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Trip Start Jun 12, 2008 Trip End Nov 20, 2008 Next
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  Quito, Ecuador
Monday, June 16, 2008

Hello!

We arrived in Quito four days ago now and things have gone really well. The trip got off to the best possible start, we arrived at Heathrow to be told we had an upgrade to business class for the Madrid - Quito flight. However when we got on the plane in Madrid we discovered it was actually first class! I struggled to contain my excitement about this! The chair was one of the ones that turns into a bed, so I was able to have a good sleep after my seven course lunch. Iīm not sure how we got the upgrade but Iīm so glad we did!

Flying into Quito was quite amazing, itīs much bigger than I thought it would be. Itīs set in the Andean mountains so it was spectacular to fly into. Itīs really hilly and some houses are built at impossible angles up the sides of the mountains and volcanoes.

When we arrived at Quito I found that immigration was a refreshing change from the times I have been to the USA. The man was really friendly and welcomed us to Ecuador. We got our bags and went into the arrivals hall; this is an amazing place where whole families come with flowers to welcome people from their flights. It was relief to see a sign saying "Dominic Crean x 2" and we headed over to meet Javier who drove us to the family we would be staying with for the next week.  

Weīre staying in a quiet neighbourhood with Cecelia and her daughter Maricela. They are lovely and have made us feel very welcome in their home. Cecelia gave us both a big hug when we first arrived and has told us that she is our Ecuadorian mother! There are several other students staying in the house as well, a Canadian girl, two German girls, a Swedish guy, a Dutch guy and another English girl (who nervously left for the jungle yesterday, sheīs even more worried about it that I am and thatīs saying something!) I was really pleased that there are lots of other people in the house, it means that the awkward "french exchange" moments are very rare and weīve had some good advice and tips from the others.

The first night it was the Canadian girlīs birthday and so we had a celebration meal of Ecuadorian stew and rice and a HUGE birthday cake that Maricela had made.

Another Orchid

We also sang Happy Birthday in various languages!

The next day, Friday, we were up early (jet lag!) and while the others went off to language school (we donīt start until today, Monday) we headed out to explore the City. At the moment the weather is really nice, itīs lovely and warm and clear in the mornings, we get a shower in the afternoons but itīs not too bad. It gets a bit chilly at night though. The altitude hasnīt affected us but the bus fumes have! The air here is really bad, there is no unleaded petrol in Ecuador and the buses pour out thick black smoke when they acclerate (which is often!) and everyone beeps their horn at the slightest opportunity so walking around Quito is a noisy, chaotic experience. We walked down to the main park and then up through El Mariscal which is the main commercial district but also set up for tourists and travellers with lots of restaurants, bars and hostels. 

We went back to the house for lunch with Cecelia and the German girls. They told us that at school theyīd been given the choice of going to the market with their teacher or doing irregular verbs and they chose irregular verbs?!! I canīt see Dom and I making that choice! We didnīt do very much for the rest of the day because we were so tired from our walk in the morning.

The next day we headed to Carolina Park which is where families go at weekends, it was really lovely and nice to get away from the noise and fumes for a while and do some people watching.

Old Town looking up to the Virgin

We also went to the botanic gardens and saw amazing Orchids in the greenhouse. There are over 1000 species in Ecuador and some of the ones we saw were really beautiful.

After dinner on Saturday night Cecelia suggested that we had a family trip to the video store to get a film for us all to watch. So we all trooped out into the night to the "video store", turns out that in Quito this is a shop to sell pirate DVDs. Blockbuster it was not! There are loads of them in Quito, itīs so blatant! It was so funny to watch Cecelia haggling over the price and demanding to watch a bit of the film to check the quality! We came back and watched Grease, trying to sing along in Spanish!

On Sunday we headed into the Old City, this is the historic centre and has some really lovely buildings and churches. I havenīt bought my camera to the internet cafe today but I will try and put some photos on next time. The main square was really nice and we sat in the morning sun and watched the goings on in the square.

After lunch we decided to get a bus. We decided that for our first encounter with a bus we should avoid the ones you leap on while they are moving (hurdling and high jump were never my strength at school so Iīm dreading those ones!) We went for the one that has a civilised stop and was quite obvious to use. Feeling very pleased with ourselves for successfully using the bus we went to the National Museum. This was an excellent museum which covered the entire cultural history of Ecuador and was one of the most interesting museums Iīve been to.

This morning we got up early to go to language school but found out we are actually booked in for the afternoon so have come down into town while away the time before we start our couples lesson at 1pm. My spanish has been holding up pretty well so far (thank you Adult Learning!!) Iīve been having some good conversations with Cecelia and have made myself understood when we have been out and about. I have made a couple of comedy errors though, the best being when I announced at the dinner table that the german girls were depressed! (Alex, I keep getting Ser and Estar mixed up!)

Right, I think thatīs about it for now, next time Iīll try and add photos. Hope youīre all well and you are getting some sun back in England (and Australia and South Africa!!!)

Bye for now!

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Orchids in the Botanic Gardens

Plaza Grande, Old Town

Quito Old Town

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