Quito

It's been a fantastic couple of days staying at the Secret Garden Hostel. Overlooking a panoramic view of the old city, we've met some really cool people and became facebook 'friends', shared travel stories, laughed, ate good food, drunk wine, played poker - it's been awesome.

Quito itself is quite a sight to behold, both from ground level and from above - we've wandered old colonial streets and plaza's, hopped a lot of taxi's (Quito is huuuge) gone up the cable car and looked down on the sprawling city from the rolling mountains (4800 metres high!!) and experienced lots and lots of weather! hot, cold, wet, dry, cloudy, bright - more often than not in the same hour!

It's been a great stopover and introduction to Ecuador.

We fly to Manta, a coastal city tonight and prepare our spanish course and, hopefully, daily surf routine!