8,291 Words

We kept pretty busy yesterday in the Quito area, and instead of boring you with a long post, I figured I'd keep it to only a few thousand words. In pictures, that is.

This first one is of the yard belonging to our gracious hosts. I couldn't get a good picture of the house, but it's very comfortable and well-equipped. In Ecuador, those in the upper-middle class have to be very conscious of security, so our host family has a few guard dogs, an electronic gate and a security system.



First thing Saturday, we drove a few kilometers to a park that goes about 20 km through the suburbs of Quito. This is a picture of the entrance.



Here's one of the trail.



There are homes alongside the trail, varying from quite rich to quite poor, as well as some street vendors of whom I didn't take pictures.



This is the view from the trail. Near the river, there are cows and other animals grazing. As you go further up, there are terraces for planting various crops, and some houses overlooking the river. The skyscrapers in the distance are in the downtown portion of Quito, where we went that night.



We explored the old town part of Quito (which is close to the skyscrapers in the last shot). It had just rained a bit, so I snapped one of the old town with a rainbow above.



We stayed in the old town for a few hours, and went to see a traditional Andean (Inca) dance performance before dinner. This little girl followed her dad (in the mask looking back at her) during the finale of the show, which was quite cute.



And one last shot of the old city at night.