I apologize for the delay between posts. It’s been a busy view days in Quito! (fun and planning)

Thursday, February 21 – transit from La Paz to Quito

Today was the long travel day. But I guess I was mentally prepared for it, so it wasn’t too terrible.

I arrived in Quito in the early evening. The elevation of the airport is 7,900 ft. Not quite in the league of La Paz, but a relatively high altitude airport. (note to Ed: I didn’t see any prop planes on departure from La Paz, but did see some on arrival in Quito) Quito’s population is 2.5 million, and it is the 2nd highest capital city in the world, just behind my last stop – La Paz.

I’m staying at a nice little boutique hotel in a fairly active and centrally located part of the city.

Friday, February 22 – Quito

Today I did my favorite thing when arriving at a new city – roam around on foot. I focused on the Historic City Centre, which was among the first World Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO, in 1978. Unfortunately, like Valparaiso, I found this area to be dirty and covered with graffiti. It’s too bad. Here are some highlights…

Saturday, February 23 – Quito

I spent the day on an excursion to the nearby town of Otavalo for their massive Saturday Market. A couple other stops were made along the way. The cost of the tour was $60 (incl a snack).

The market is full of stalls selling textiles, tagua nut jewelry, musical instruments, dream catchers, leather goods, fake shrunken heads, indigenous costumes, hand-painted platters and trays, purses, clothing, spices, raw foods and spools of wool. Unfortunately, as the city has become more of a tourist attraction, many of the goods sold in the markets are mass-produced in nearby factories and sold in the market by middlemen. (I didn’t buy anything)

Sunday, February 24 – Quito

Another full-day excursion was taken today. This time we headed out on a hike up Cotopaxi volcano. (Excursion cost: $60, incl breakfast and dinner) The volcano is 19,400ft in elevation, and it last erupted 3 years ago. (Wait, what?!?) We spent about 2 hours hiking up to an elevation of 16,000ft. Thanks to the fact that I had been acclimated to altitude since my arrival in La Paz, I felt great. Some of the others in our group struggled. It was a miserable day, raining most of the time (this is the rainy season). It turned to snow though on the way up, which made it kind of fun. At the end of the climb was a little lodge where everyone gathered to warm up. It had a pretty rowdy atmosphere, with everyone feeling a sense of accomplishment. So, in spite of the weather, it was an enjoyable day!