Quito Trip

Saturday morning, me and one of the volunteers (Amy) left on a bus to Quito (the capital). It was a 3.5 hour trip that cost $4... then we took a taxi to the airport (on the way back we took the trolley which only cost 25 cents!) At the airport we met a group from the States that had built a house near the coast. We knew the leader/translator and he had asked if it was okay to just tag along. First, we went to a nearby town called Otavalo. Almost everyone (including the men) has long hair because it is mostly an indigenous population. There's a huge market too, which was cool to see. In the market, I decided to play Carnaval by having a foam/water fight with some kids and then some other people. I ended up with foam all over my face and hair and I couldn't even open one of my eyes! Then we went back to Quito and they took us out to Pizza Hut! The next day we went to church, then to the Equator (La Mital del Mundo). We walked around looking at all the touristy kinds of things and taking pictures on the equator. After we went on these cable cars that bring you up to 13,000 ft. Me and Amy hiked a little, but didn't get very far because we ran out of time. Apparently, it takes about 3 hours to get to the top, which is at 16,000 ft. After we toured around the colonial part of Quito. When Amy and I were looking for pan de yuca (a type of bread) we entered this little store. Then I heard this little girl say to her brother "mojale" meaning "get her wet." Since it was Carnaval I knew exactly what that meant and sure enough I saw her brother with a bucket of water so I got out of that store fast! Good thing I know a little Spanish! The next day I went to Ambato to a music festival. A lot of the street church people like rock/heavy metal so they really liked it. I, on the other hand, just went for the cultural experience! haha. On the ride home I almost froze in the back of the truck. Riobamba is sure a cold place.