Quito, Ecuador (Sept 18-21)

Welcome to our blog! 
The big adventure awaits us!! And it started off below-par when we missed our flight on Sept 17...we thought it was at 7:30am when it was really at 6:55. Lesson learned, do not take one persons word for important times, ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK. But atleast I (amanda) got time to un and re-pack my bag, take out extra stuff. 
Our flights were also not what we expected..The flight from Calgary to Dallas, Tx was on time and good, although the flight attendants had a hard time telling the other passengers not to eat nuts (because of Robbies severe allergy). They said it was against their policy to  make an announcement to not allow all the other passengers to eat a certain thing. So it`s against their policy to keep their passengers safe?? The flight attendant said "If you can't eat nuts, then you should get off this plane right now". Thanks American Airlines, you just lost a customer. Our flight from Dallas to Quito was delayed 4 hours, and then they made us wait on the plane for another hour while they fixed a mechanical issue. 
We finally got to our hostel in Quito at 5:30 am. The next day (sept 19) we explored the Old Town of Quito, which is full of colonial buildings from the 17th century. It's sooooo beauty-full!! The homes are brightly painted, with lots of nice balconies and doors. Food is extremely cheap here, $2.00 for a decent meal of rice, beans and pork/chicken, more for beef. 
Saw a huuuge statue of the Virgin Mary with a dog on a chain on Sept 20. Got a great view of Quito from the top of the hill it was on. The city is extremely narrow (no wider than 20 blocks) but super long. There also aren't many tall buildings. The cities here apparently expand and take up alot of land, compared to other places where people build up. 
Robbie and I went on a great hike on the 21st. We took a gondola mid-way up this mountain, and then hiked to the top. It took 3 hours to get up, with some scrambling (on all 4's) at the peak. So worth it! The view from the peak was AMAAAZING! we ate a can of peaches and damn, canned fruit never tasted so good. We got to the top just as the clouds were coming in, we could see the wind pushing them closer together and watched them engulf the surrounding mountains. It only took an hour to get down the mountain, and when we got on the gondola, halfway through they had to stop it for 25 min because of hail! yes, hail. We happened to come to Ecuador at the beginning of the rainy season (wooppee!) We took the bus to Latacunga that evening and realised that the hotel we booked was $14 a person, not for both, oops. Definitely moving.