A day at the park and more...

Today the sun was out in force, and so were the families. After another bad night we were up early and headed on back to the hairdressers, yes, we left the glasses behind yesterday!! Typical! But no problem and the hairdresser had them there waiting for us!

From there we hit the parks, big beautful green spaces amidst the the noisy polluted streets. Parque Alameda had a lake with pedal boats and canoes... Parque El Ejido - was absolutely awesome and definitely put Darling Harbour to shame. They had everything there - an exercise equipment area with everyone from toddlers to grannies having a go. In the main area of the park there were at least 6 different playgrounds, one with a dare-devil slide and a flying fox. There was a cheer leading squad practicing routines, bikes to rent, and great little cars for kids to rent as well as market stalls and an art market. Throw in stall holders selling fresh fruit salad, ice cream, drinks and snacks. It was heaven!

The dare-devil slide!

The stalls sold amazing fruit including papaya, watermelon & mango

From there we went to Parque La Carolina, we were looking for the Vivarium with live reptiles (from boa constrictors to frogs) and also found a Dinosaur exhibition with automated dinos and delicious ice cream.

Ecuadorians definitely love their children. They were everywhere, kicking footballs, eating ice cream, hanging out and having fun. It was just wonderful to be a part of!

On our way home we bought a kebab - of all things! Although it did have a special South American flavour!  

Well I have to say, today we felt totally safe hanging out, none of the threatening feeling that was apparent in the Old Town. A great day!

The jetlag caught up with us!

Today was spent mostly in bed. The jetlag caught up with us, and after falling asleep at 4am we woke up at 2pm. We were ready to go though!

We headed straight into a taxi and up the mountain they call bread hill (although it sounds so much nicer in Spanish, El Panecillo) to check out the Virgen de Quito. She was stunning and reminded me of the Statue of Liberty. Apparently one of the few hill top religious icons in South America that have wings. She is also standing on top of the world and a dragon that she is holding onto by a chain - how cool - just the way I like my virgins, beautiful, strong and powerful!!

This is the view of the angel from the terrace of our hostel

Here she is in close up. Sorry you have to look sideways. Isn't she pretty!

Afterwards we headed into the Old Town to check out the Plaza Grande. It was amazing, full of people, street vendors and bustling, tooting cars. I didn't take any photos - lest we look like a couple of obvious gringos with no sense! There is definitely a vibe here which makes me cautious about standing out and flashing any signs of wealth. It's a subtle undercurrent but it is definitely there. We are doing just fine though,  most people are friendly to us and Eva is definitely a hit. On our way walking back to the hostel we found a great typical restuarant for locals with plastic tables, booth seats, cool Spanish music and awsome food for $2.75. Just ordering was an experience, lucky there were pictures up on the board!

Eva also got her hair cut today. That was fun - all our Spanish could extend to was 'just a little more please' and 'that's great'! It worked out fine, she was a very good hairdresser. Eva walked away looking stunning!

Another day on our adventure! Bueno!

We made it!

Well we made it. Although the journey was a marathon of 27 hours on 3 planes across the US and finally here to Quito, Ecuador at almost midnight! Of course, the driver who was promised wasn't there, but taxi drivers are a universal breed and are easy to find at an airport! And Taxi is Taxi in Spanish!

This city is amazing, surrounded by enormous volcanic mountains with a massive statue of a virgin angel perched atop one of them. We are all set to go and check her out tomorow. Since we are used to Aussie style 'big'' things like guitars, sheep and bananas, I'm sure this chicka is going to impress. She is truly enormous.

I had forgotten just how short South American people are. We both look so tall. Eva is loving that of course although we stand out like classic gringos walking around the streets, (the fact that we were wearing thongs probably didn't help)? One boy tripped over today while walking along gawking at Eva! and many people made comments.

We haven't done a lot yet, just wandered around the streets getting used to the altitude, at around 2800m we are pretty high up and even walking can be tiring. We did check out an awesome church though (the first one is always awesome I guess) it is on a small hill, but dominates the entire Old Town part of the city like a Gothic behemoth ready to strike down any who dares not to believe.

This is the church - Basilica del veto Nacional

This is part of the view from the terrace at our hostel. The view is sublime, although this photo doesn't show it.

School's Out - It's starting to feel real

After baking the necessary trays of cupcakes to feed 36 sweet tooths, Eva skipped off to school late for her last day. She came home smiling brightly, singing, "Now I'm on holidays I can stay up really late!" She has definitely got things in perspective!

I however, have been agonising over parting with precious cash to make a booking online for a Spanish School I am so hoping will be good! The Otavalo Spanish Institute, sounds impressive, although it has an unreliable website. Washington, the director, has a son Eva's age and she sounds nice in her emails. Good enough reasons to choose them?? Lets hope so. I'm trying to go with my instincts but I keep second guessing myself.

Perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow. Not many tomorrows left though before we go!

Just one more weekend and we are on the road.

One week to Go

Well, today is my birthday, the fabulous '40'. Any feelings I have about getting old, still being single and not achieving what I had planned in my life are completey overshadowed by the fact that Eva and I are going to be on a plane in a week and heading to Ecuador, to begin three months of learning, exploring and tasting the sights and sounds of South America.

Have I packed enough warm clothes and please don't let me loose my passport (again!) this time around are taking far greater precedence in my mind today, than any worries about wrinkles, and Uni work. Although I will be taking both with me. High altitude does wonders for intensifying crows feet, and Uni, well, I can't afford to fail so I'm hoping to seek inspriation from the magnificent Andes mountains and pray for good wi-fi connections! Of course the trumpet has to come along too so I'm hoping that Eva gets plenty of opportunites to play. At least there is a backup plan for if I do loose everything - Eva can busk to pay our way home!

I haven't really planned what or where in detail. I know where we are staying when we arrive in Quito. A nice little hostel called the Secret Garden. From there we'll organise a Spanish School and a homestay in a little town called Otavalo to the north of Quito and let the journey begin!