First Night in Quito

Here is Lauren´s Post. Andy may write his own...

Never have I had such an easy trip! We hardly waited in LA or in Miami, then when we got to Quito our taxi driver was waiting for us (although my name was spelled ¨Lauren Dowll¨), and he took us straight to our hostal. It is a really cool old building and we are on the top floor overlooking the courtyard. It is certainly worn down, but very clean with a nice cafe and several computers. We met one guy this morning from the Netherlands who was very friendly and assured us that during the day time, the area is very safe regardless of the many traveler safety advisories. That was nice to hear early in the morning.

We arrived around 11 pm last night and got to bed feeling a little light headed due to the high altitude, but this morning we feel well after a little food and water. We have been practicing our Spanish already. Most people so far seem to speak English, so they can correct us, but they prefer Spanish.

By the way, we are only 3 hours ahead of California because Ecuador does not use daylight savings time. I suppose they don´t need to since they are on the equator and sunlight is probably pretty consistant.

We are very happy, and the trip got off to a great and easy start. Today we will visit a travel center to get some tips on language programs and things to do. Apparently we can go to the exact (GPS located) equator and watch water flow down sinks in two different directions on either side of the equator. Pretty cool..

Today we will also look for a calling card. Everything is really cheap and I am very glad we decided not to bring a phone because we can call the US for 6 to 12 cents per minute from here, rather than the 2.50 per minute on an international cell phone. And it looks like we will have regular internet access unless we leave urban areas.