We were all up bright and early for breakfast this morning at the hotel. We had sausage, eggs, cereal, croissants, and an assortment of juices. Our tour guide Luis met us in the hotel lobby at 9am to
tell us about the day ahead.
We got on the bus and traveled close by to the old city Quito where we visited three different churches that date back to the 16th centuty: The basilica of Quito, Santo Domingo and San Francisco.
We were given an extensive tour of Santo Domingo where we saw some amazing art work and architechture. We visited the Grand Plaza, which is the center of the city and also the location of the
Presidential palace.
Back on the bus, we headed north 45 minutes to the equator, and along the way we recieved our lunches. The kids were very surprised that the potato chips came with ketchup, but Luis said that
this was very common in Ecuador.
At the equator we were given a tour that talked about the past amazonian culture and their people. There were some pretty cool visual exhibits that proved we were on the equator. My favorite
was when they proved that water spun in different directions as it drained depending on which side of the line you were on.
This evening we visited an artisian market where students were able to buy some handmade souveniers from the local vendors. Half of the group ended up with authentic alpaca ponchos. From the
market we headed to dinner at a local restaraunt where some brave students tried the octopus salad.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel, and had a meeting to recap the day and talk about all the things each student was able to see. This is our last night in Quito and in the morning we
will be traveling to Rio Bomba where we will be seeing a very different culture and way of life within Ecuador.
~ Alex