Sep 21, 2009 - One month in...

Ooops! I realized I haven’t made a post in a really long time! I guess I have a lot to catch up on with everybody! In some ways, I think it is really good I haven’t posted in a long time… it means I have been BUSY! I have been settling into the rhythm of life in Quito. ... However Universidad San Francisco de Quito attracts the elites of Ecuador because it is the most expensive, most highly thought of university in Ecuador. ... The night of the party I my host mom drove us out to Tumbaco, a suburb pretty far from Quito where they had rented this big house/farm for the party. ... Sunday night I went to a family friend’s house in Quito. ...

Sep 16, 2009 - Back to Quito again - and a trip to the "Middle of the World"!

We are back in Quito for the last time now and this time we braved the buses again and made the short trip up to the equator which is known as Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world). ... There is a monument which marks the equator but now with GPS they have found that it is about 200 metres out! There is a second small, unofficial museum which marks the "actual" equator line, so we also visited this as well.We are back in Quito for the last time now and this time we braved the buses again and made the short trip up to the equator which is known as Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world). ... There is a monument which marks the equator but now with GPS they have found that it is about 200 metres out! There is a second small, unofficial museum which marks the "actual" equator line, so we also visited this as well....

Sep 13, 2009 - Quito, round 2

We got back to our hostel in Quito safe and sound. ... The monastery was in downtown Quito and is a place where women decide to devote themselves to God (they actually have a marriage ceremony) and sequester themselves for life. ... (the backpack just seems to get heavier) Anyways, that was it for Quito, on to Otavalo! ...

Sep 4, 2009 - Quito

We arrived in Quito after a short 2. ... Quito is surrounded by mountains and is very beautiful. ... We arrived on Sunday and there wasn´t much open, so we just wandered around.We arrived in Quito after a short 2. ... Quito is surrounded by mountains and is very beautiful. ... We arrived on Sunday and there wasn´t much open, so we just wandered around....

Sep 2, 2009 - An eventful start!

We arrived safely in Quito early yesterday evening and checked into our hostel (which is nice). ... After successfully booking our trips we decided to walk down to the Old Town of Quito. ... We were a bit tired from walking around the hilly streets of Quito so we decided to jump on the Trolebus back up to the New Town where we are staying – however, this appears to be our first mistake! We had been warned to be careful in Quito by many people at home and after arriving, so we had money belts and we padlocked our day pack and where trying to be vigilant all the time. ...

Aug 31, 2009 - The First Big Weekend in Quito

I think it is appropriate to dedicate an entire entry to this weekend because it was my first big weekend in Quito. ... When I finally returned to Quito from the suburb where the University is I went with my mom and Meli to a salon to have our nails done because we were going to a ceremony to watch my host sister Pame get her PHD in medicine and become a doctor! It only cost $2. ... At the beginning they even played the Ecuadorian national anthem, which I had never heard! Afterwards there was a reception on the roof of the hospital where we all drank champagne and could see the entire city of Quito. ... I only slept a few hours because I was going with Scott and big group from USFQ to ride the Teleferico cable cars up to the top of a big mountain overlooking Quito. ... When we retuned back down to earth we decided to go to old town Quito to see some colonial architecture and eat lunch (which cost only $2. ...

Aug 30, 2009 - Almost to Cuenca

Hola! We are on our way to Cuenca tomorrow.Hola! We are on our way to Cuenca tomorrow....

Aug 27, 2009 - The Classes Begin!

After the rest of rather uneventful, but exciting orientation at Universidad San Francisco de Quito I came home and hung out at my host family’s house. ... He led us to the back and someone helped On the Tuesday night before classes started we had a big party at a bar in Quito for all of the international students. ... Today I had my first day of class at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. ... Besides that, the weather is perfect, just a little bit warmer than Quito because it is at a lower elevation. ... When we go to register me for another class, the system is so overwhelmed from all of the students checking their class schedules we can’t get on! Finally, it’s my turn to brave Quito’s bus system alone. ...

Aug 23, 2009 - Settling in to Quito

I have been in Quito since late on Thursday night. ... It has taken some time for me to adjust to Quito's high altitude, on Friday I had a terrible headache and I was exhausted the whole day. ... It felt good to relax and I even took a 3 hour nap in the middle of day after sleeping for ten hours! Words cannot explain how terrified I was when I arrived in Quito the first day. ...

Jul 29, 2009 - FR : Retard + photos Colombie

Je vous écris de Quito, la capitale de l´Equateur. ... Nous n´avons que 2 jours ici pour découvrir la ville avant notre marathon de vols direction le Brésil où nous passerons les 3 dernières semaines de notre voyage.Je vous écris de Quito, la capitale de l´Equateur. ... Nous n´avons que 2 jours ici pour découvrir la ville avant notre marathon de vols direction le Brésil où nous passerons les 3 dernières semaines de notre voyage....

Jul 28, 2009 - Ecuador and the Amazon!

Our arrival in the city of Quito in Ecuador marked the official “halfway point” in our travels for this year, as Quito lies just a few kilometres from the equator. ... It is from Quito that we would embark on undoubtedly two of this year’s highlights, namely a trip to the Amazon rainforest and 8 days cruising in the Galapagos Archipelago! It is therefore not difficult to imagine the four of us jumping out of bed as our alarm clocks sounded last Friday morning as we headed to the airport for a short flight over the Andes and into the Amazon basin. ... To top off a fantastic week in the Amazon we arrived back to civilisation in Quito to find out that ...

Jul 13, 2009 - Galapagos islands

Hi i just got back from Galapagos Islands.Hi i just got back from Galapagos Islands....