Bienvenido a Ecuador!
After departing later than scheduled, taking a detour into Guayaquil Airport due to “mal tiempo en Quito”, and spending almost 10 hours sitting on Continental Flight 653, we finally arrived in the gorgeous capital city of Ecuador that is Quito.
Besides that crazy flight, everything went smoothly: the CHO and OB/GYN backpacks have arrived safely in our company, and we are ready to explore all that Ecuador has to offer while also helping in any way we can and making as much of a difference as two college students can possibly make in a developing country.
Maria Alicia has treated us so well and has opened up her beautiful and cozy home to us which we will be forever grateful. She has unofficially taken on the role of our own personal tour guide and encyclopedia of knowlege of everything Ecuadorian, especially her home city of Quito. Before the real work begins, she has made sure that we feel right at home and are seeing as much of this beautiful city as possible. Tomorrow happens to be a holiday in the city of Quito when El Festival del 24 de Mayo will take place. It commemorates La Batalla de Pichincha that took place on a mountain in Quito in the early 1800s and which showed that Ecuadorian indepedence from Spain was imminent.
We will be spending the remainder of the week in Quito with Maria Alicia. She is hesitant to talk about any kind of work yet; I guess she is fully enjoying the holiday and days of rest! The real work may begin on Tuesday; but until then, I will make sure to take in all that Quito has to offer the eager and mesmerized tourist.