Quito: Day one

Buenos dias mi amigos (as)!

Anyway landed in Quito via a rather tortuous route, flying London to Sao Paolo on to Santiago and then Quito via Guayaquil. The horror stories I had been told about South American airlines proved untrue and the flight landed half an hour ahead of shedule. My travelling companion (TC) for the first 2 weeks of the trip was due to arrive half an hour before me but landed up arriving an hour after me, choosing a more direct London to Miami then Quito with American Airlines route. Read into that what you will.

TC and I explored a bit of the old city in Quito - which didn´t look much different from the rest of the place. It all looked a wee bit crumbly to me, however unfair that is. We explored the basillica. And it was all a bit odd since they were conducting a service yet you could walk right through the middle of all of it.

We also went up the cable car on the west side of the city...I think we were both completely unprepared for just how cold it was, the locals choosing to don scarves and gloves while we shivvered in our shorts and fleeces. Fortunately for us they are a civilsed bunch and there was gluh wein available at the top from a lovely little restaurant overlooking the hills. We had 2 glasses each one for the need and the second for pleasure.

At the end of day one we found a fabby pizza place and stuffed our faces. It became evident from my interraction with the waiters that my Spanish is more than a bit basic.