Day one: Quito-- August 22

On Tuesday we started orientation. After a short meeting going over basic recommendations for being successful in the country, we departed to downtown Quito for the cathedral. We were impressed by the architecture and view after climbing just two flights of stairs. Little did we know that there was another flight of stairs and three steep ladders to climb to actually get to the top. The view was breathtaking and you could see La Virgin de Quito-- the only statue of Mary with wings-- from the top. After that, we visited La Plaza Mayor and saw the Jesuit church and the church of Saint Francis. About 90% of the population is Roman Catholic because of the Spanish influence and missionaries, but there is a lot of indigenous influence on the religion. This is seen through nature imagery and crosses with sides of equal length.

In El Plaza Mayor we also saw the presidential palace and the marketplace. This is where the people come to protest or to celebrate national holidays. There was one woman there protesting saying that the United States is sending Nazis into the country. So that was interesting.... We just steered clear

Everywhere we walked there were street vendors offering us goods. Since practically the whole population is Mestizo (a mix of Spanish and Indigenous) our group sticks out a lot. There is also a stereotype that anyone able to travel to Ecuador is very wealthy. We got very used to this after a few minutes. It was a really great day exploring Quito!