Quito

And finally we're here!  Our final destination for this trip ~ the country we were looking forward to the most if you will... We arrived in Quito and from the moment we got off the plane we had nothing but good vibes here.  Friendly and well organized customs to receive us (not something you usually find), a super friendly cab driver that didn't try and rip us off, a great hotel, and a road infrastructure in a clean city friendly city that surpassed all our expectations.

We spent our first afternoon getting lost in Mariscal (area where we stayed), and the next day we were off to the Old town to take in all the old churches, government buildings, and general lay of the land.  If there was one city we would compare Quito to, would be Kathmandu (as it is built in the hills/mountains), at a super high 3000m, and has steep narrow streets throughout the city, but just in better condition...

The start of the walkign tour we took ourself on after our 1st night in Quito.  This is an amazing Basillica that we ruturn to later in the day... but first we're trying to make it to the changing of the guards.

In Central Plaza in Quito... the changing of  the guards.  They do this every Monday, and the President of Ecuador is on the top balcony for it every week!

 

La Virgen, and  land mark overlooking the city in Quito...

Apparentlyl this is the oldest street in Quito...

A couple pictures (above & below) just demonstrating the lay of the land.  It's a cool city...

Heading back to the basillica, we found out you can climp up to the top and get a great view of the city.  They didn't close off any part as you climbed up, and it was amazing how high you could actually get, regardless to how safe it was to climb up there!  A few never racking climbs up ladders we were rewarded with below views!

Quito is a great city, and we eventually managed to meet up with a buddy of mine whom lives down here ~ once he got back into town.  We'll be back and forth out of Quito as we tour around, with his government provided digs offering us a great place to clean up each time we return.  Doesn't get much better...