Rincon Escandinavo Quito

Music and dance are really important to Latin American culture.  Music is everywhere here.  On the busses every morning I hear a wide range of music, from old pop songs from the United States, to electronic, to more traditional sounding Latin American music in Spanish. Our housekeeper listens to the strangest music on the radio I have ever heard, it sounds like a mixture of chanting in Spanish and cats meowing.  I am trying to figure ...

... s claim to fame is a monument for the ecuatorial line and bizcochos, which are kind of like biscotti but more buttery and dipped in carmel. Very tasty. After seeing all the Cayambe had to offer Marco, Nicolas and I went to stay with Marco's cousins outside Quito for one night where we visited the more touristy Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the world). A word on this: Ok, Ecuador I got it you have the ecuator going through the country, but please make ...

... long so I gave it to Ror and he had it balanced in a few seconds lol! So he got a certificate - I was determined to do it though so when the tour finished we went back to it and I did it so I don't have a cert but I have photographic evidence! They had a sink then with water in it and on the equator line the water falls straight down the plughole. She moved the sink a few feet into the northern hemisphere and put more water in and ...

... t ask me why. Something about ankle support) are incredibly dusty and scuffed. After the sixth or seventh offer, he finally gives in and says, yes, shine my shoes.

The kid quotes us 25 cents, 5 times the going rate, but G's shoes are pretty awful. The boy settles down to work as his friends gather round to watch the spectacle. I, of course, am the next target. My boots are indeed dusty, but they are cloth on the outside, not leather. Every time a friend asks to do my shoes, I ...

... After school, I ate at a bagel place owned by a guy from the U.S. I don’t know if there will be bagels in Honduras, so I thought I should soak up as much familiar comfort food as I can. I wasn’t too safe though, and got a Quinoa bagel.

This past weekend there were 3 different music festivals in Quito so I ended up going to 4 concerts in 4 days! The first was a punk rock one. I felt like my friend’s mom because I held her jacket and ...

... its just valuables. Kind of puts a nice light on it...though I'd still rather pay my monthly World Vision money instead!

The city is really lively on weekdays, there are great food stalls and restaurants, lots of Latin American music blaring from most shops which gives a festive atmosphere to the streets. One thing I noticed too that is similar to Mexico is the large amounts of nudy pictures up in all kinds of shops! Its everywhere! People are generally very small ...

... into a bookstore. Bad move, so many beautiful books on Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I ended up buying a book with the 4 areas = coast, amazon, andes and Galapagos. It has some truly beautiful photos. About 6 of us headed out to dinner at a Thai restaurant, but we were along a pretty popular street for eating and drinking (Calama). Being a Friday night, people were everywhere. The food was good and the strawberry daquari´s even better.

... going to camp at about 4000m. I had mixed feelings about this. Our objective was Iliniza Norte, a 5100 peak. Camping was going to add 600m and several hours to our climb the next day. We also weren't going to get to sleep at a higher altitude which would have helped our acclimatization. For me though, having missed a day of acclimatization I didn't feel too bad sleeping a bit lower. After all I had still ...

... as expensive, but it was highly recommended by the guidebook, so hopefully we made the right decision.

This was the view from the entrance.



After paying a deposit on our new hotel I ...

... atmosphere and took pictures of picturesque people and buildings. Ecuador, we were beginning to realise, was one of those countries. By this I mean that it has some sort of indefinable quality that begs you to linger and enjoy. I was alarmed that we were merely rushing through on our way to Peru. The countryside seemed verdant, the people friendly enough, the atmosphere relaxed and safe (unless, of course, you were a dog near a road). Its growing reputation as a trouble spot seemed to ...