I´m sitting in an internet cafe in Quito. The music is so distracting...right now they are playing California knows how to party! Head trip!
We´ve been in Quito for a couple of days now. Today I woke up to the sound of giggling birthday girls, much too early in the morning for the time we went to bed last night. We were out celebrating the birthday of two friends of Nikki and Helen at a superfun dance club in the Mariscal district of Quito until 2:30am. After singing feliz cumpliaños, I tried to converse in español, but found that talking to people from Quito (they talk waay faster than the surfer dudes of the coast) in the early morning after a night of free drinks at altitude is no easy task. Sight-seeing was a bit easier...water and walking is a wonderful recovery pair. I walked around the old town district of the city popping into the ornate cathedrals and reveling in the ubiquitous music and sunshine.
Yesterday we took the bus North to Otovalo, which is a mountain town famous for its Saturday artisan markets. I had fun haggling over crafts, being bombarded by eager artisans, getting some sweet gifts and eating roasted corn from the street vendors.
After another 2 hour bus ride back to the city, we found the hostel where our homies from Planet Drum are staying. We had dinner with them and played some intense games of fussball. Aaron and Marcus managed to rally and win some drinks off of me. Tomorrow all of us are heading south to begin an epic journey...hee hee!
