"In America, we call that rock climbing"

Remember the saying ¨All is well that ends well¨?  Just try & keep that in mind as some of the pictures may take you to the edge of your seat... depending on the person it could be an exciting or frightening edge;)

¨All is well that ends well¨...  at the summit!

The beauty of having an ópen´travel schedule proved itself beneficial when we met a local Ecuadorian mountain guide in our Hostal.  Instead of heading north out of Quito on Monday, we decided instead to take up an offer we couldn´t really resist from our new friend.  Although the peaks of all of the surrounding Volcanoes have been in the clouds since we arrived, they are nonetheless a symbol of Ecuador and summiting a mountain was kind of on our ´to-do´ list so we agreed to wake up early and join two others (including the guide) on a hike up Pichincha - the most accessible Volcano near Quito.  There is a gondola that takes tourists up part way and the non-technical climb is an easy day trip for most visitors - so we thought no problem!

Looking down on Quito at the beginning of our epic hike

Along the way we were told that we were going to be taking the more ´scenic´ route up the rocks (whereas everyone else evidently takes the grass switchbacks).  Great! We thought - nothing like a good rock scramble to make you feel like you are a kid again.

Before we know it, we have departed from the ´grassy option 1´ trail and have climbed into the freezing clouds.  As we huddle together and force a few calories in to stay warm, our guide empties his backpack onto the ground.... to our surprise, he has brought along a climbing rope and two harnesses (remember there are four people) on this non-technical climb.  

Well well, what do we have here? This climbing rope matches my jacket perfectly.... but I thought you said this was non-technical?

Fast forward a few minutes and we are completely surrounded by the white freezing abyss. Holding eachother tightly above 14,000 ft, our hands so numb we can barely cling to the rock in front of us. The visibility like potato soup, we were about to scramble up a little 5.6 face with sheer drop offs on either side, and we´re with a guy who has a rope but nothing to anchor it with and seems to think Emily´s fanny pack will make a fine harness. LOVELY.

Looking up at this I remember asking Emily to translate ¨ Is it too late to go on the grassy trail?¨¨

How this rope is helping is a bit of a mystery.... Is that our guide at the top scratching his head?

Action shot

Emily - always smiling despite feeling the altitude!

Ari- while watching the other girl cling to the rock on this passage ¨Yeah, in America we call that Rock Climbing!¨

Emily skirting across the ledge with her trusty fanny pack attached to the rope...

YES! A descent never felt so good!

Warming the numb fingers

Summit friend definitely came up the grassy way

Rosy cheeks & smiles.... we made it!!

local flora on the way down

       Back in Quito after our mountain adventure we set out to explore in a more comfortable manner and we were quite impressed with the Ecuadorian capitol. It is one of the cleanest big cities we have ever been in and there is art everywhere! On the first day we walked all over the city, from New Quito, to Old Quito and back again. We visited the local art museum, the Casa de Cultura, where they had an incredible display of indiginous art, walked through the many plazas and parks (where they have free wi-fi!) and checked out local craft markets. In the evening we found ourselves in the old colonial part of the city, where there are great big statues and ornate buildings and little cobblestone streets. We saw that something was being set up in the square and decided to stick around and see what would happen- and oh, how we were rewarded! It ended up being a performance of a nationally renowned a capella group who were absolutely incredible. They sang Ecuadorian music, Brazillian and Cuban, and even the Beatles´ ´Help´! The moon came out behind them and more and more people started dancing. It was such a joyful evening, Ari even managed to pull me out of my seat for a dance, which I am sure delighted all the locals. A perfect end to our first day.

There are lots of art sculptures, paintings, and grafitti all over the city

The stormy backdrop to the lovely Colonial square in Quito