Centro Historico - Quito

Almost upto date with my blog now. It was Cindy´s idea that I start one and actually it is much better than me keeping a writen diary which I will inevitably lose!

On Sunday I went into the old town of Quito. First I headed up the Panecillo which is a massive angel on top of a hill over looking the whole city. The sun was out and the views were excellent. I had the taxi driver wait around for me whilst I had a look because it is dangerous to walk up or down the hill. A couple of Amercican guys had lost their taxi and so we shared a ride back down which was great because they paid!! Also, nice to talk to someone! The views and the angel:

Afterwards I wandered round the old town which was lovely but I can´t remember the name of everything. Some pictures follow:

There was lots of performances of music going on and in the main square there was loads of crowds. A man came and bumped into me and apologised in English. Turns out he was a Spanish Teacher in Quito and a tour guide for the old town. I left him and wandered into the centro commerical which is lovely. There was traditional dancing going on in a courtyard there (above). Just as I was about to move on the same man appeared again and came to talk to me. Eventually he asked if I´d like to get a coffee so we did in a little local cafe off the main square. We ate maize paste which came wrapped in sweatcorn leaves and was surprisingly filling. Marcos, his name, decided he wanted to show me around the city. We went to various churches and plazas and he explained all the history and art. It was really interesting. He even put me on the bus that took me all the way home because he was worried about my safety! This is him: