After our short night last night, we were welcomed this morning by lovely weather in Quito. The air was cool (70's) and a blue sky full of fluffy white clouds around the mountains surrounding the city. This is the view from our hotel balcony.
Marcelo Lopez, who preaches for the congregation in south Quito, met us for breakfast and actually spent the whole day with our group. He and Gary hit it off immediately, and engaged in much productive conversation during the day.
I must introduce Tim and Jim. They joined our group at the last minute when Ann and Mike found it necessary to cancel for health reasons. Tim preaches in the Atlanta area, and his father, Jim, preaches in Texas, and we are so glad they were able to join our group.
After our wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit and made-to-order omelets, we joined Diane and Mauricio for a day of learning about Quito. Diane gave each of us a "goodie bag" full of munchies and Ecuador bracelets.
Our first stop of the day was at the extremely ornate basilica in the old section of Quito. We took many photos at that historic stop.
At the entrance of the basilica is a statue of Pope John Paul II that just screamed "mimic me" to several in our group.
The basilica was interesting, and the views from the higher levels were superb. This photo is of El Panecillo, a hill overlooking the old town. At the top of the hill is a statue of Mary which is said to be the largest aluminum monument in the world. We visited that area after leaving the old town area, but while we were still at the basilica, most members of our group climbed high into the towers of the basilica. As it turns out, both Victoria and I gave in to peer pressure and got out of our comfort zones to climb to the rooftop level, which was high above the city of Quito. At that point we absolutely refused to venture any further, but photos to prove we went as high as we did were taken as proof.
Before leaving the area, we took a group photo to include all of us.
We made a stop at the Presidential Palace, took time to pose with the guards, and several of us got to witness the changing of the guards while we were there.
Diane took us to a wonderful restaurant called Cafe Mosaieo for lunch. We ate al fresco with a fantastic view of the city of Quito from high on a mountainside. We were served a delicious soup (Locorno con queso) which is a typical Equadorian soup made up of potatoes, cheese and avacado. This was accompanied by sandwiches and delicious fruit drinks. The girls loved their strawberry beverages.
We enjoyed our view from the restaurant as long as possible and headed for our last stop for the day, a guided tour through the Museo Nacional Ministerio de Cultura (historical museum). We returned to the hotel for the night. We had eaten such a large lunch so late in the day that most of us declined dinner. Some ordered pizza, but most of us decided to rest and retire early. Tomorrow we visit with the Christians in Ambato, which we are looking forward to.
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