Quito and Otavalo, Ecuador

So far so good! Ace and I arrived safely in Quito after 23 or so hours of travel. We missed one flight but were put o n one leaving an hour later, so made the rest of our connections.
We stayed in a friendly little Ecuadorian-run hostel named Chicago Hostal for $16 total a night . We spent our first full day in Ecuador exploring Quito, walking all around and between the old city and new city. There were a few lovely examples of colonialist architecture, but other than that I was a little surprised by the city- I was expecting something a little more Cosmopolitan, I suppose. The people are wonderful, though- friendly, always ready to offer good advice, and very patient with my Spanish.
The next day we grabbed a bus to Otavalo, a village about 2 hours north of Quito which is famed for it´s Saturday handicrafts market. During our two nights there, we wandered around markets, took pictures, hiked around a cráter lake, and bought some cozy wool sweaters and hats for when we move to higher elevations. We´ve been surprised at how quickly it cools down at night here!
Today we cruised around the animal auction and market in Otavalo, then moved on to Latacunga, a smallish city about 2.5 hours south of Quito. We´re enjoying the lovely hostel Tiana here, which has everything a traveller could want- an $8 place to sleep, hot wáter, internet, a book Exchange, helpful staff and places to hang out and talk to other travellers. Tomorrow we´re excited to do a walking tour of the city and then take a bus to a nearby village to start our several day trek around the string of quaint villages, mountains and the cráter lake that make up the Quilotoa loop.

A major highlight of everything so far has been getting to speak so much Spanish. I´m having so much fun getting to remember words and learn new ones, but even better is getting to chat with the cab driver, ask for directions, make small talk with the street food vender, bargain…all without too much trouble. So empowering! Ace is studying every night and picking the language up astonishingly fast. The food has been cheap and plentiful, but i would have to say that the two main food groups here are meat and french fries. Can´t complain about getting a huge meal for $3, though, and the soups and fresh fruit juices are really nice.

That´s it for now- we´ll write again after we get back from the Quilotoa Loop. I´m trying to upload photos on shutterfly, but I´m afraid the fact that only two photos have uploaded while i type this is a bad sign. All our love to everyone!