ya llegamos a ecuador!!

luke and i made it last night to quito, ecuador after a whirlwind of a day in chicago with hannah (it was wonderful to see her in her element and to see the place that she calls home) and too many hours in the miami airport. we arrived to a warm evening, lots of fast buses and taxis everywhere, honking, spewing exhaust, and hardly staying in their lanes. after making it to the hostel, we crashed into bed, our bike box and other luggage almost trapping us in the room. this morning, we were met with an amazing view from the 5th floor terrace of the hostel. the city of quito lies in a valley and is surrounded by mountains on all sides. the homes and buildings extend as far as the eye can see.


our crowded hostel room at the secret garden.

what better way to see a city than to just walk out the front door and go? that´s exactly what we did. on our wanderings, we found an incredible basilica with the most intricate stained glass windows, all depicting various moments in the life of jesus. we found the plaza grande, lots of stairs to climb, a park atop a hill with 360 degree views. when hunger found us, we enjoyed tasty pan dulce (sweet bread), empanadas de queso, papas fritas, fresh fruit, and un almuerzo. the prices are right here in ecuador. the country is using the US dollar and has been for the last 11 years. a lunch plate cost us $1.50 each (and left us stuffed to the brim with fresh fruit juice, potato soup, chicken, rice, and vegetables). the fruit was a mere 60 cents for two bananas, mandarins and grapes.


the basilica we found that sits atop a hill in quito.

the fact that both luke and i speak spanish is proving to be most helpful and has allowed us to enter into social situations that other tourists obviously steer clear of. tomorrow morning, we meet up with our two dear friends rueben and luis, who are visiting from portland. then, in the afternoon, we hope to swing by the mennonite church here in quito to meet some of the missionaries there. then, on monday, we hope to take off in search off some hot springs up north called papallacta.

now, the task at hand is to re assemble our bikes and pray that they work just as well here as they did in the states. and so begins our adventure...


our first breakfast in quito. pan dulce, terere, and a great view!