I visited these sights around Quito a few weeks ago, but didn't have the time to update the blog before my spring break so we're going to go back in time a bit...
My friends and I had seen a lot of Quito at this point, but there were two main spots we hadn't made it to yet. First, the Basilica, which is located in the historic 'old town.' Although there are dozens of churches in this area, the Basilica is by far the most impressive and if you have the nerve to climb to the top of one of the towers the views are incredible. I made it to the top, but not without a lot of encouragement from my friends, it seems like every excursion we do here involves heights! First we climbed up about a million flights of stairs inside which had us all catching our breath (blaming the altitude) until we reached the top story which is as high as you can go inside. We walked across a long wooden plank/bridge that takes you to the other side of the building where you climb one last ladder that takes you outside. The fear really kicked in about here when I realized that we weren't at the top yet. In fact, there are two more ladders to climb, outside in the open air, but once I reached the top I was glad I made the hike. We took lots of pictures, it really is gorgeous up there. We decided to head down (another fun experience) and take a cab to our next stop, El Panecillo.
El Panecillo (literally the Little Bread Loaf) is a hill in the southern part of Quito which is visible from most areas and is where the huge statue La Virgen de Quito stands--she's the only Madonna in the world depicted with wings. We took a cab to the top, because when I say hill I mean a hill in the Andes, and got more great views of the city and of the statue. We all wished it had been a little less cloudy that day, but we still were happy to get to these crucial sights in Quito. [Mom, let me know if these look like something you want to check out!]
Anyways, back to the present. My week started off really well, I taught two days and the kids were really great. I got two mandarin oranges, a pear, another weird fruit and a cookie from random students and they're all pretty excited to have me there. Unfortunately I got pretty sick towards the end of the week and got to take my first trip to an Ecuadorian hospital (which pretty much resembled an American hospital). They did some tests and it turns out I have a bacterial infection that I must have gotten from something I ate or drank. The prescribed me some medications and I'm already feeling a lot better. Next week I have another break, my school is closed for Semana Santa so I'll hopefully go visit my friends that have moved away from Quito.
Chau!
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