Folklore Hotel Quito

... mostly deserted when everyone is a few miles away in the Mariscal district, where all the after-hours action and fun happens.

For many more pictures from my first trip to Quito, see my "Ecuador 1 and 2" blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/st evelegassick/ecuador_dec2004/tpod.html< br>

... and helpful guides. Having gone through some indigenous exhibitions (including a shrunked boys head) we were treated to a series of ecuator based experiments - the cilloris effect (reminding me of the classic Simpsons in Oz episode), balancing eggs on a pin on the ecuator, strength tests etc. Very entertaining.

Not sad in a way, though, that the next time my feet touch the northern hemisphere will be at Heathrow on the shortest day of the northern year.

... that we were doing the right thing. Good to hear.

The Robbery...
For today, I had to be reassured, time and time again, by my fabulous fiance who reassured me that losing material things really doesn´t matter. Today I fell victim to stories that travelers have told us time and time again and had my bag, with everything material that was important to me, lifted literally from beneath my feet. Granted, I was, and am ...

... stuff in the process. And on that note I will go on to the final chapter of this blog contribution.

The future

Thanks to all for staying with me for so long. I hope you found it interesting and not just read it out of pure obligation, in which case you shouldn’t have had to.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 13th, I will get up around 4 in the morning, eat a quick breakfast, put my backpack on my shoulders and get into our neighbor’s cap to go to the airport ...

... This fine for an ex public school boy like myself who is used to hard-***** living but not so easy for a delicate flower like Debbie.

Opposite the hostal, there is a building that accommodates one of the political parties. Looking at its name – Partido Socialista Frente Amplio 17 – with the number 17 recurring around the outside of the building, I assumed it was a party for young revolutionaries and further thought that it was highly appropriate that the parties ...

... billig aber sehr gut. (mit Suppe und Hauptgang 5$) Ach ja hätte ich vergessen bezahlt wird hier in Dollar.
Am Dienstag erstmal ein wenig in der Stadt umschauen, der alte Teil ist recht schön. Super prunkvoll ausgestaltete Kirchen. In einer sollen 7 Tonnen Gold verbaut worden sein. In den meisten werden auch noch aktive Gottesdienste veranstaltet, wenn ich es richtig verstanden habe 4 mal am Tag und da gehen auch ...

... a view to the west of El Panecillo. We had a wander then headed back south to see Plaza San Fernando, another square, though smaller than the previous, which opens out in front of San Fernando church. I took an amusing photo of Cynthia imitating the pose of a statue in the square, then we headed back east to the hostel. We walked back a different way to the way we had come, which was interesting, though rather polluted; in fact, the pollution from cars in ...

... Wir entschlossen uns die rund 5-stündige Wanderung um den See zu machen. Während der ersten 4-Stunden hatten wir kaum Probleme in dem hügeligen Gelände zu wandern doch gegen Ende der Wanderung machten sich die Auswirkungen der ungewohnten Höhe von rund 4000 m bemerkbar und wir waren sehr froh als wir endlich wieder im Auto ankamen und die Heimfahrt nach Quito antreten konnten.
Die Autofahrt war für sich auch ein Abenteuer, weil unser Fahrer (den wir nur mit Muehe wach halten ...

... across a large group of friendly young local guys waiting under a shelter for the rain to end. They asked if I wanted to join them. I sat with them as we waited for the weather to clear. They were kind enough to pass food and other snacks around and we chatted. As I heard the thunder seemingly coming closer, I was getting very nervous and started to think if this was so wise to do it alone. Eventually, the rain and hail subsided and I thought I ...