"Are you really going to be THAT GUY"

We arrived!

We flew into Quito and stayed the night in Hotel Ambassador. It was a very cool location. The hotel had a medieval castle feel to it. It had a grand wooden staircase that took us to our room on the second floor veranda. My roommate Andrew and I stayed in room 246, which had creepy paintings on the wall. I made Andrew sleep on the one side of the room because I just wasn't feeling those paintings. Don't get me wrong, I love art, but dang, mad creepy. Breakfast was phenomenal. We had cafe de leche, pastries, hevoso, and a fruit smoothie. So much for staying in shape!

We explored the old and new parts of Quito. The city is beautiful everywhere you look. There are mountains that encompass the majority of the city. Quito is the second largest city in the country and it is awesome! We went to two cathedrals and also saw the president of Ecuador's office/estate/house. We witnessed the changing of the guards. I swear the guard was doing everything in his power to not laugh with us because naturally, I wanted an O-H-I-O picture with the guard. It was perfect.

After spending some time in the city we ventured into one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. It was Companea de Jesus, or the Society of Jesus Church. It was erected in 1605 and took 5 generations of people to build. The church is completely inlaid with gold. FLOOR TO CEILING GOLD! Que magnifico! When we walked in there was a Gregorian Chat playing which created an even more awe-inspiring atmosphere. We also went into another that had stained glass windows on every side. I could have spent hours in this place. 

In the afternoon, we went to the center of the world. It was the exact area of the equatorial line. The guide taught us a lot about the cultures in Ecuador and about the equator itself. We did so many cool experiments with the group that it would put Bill Nye to shame. Members of the group balanced an egg on a nail, we watched water spin counterclockwise on the northern side of the line, clockwise on the south, and not spin at all directly on the equatorial line. MIND BLOWN. This was one of the coolest things I have ever seen and you all know I am a science nerd at heart.

After that we headed to the airport. When we arrived in Cuenca, we were met by our wonderful host mother, Nancy. Nancy and her husband work in the medical field and were gracious enough to host Mary, Torrie, and I. Sus casa es MUY bonita. I could not have asked for a better family or home. I got what I asked for... they don't speak any English. I understand almost everything that they say but I get nervous responding. I can't wait to talk with them more and have lots of Nancy's fantastic cooking.

On this trip, I've gotten deemed "That Guy" - most of you know I love taking pictures. I have been taking videos and photos of everything that we have done. I plan on having a video made of our entire experience. I am OK with being that guy and you know that I'm going to embrace it! Buenos Noches! I have an early start tomorrow.