Yesterday was a busy day, so I didn´t really have time to write. I probably won´t write as often when we leave Quito because it will be more difficult to get to a computer. Right now, Pily lets us use her phone and computer anytime without charge.
Like I said, Ramsey and I were very busy yesterday. We started out with our language class...I was able to go for three hours without any problems! If I had more time, I would keep going to classes, but it doesn´t seem worth it since we´re not here for very long. After class, we stopped for lunch at Cafe Amazonas, which is near the school. It was great, and I had some tasty ceviche. It was a lukewarm tomato-y and lemony soup with shrimp and vegetables...mmmmmmm. Ceviche is common in both Ecuador and Peru, and apparently both countries think their version is the best. I´ll make my decision when I´m in Peru.
After lunch, we took a cab to TeleferiQo, which is a lift to the top of a nearby mountain. The ride up was stunning and only took about five or ten minutes. Ramsey and I were both already out of breath after the cab ride because we had gone so high up the mountain. We had to stop and catch our breath after our lift ride to the top. Quito is about 2800 meters above sea level, and TeleferiQo takes you up to about 4100 meters above sea level! We were very lightheaded (and a little cold because of the wind), but it was so amazing up there. We had views of the entire city of Quito, plus some surrounding Andean mountains. Breathtaking...literally. We hiked around a little bit, but we were warned not to go off the path since it can be very dangerous because of both large drops and thieves. When it was time to come back down, we were met with a HUGE line to get to the bottom of the mountain. A kind woman helped us, though, and told us that since we´re foreigners, we automatically had to purchase an express pass, meaning we had a much shorter wait. The funny thing was that anytime an Ecuadorian with an express pass walked through this special line, people would yell (good-naturedly) at them. When we walked through, there was complete silence. It was a bit awkward, but overall, it was a fun environment.
Once we made it back down, we took a shuttle into the city and made our way back to El Centro. There were some monasteries and a church that we still wanted to visit. The first monastery we made it to was closed, so we found the second monastery, which included a museum. It was pretty interesting, and then Ramsey bought some things from the nuns there. We´re not supposed to see the nuns, so they sell things through a revolving wooden door. Next, we made our way to La Merced, which is a beautiful church (with no entrance fee, which is nice). We wanted to see this one because it has an interesting legend surrounding it. Supposedly the bell tower is possessed by the devil, and the only person who could go up to ring the bells was a man named Ceferino. After he died, no one else dared to go up there. Now no one has been up there since about 1810. We looked up at the bells, and the dust on them was clearly visible from where we were.
Last night, Ramsey and I really wanted to experience going out to dinner in Quito. We looked in my book and found this restaurant called La Boca del Lobos, which sounded fun. The book lied a bit about the prices, so it was more expensive than we expected but still great. We ended up having some house wine and splitting two appetizers...a plate of warm camambert and apples served with bread and some breaded mussels with spinach and mashed potatoes. Thankfully, the portions weren´t so small, and we were filled up afterwards. We ended up walking back because the restaurant was only three blocks from Pily´s place and it was before nine (and nine is apparently when tourists should really be careful). We were a little nervous, but we stayed in busy streets. We´ve heard so many horror stories, so we figure it´s best to always be a little bit on our guard.
Today we´re both going to go to La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world). The ride there should be about an hour, so it´ll probably be a full day trip. Tonight Pily wants to take us to La Calle Ronda, which is a nice street in El Centro. Apparently it´s a lot of fun on a Friday night!
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