Hi all,

 

So, since last time I updated this site, I've managed to find an internet cafe where I can upload photos, so you should be able to see some of the things that we've been up to, where we've been and some of the people we've met. Hopefully, they should be reasonably self-explanatory, but if you want any more info, just drop us an e-mail.

 

This week, we've been mainly pretty good and have been staying in and doing our homework, although last night we did sneak out for a few crafty lagers. Tonight Xana and I are out for a nice meal as it's four years ago today that we got together! Our host family even bought us a present to celebrate (a smal Ecuadorian rug - very nice). Completely unnecessary, but very sweet. They've recommended a nice restaurant for us to go to, so will be heading there after salsa this afternoon.

 

Yesterday afternoon we went to the old town of Quito and climbed the Bascillica (you'll see the photos else where), which involves climbing some pretty rickety ladders to reach a tower for the best views. Health and Safety are not big concerns in Ecuador and you can certainly feel the adrenaline as you climb up - but the views are worth it.

 

On Tuesday afternoon we went up La Teleferica. This is a cable car that climbs into Quito's surrounding mountains (Pichincha). Quito is 2,800m above sea-level and the end of the La Teleferica is at 4,100m, so you can really feel the effects of the altitude. We went for a bit of a walk into the mountains, but didn't have time to go too far. Still, what we did do and what we saw was pretty amazing. It's definitely given Xana and I a good taste of what's to come on the Inca Trail and has given us an appetite to try and do some more walks in the mountains of South America.

 

What else to tell...oh yes, we've met possibly the unluckiest person alive. She's a danish girl studying here at the school, and, since last Thursday she has been robbed once (losing bank cards, ipod, camera, clothes in the process), had two attempted robberies fail, and been really ill and required a doctor - all in five days! We're just amazed (and impressed) that she hasn't jacked it all in and headed home! Just to reassure you all though, no one else at the school has had any problems, so it's not all bad.

 

So, we've only got one more day of school left and have an exam to revise for (plus more homework!), so will leave it here. We're off to Lima, Peru on Sunday, so am starting to get ready for our next leg of the trip. I'm ready to be leaving the school (not because my Spanish is so great, but because I don't enjoy being bottom of the class so much!), but will miss some of the people here.

 

Anyway, hasta luego!

 

 

 

Okay, update time.

So, it´s Sunday afternoon (about three o´clock) and it´s absolutely tipping down outside and we´re hiding out in an internet cafe (Papaya.net) for a while.

 

Today we´ve been up to visit the equator (Mital de Mundo), so have now seen the big monument they put up years ago to mark the line, as discovered by a French team back in the 18th century. And to see the line where the equator actually is! The French were about 200m out and the big momument and line painted on the ground are actually in the wrong place. The real equator is just down the road, but I guess it seemed like to much effort to move the monument... At the real equator we saw the water go down the plug hole in different directions either side of the line and straight down on the line itself - just to prove it was the real one.

We then went further into the mountains and saw a massive old crater were a volcano used to be before it blew itself up millions of years ago. Good views - until the couds raced in.

 

Anyway, so since the last posting Xana and I have been going to our Spanish lessons. I´m picking some up, but am not that great at remembering all the vocabulary.

 

We´ve been hanging out with some of the people who started at the same time as us. There are really nice bunch - from lots of different locations - Switzerland, Sweden, Oz, US, Denmark...

 

We went to a salsa lesson on Thursday. I managed to get the basics okay, but then it started getting a bit complicated (we had to pass our partners around). It was a 2 hour lesson, so we were pretty knackered by the end. Thankfully, no photos exist of the lesson...

 

On Friday, me and 5 girls (it´s a tough life...) headed off on one of the local buses to Otavalo. This is a really nice market town about two hours away. We were travelling with all the local people through all sorts of places, so it was pretty cool to see more of how the Ecuadorians live. The bus route goes through some volcanic areas, so we saw loads of beautiful mountains.

When we got to Otavallo, we went out for some food and then ended up in this tiny club where they had a live band playing Ecuadorian music. It was mostly locals and the girls were asked to dance by some of the guys there (but not in a bad way). The girls are all pretty good dancers and really enjoyed themselves. After a couple of cubra libras I ended up dancing salsa with Xana. The band were really good, very lively. There was one member of the band who played three or four different instruments over the course of the evening. We didn´t get home until 2.30 and it was definitely the best night of the trip so far.

Unfortunately, the next morning Xana wasn´t feeling to great (she got given a shot of local brew and it didn´t agree with her), but we managed to head out to the market. The market´s pretty cool. It´s really big and people come from all over the country to buy and sell goods and it´s a great place to pick up lots of typically South American items. We were tempted by loads of things, but ended up limiting ourselves to a couple of pieces of ´jewellery´ for me, a alpaca wrap for Xana and, best of all, a hammock! God knows what we´re going to do with it when we get home, but there´s such a lot of nice stuff there, you feel you have to get something. We´ve decided we´re coming back to Ecuador at some point in the future anyway to go the Galapgos Islands, so will pick up some more stuff then!

After the market, we got back on the bus and headed back to Quito. Was pretty knackered, so ended up staying in on Saturday night.

 

Okay, anything else? Ah yes, you´ll like this one...on Wednesday night we went to a pub called Reina Victoria (Queen Victoria) to do a pub quiz! We had meant to do something cultural and go to an Ecuadorian music and dance night (which we were told was free) at a nearby cultural centre, but when we got there, there was a big queue and everyone had tickets! So, the Reina Victoria was close by and we knew some other people were there, so we headed over. At the end of the quiz, we were in joint third place, ended up winning a tie-breaker and won ourselves a pitcher of beer - so it all turned out okay in the end.

 

Anyway, I think that´s all the updates for now, so will sign off. I´ll try and add some photos next week from the internet connection at school.

 

Take care.

 

Hi all,

 

This is my first posting from our round the world trip. We arrived safely in Quito on Saturday afternoon (after a quick dash through Madrid airport to catch our connecting flight, after the flight from London was delayed!) to be met by Aida, the lady whose house we'll be staying at for the next two weeks. She doesn't speak any English, but Xana can speak pretty good Spanish, so we've not had any problems so far... We then met Manuel in the evening. He's a bit of a character and has been giving us accordian demonstrations and magic shows! There's another student staying with the family, Kath, an Australian.

 

On Sunday we got given a tour of Quito by Manuel and Adia, so have seen a fair amount. Quito is a very big city (2 million people) surrounded by mountains (it's about 2,800m high).

 

We went to the school on Monday to be tested on our Spanish ability. Xana completed the whole paper. I managed to fill in my name and e-mail address! Not a good start...

 

So, today we had our first lessons. I was in the bottom class (no surprise there...), but it's only me and a Swiss girl being taught, so I should manage to learn something in two weeks! It's pretty intense though (no sleeping at the back). Xana was in a higher class and is picking up some of the basics she didn't know already.

 

Tonight we're going on our first night out in Quito. I think it's a quiet night here, and we've got our homework to do... Will let you know how we get on in our next posting.

 

Will try and post some photo's next time.

 

Adios...