Today was our first full day in the beautiful country of Ecuador! After a packed day of travel— and a quick pit stop in Miami— we started our day at 7 AM in the Hotel San Francisco de Quito. The hotel has a gorgeous lobby and they cook 3 delicious meals a day. For breakfast, we ate scrambled eggs, fresh papaya and watermelon, bread and jam, cheese, and fried green plantains. Our first stop on our exploration of Quito was Iglesia Católica San Francisco, the main church located in San Francisco Square. We were able to observe the mass happening in the morning; one thing that stood out was that Ecuador allows dogs in some churches!
After that, we made our way down the path to the Museo Franciscano Fray Pedro Gocial. Our lovely tour guide Dylan took us through some of the art work, the gardens, and the oldest brewery in the New World. At the end of our tour, our guide cracked open fresh coconuts for us to taste! Once our tour was over, we navigated the busy streets filled with vendors. Left and right, there were new foods and clothes to check out! We all stopped to try churros filled with dulce de leche and continued our walk through the market.
We headed back to the hotel to regroup for lunch. Our meal consisted of chicken, rice, potato, salad, fig, and cheese; during lunch, we sat with different members of our group to catch up on our travels and learn more about one another. After lunch, we were able to go off for some exploring of our own! We shopped more markets and made our way back to San Francisco Square; the whistle from above our heads came from Dylan, our guide from earlier! He showed us around some local stores and we even went to a restaurant where we watched traditional dancers right next to our table.
We said adios to Dylan and headed to the local convenience store, where we bought an assortment of local snacks to try. Our last outing before dinner was to the Basilica del Voto Nacional. Though the walk was long and hilly—even more so than Cardiac Hill at Pitt— we managed to make it with an hour left to explore. Ten flights of stairs and two rickety staircases later, we were standing on what seemed like the top of Quito. The views of the city stretched out miles: countless basketball courts, dozen of different architecture styles, and the clearest views of the city’s incredible landmarks.
Back down the steep stairs, we walked back to the hotel for our last dinner here in Quito. We decided it would be a fun adventure to ride up to Virgin of the Panecillo and overlook Quito from one last point of view. The view was breathtaking; it was so fulfilling seeing all the places we walked and stopped from up above. We ended our adventure with a pick-up volleyball game with the locals, a fun ride listening to music, and our long awaited snack haul. Quito was filled with such vibrant, beautiful memories, and while it’s sad that we’re checking out tomorrow, I am eager for the next parts of our trip. See you in Cayambe!