Tour de Quito

We have been reaping a harvest of cheap transportation here in Quito. Two examples. A 20 minute taxi ride from where we are staying north of the city to downtown is only $2-3 depending on your negotiating skills. Or if that is too pricey you can spend a quarter on a bus. We used these means...as well as our feet, to do the following the past few days...

In the Iglesia de San Francisco. I think this guy won. By the way David, this Baroque architecture screams, "Retire here!"

From the Iglesia de Compania with a view of the Iglesia de San Francisco.  If your vision is really good you can see the pigeons below. There is a legend that the man charged with building the square could not finish the square in time. So he made a deal with the devil to finish it in one night for him in return for his soul. The man hid one of the stones and thus was able to cheat the devil, keeping his soul. The pigeons are the demons that helped the devil build the square, and the pigeons, aka demons, only haunt this square in Quito.

Simon!

In the rafters of the Basilica del Voto Nacional. Two seconds later Brigitte fell through the rafters into the church. Psych.

Climbing the rafters and Brigitte pushing through a mean case of vertigo up a ladder meets stairs meets non OSHA approved iron work earned us this spectacular view of Quito. Old town Quito is not lacking in opportunities for Catholics to attend church in style. We visited three breathtaking churches within walking distance of each other.

YIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!

We took the Teleferico (a cable car) into the mountains. The Teleferico is the the tallest cable car in the world. It goes from 10,000 feet to 13, 000 feet. BAM. Then we got high...er. 

And higher.

We rested near the top of Pichincha. This volcano is about 15, 500 feet. We put fourteeners to shame. In Brigitte's hipster words, "Fourteeners are overrated."

Surprise, Surprise...Change of Plans

We made it to Quito, Ecuador late Tuesday night. Thanks to Andy's language skills we had made arrangements with a hotel via a skype phone call and had a taxi driver pick us up and take us to our hotel for the night.

It was so nice to see Andy's name on a paper after traveling since 4am that morning. 

The next day our first order of business was working on Andy's passport. Andy would be stuck in South America until FOR-EV-ER, unless we renewed his passport. We went to the US embassy, which was surprisingly not anywhere near the center of town, but between a hospital and some Walmart like store called Megakywi. 

Imagine a US embassy Picture here.

The reason why we don't have a photo of the embassy is they are like the airport but more extreme and confusing. We were greeted in Spanish and were asked if we had electronics. We felt really silly as we brought out two kindles, a laptop, camera, two cellphones, and ipod, but then they even wanted Andy's electronic watch. We ended just giving them our backpacks, which were probably electronic as well. But the good news is, Andy will get a new passport within two weeks. The bad news, we will be staying in Quito longer than we expected. (Andy says that it not that bad of news though)

We are going to a homestay tonight and will be starting Spanish courses on Monday. 

So what we have learned is.... our behavior of not planning ahead and putting this off still is working out for our us (there is hope for you too John Sullivan). 

We want to give a shout out to our friends and family we saw over the last week we were in Cali. 

Andy and Traever at Mr. Taco 2. Andy had a burrito. Traever had a hamburger. He said it was good.

 Andy with Joel and Christina. Joel's thoughts on our blog, "So everyone has a blog now."

 Andy with a photogenic Sean.

Sarah and I hug it out. She gave me a new pair of really cool earrings, just like last time when I left the country.

Sonia and I enjoying Sushi in Temecula wine country. Great to catch up with my 2nd grade friend.

Teresa and I had a family meal together just like old times. Wouldn't you know it was leftovers.

Travel...Rest...Rinse...Repeat

We are tired of doing nothing. Or tired from doing nothing? Our lives of late have involved driving, errand running, and getting healthy. Our sleeping locations tell the story more than anything...

• air mattress in Michigan
• queen at Oonsk and Ba's in Indiana
• Double beds at Luke and Paulis' house in Denver
• Camping air mattress in somewhere by Vale
• Air mattress for her and a futon for him at Grandma Susie's in Lewis
• Double bed for him and camp mattress for her at Caleb and Laura's in Flagstaff
• Queen bed at Josh and Jenn's in Gilbert
• Double bed for him and her at Grandma Carolyn's in Palm Desert
• Queen at the Carlsbad house

Here are some photos from the Arizona and California legs of our journey.

Reading and reflecting in Flagstaff...

Taking a corner too fast with Tenley (this is a great way to recover from bronchitis).

 At the beach in Carlsbad.

We are now one week from our departure to Quito, Ecuador from LAX. I am recovering from either bronchitis or wildfire weakness, and Brigitte is actively preventing similar suffering through a pre-emptive urgent care visit. Our hope is that come next Tuesday we will be a couple of healthy horses hopping onto our Ecuadorian bound plane.