetically pleasing and we decided to eat at the according restaurant. As we enjoyed our freshly squeezed fruit juice and oddly familiar meals, we slowly realized, detail by detail, the place we were eating in was a Chinese restaurant and not what we thought was an authentic Ecuadorian diner. After we laughed about it.......wait hold on, we're gonna play some pool with some Australians .
...........
Well, last night was a party. Looks like we're going to the mountains today.