Hola From Ecuador

Well, we made it to Quito! We took that red-eye to Miami, had enough time to buy a couple coffees and snacks for the next leg, and then boarded our flight to Quito. The plane was not full, and Tim lucked out with an open seat next to him.

The descent into Quito was stunning -- we could see snow-capped volcanoes. We got off the plane and picked up our checked bags without a hitch. Customs was fast and smooth. And then we made our way into the airport lobby and luckily met a shuttle driver heading to our hotel. We hitched a ride on the shuttle -- a good thing because there was no way Tim's board bag was going to fit in a taxi.

The drive to our Quito hotel was about 45 minutes, and we climbed up and up. Quito's elevation is just over 9,000 feet; it's the second highest official capital city in the world. After checking in, we dropped off our bags in the room and headed to the pool. The kids were clamoring to go swimming, and we were more than happy to have them move their bodies. A quick swim later (the water was NOT warm), we came back to the room; some of us showered, some of us napped. 

Not much later, we left the hotel and walked a few blocks for dinner. Dinner. Was. So. Good. We were served Chulpi, which is Ecuadorian toasted corn. The kids ordered Mora, which is a blackberry drink. We each tried a sweet corn pancake as an appetizer -- and could have had many more! For our meals, we had lamb stew and chicken + french fries (guess who had which meal?).

We walked back to the hotel after dinner and everyone promptly fell asleep (about 5pm Pacific time!).

Tuesday morning was a bit slow-going. Our bodies weren't sure if we were on California or Ecuador time. I made it to the hotel gym (had my temperature checked before entering) and ran a few miles. The altitude got to me -- my few miles felt challenging. But I was thankful for the treadmill. Running is my therapy, and I wasn't sure (still am not sure) what running on this trip would look like. 

We grabbed some coffee and breakfast at the hotel, and the kids went swimming while Tim and I (mostly Tim) plotted out what the next few weeks would look like.

A chocolate croissant AND the Eagles? Yes, please.

Somebody's in her happy place.

The weather on Tuesday was gorgeous. The sun was out and temps hovered in the low 60s. Following some quality pool time, we hopped in a taxi and made our way to Old Town Quito, which is must-see if you visit. Old Town Quito is the world's first UNESCO world heritage site, and it's an amazingly preserved area, with fabulous architecture from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. We started in Plaza Grande, walked to a famous street called La Ronda, found some empanadas for lunch, grabbed ice cream, visited La Campania (the best-known Quito church decorated with gold leaf and gilded plaster -- literally, it looks all gold inside), and climbed several sets of stairs that wouldn't pass safety regulations in the U.S. to look out over Quito from La Basilica del Voto Nacional (the largest church in Quito, and one that is technically unfinished).

Empanadas for lunch.

Ice cream for an afternoon treat.

Walking up a hill -- there were lots of these in Old Town Quito.

Family selfie dos, outside of La Basilica.

La Basilica.

The incredible nave inside La Basilica.

We climbed up several sets of stairs at La Basilica, but we weren't yet to the top.

Walking up a circular staircase to the top of La Basilica.

The view of Quito from the top of La Basilica.

More Quito.

At the top of this hill is La Virgen del Panecillo, the Virgin Mary with angel wings, a huge statue constructed in 1955.

Making our way down a wooden bridge to the second tower at La Basilica.

Wyatt wanted to climb up to the second tower; my anxiety did not agree.

Climbing back down to the wooden bridge to leave La Basilica.

I have to say, everyone we've come across here in Quito has been so friendly. And everyone is extremely COVID-conscious. People wear masks all over in Quito, and hand sanitizer is plentiful. Taxis are super cheap, the food is super cheap, and people are more than willing to help us gringos.

We were planning to stay in Quito until Friday, and then rent a car and go explore the rest of the country. But after seeing how people drive in Quito (!), we nixed that idea. Generally, visitors to Ecuador get around via bus, not rental cars. We'll be leaving Quito tomorrow and taking a shuttle to Cotopaxi, an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, about a 90-minute drive from where we are now. We'll spend a couple days in Cotopaxi (no WiFi there!), and then hop on buses to take us to Banos and other spots we want to see. Eventually, we'll make our way back to Quito (gotta get the board bag out of hotel storage) before hitting up Ecuador's coast. 

Vamos!