Day 4: Meeting Everyone

Around 1am Sonia, Katie, and Caroline from Beloit College arrived at Hotel Walther. I got up to let them in and talked for a bit, but I was pretty out of it because I had been sleeping. Sonia and Caroline shared the hotel room with me last night - Katie had her own room because they were unaware she was coming last night... We slept in till mid-morning, then the three others went out to explore Quito and get breakfast. I was still full from dinner at the Indian restaurant the night before, so I just decided to shower and hang out around the hotel. Plus, I was expecting Lianne, Stian, and Louis to show up at Hotel Walther around noon and I was planning on meeting up with them.

Crazy caterpillar train thing next to Parque La Carolina

When they did arrive, the four of us hung out for a bit in what is now referred to as "The Pent House", also known as room 71, or Lianne and Louis's room. By now I was hungry so we decided to go out and find lunch, maybe stop at the SuperMaxi (grocery store), and swing by Parque La Carolina. We found the food court in the mall, including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King, Cinnabun, and Baskin Robbins. Lianne and I ended up getting some rice and bean and noodle and potatoe dish for $2.50 - the American chains were about double the price of those in the U.S. After lunch we were going to wander around the park because there was a political rally of some sort going on, with thousands of people from all of the provinces in Ecuador. I guess the Vice President Rafael (?) even spoke. However, it was raining. The temperature had dropped a good 10 degrees Farhenheit so we decided just to go back to the hotel. As we got closer the rain got harder and it back to really lightning and thunder. The rain got so bad that we were forced to stop and take shelter on the steps of a store front for about 15 minutes. Once it let up and wasn't coming in sideways anymore we decided to run the last bit back to the hotel.

Lianne hiding from the rain

Now we were cold, wet, full, and tired - so naturally we all took naps. Around 5:30 or 6pm the four of us grabbed a taxi to Mariscal so we could get dinner. Stian and Louis had been wanting to go to a certain restaurant for chocolate fondue, but it was always closed! They decided to check again and it was open so in we went. Dinner was awesome - we all got "El Tropical" to drink, which was a mixture of four fruits. Lianne and I split chicken and cheese quesadillas, and then the four of us split chocolate fondue for desert. (It was only $2.45 for a HUGE plate of fruit and gigantic bowl of chocolate!) To warm ourselves up we all finished with a glass of Mate de Coca (Coca Tea). The warm drink was definitly a treat because we have been cold almost all the time - plus the restaurant had heaters :) If anyone is looking for a place to eat in Quito for fairly cheap, Mango Tree Cafe in Gringolandia is definitly one of the best.

Louis and Stian thoroughly enjoying chocolate fondue

After grabbing a taxi back to the hotel (why is it that I always have to tell the taxi drivers where to go?) we were going to hang out for a while. To our enjoyment, three more students had arrived - Tom from New Hampshire, and Lisa and Kelly from New Jersey. We all got together and hung out in Sonia, Caroline, and Katie's room. It was nice, just talking and getting to know one another. Plus, I got a HOT HOT shower this evening which completely made my day :)

The Mango Tree Cafe in La Mariscal

Stephanie from Illinois, Jon, and one other boy just arrived so I am going to go talk with them. Tomorrow we are off to visit a volcano, the equator, some museums, and taking a tour of Quito!
Goodnight from Hotel Walther!