Quito and Turkey Day

First of all, Quito is a HUGE city. In the days we were there, we only explored bits and pieces of the city, trying to stay where it was safest and not wander around too much at night, or if we did, bring nothing with us but a few coins and the clothes on our back.

We stayed at the Blue House in La Mariscal aka ¨New Town.¨ This area attracts a younger, party crowd, but we heard that it was safer past dark than Old Town, so we chose a hostel there. The Blue House was kind of trashy, but we ended up meeting a few people there that we enjoyed, and the hostel was only a couple blocks from the main square in New Town which had many cafes, restaurants, bars, travel agencies and shops.

Highlights in Quito include El Mita Del Mundo, which we did our first day with an Auzzie guy we met. We had to walk and hop on several buses but eventually made it to the far northern region of Quito surrounded by a desolate, desert landscape. There is some controversey about where the actual equator lies, but we visited a few places in the area and really enjoyed the second place we went that was down a dusty, unmarked road. We got a tour with an english speaking guide and he taught us a lot of history about the area and facts about the physics of being on the equator. We also did science experiments with water being drained from a tub (didn´t form any kind of ¨tornado¨when it was drained on the equator!)and balancing an egg on a nail (which we got a certificate for, definitely going on the fridge when I get home).

Another touristy attraction was La Basilica: a massive stone church with beautifully intricate design and stained glass windows. We had to pay US$2 each to climb the towers, which we were hesitant to pay at first, being the cheapos we are, but it ended up being so worth it. We climbed up spiral staircases, walked across gang-planks and ascended steep metal ladders on the outside of the building to get to the highest towers with rewarding views of Quito and the surrounding area. And, we got a few adrenaline rushes to boot!

From La Basilica, Old town is only a short walk away. It is filled with old, colonial style buildings, museums, statues and squares. We didn´t go into any of the museums (being too cheap) but enjoyed walking through the streets and grabbed an empanada de verde (Ecuadorian dish: plantain empenada filled with cheese) and tamales de pollo.

We spent Thanksgiving evening cooking up a mini feast. One of the only other Americans in our hostel was a younger guy named Hunter from Montana. He knew where to get a whole, roasted chicken, so we sent him on that mission while Jon and I whipped up some garlic mashed potatoes, corn, bought a loaf of bread and a decent bottle of Malbec wine from Argentina. Hunter arrived with the hot chicken in a plastic bag, dumped it on the table, and voila! Thanksgiving dinner served.