Today is the first day in Quito. We woke at 7:00 (it took us a solid 5 mins to snooze the alarm). We ate in a beautiful catacomb in the hotel. We then went out at 9:00. There were street vendors and a bunch of street food like ice cream, fruit, and very delicious churros. We first went to Iglesia de La Compania which was covered with gold sheets. Then we went next door and went to Meseo Francisco where we learned about various art pieces and the oldest brewery. Our guide then took us to the very top of the building, we were able to see much of Quito. After the tour we walked around and visited the outdoor markets. The prices are insane here. A bottle of water is 49 cents. Then we went back to the San Francisco hotel to eat lunch. We had a delicious lunch where we tried El Higo which was a very interesting fig.

After lunch we went out to explore the markets again. We were able to bargain with the local sellers. They sold beautiful paintings, bracelets and figurines. Afterwards I headed back to rest. All the walking wore me out and I immediately fell asleep. After napping, we had dinner at 7:00. After dinner some of the group went out to Virgin of the Panecillo. You could see the whole city from the top of the statue. The rides there and back were intense. The roads here are small and quite bumpy. After the visit we all decided to rest and create our blogs. And that’s it for our first day in Ecuador!