Quito - Part 1

Here we are in Quito, as you learned in the previous post. There have been some requests for a bit of a review of the hostel situation so here we go. On Saturday we left a hotel called La Cartuja which was nice and served the purpose of letting us relax and sleep for a full day but it was a bit out of our price range. So we strapped on our packs and set out for the hostel La Posada del Maple which is just 10 blocks away. Both places are located in the Mariscal district which is the busy and tourist-centric area of what is known as the "New City" of Quito. El Maple is a cool old building with great courtyards, free breakfast, free internet, great staff etc. When we got here they were cleaning the wood floors with terpentine and everybody in the place had a glazed over look but boy do the floors look good! The price is definitely right ($31 per night for the pair of us in a private room with a private bath) and it is just about three blocks to our Spanish school. There is tons of food around too but I think we will wait on the food report as we are still learning the ropes.

Yesterday we had our first outing as we took the bus (you thought the muni gets crowded) to the old town and then a taxi to the Panecillo for a 360 degree view of the greater Quito area, it is huge. Then after lunch we headed up to the Basillica. The guide book said we should expect a death-defying climb up the towers and they weren't kidding. I've seen too many disaster movies with buildings crumbling apart like sand castles not to have the thought cross my mind as we climbed up iron ladders that clung to the outsides of these towers built in 1926. As you can see from the photo, we made it and of course it was worth it, this time we got a view from right in the middle of town. In the background you can see the statue of la Virgen which is on top of the Panecillo where we were earlier in the day.

Today we got up early, had breakfast, put on the best of our limited wardrobe and set off for our first day of school! We are both taking one on one lessons at the Simon Bolivar Spanish School. We have already taken a liking to our respective profesors and we are also very excited about the extracurricular activites that the school offers every evening and the outings that they offer during the weekends. We are headed there shortly for a lecture on Ecuadorian economy. Tomorrow is Salsa dancing...I have to get new pants!