The Last Day

We woke up around 7 and ate at 7:15. We went to the top floor for breakfast, and ate eggs and babaco juice, which was very sweet. Many of us accidentally got coffee, instead of milk and decided to make mochas out of it. We packed up and drove about an hour to the airport, watching slaughtered pigs in meat stores as we drove by. We boarded the plane to Quito, and the ride took about 45 minutes. We grabbed our bags and headed back to el Jardin del Sol hostel from the first night. We chose rooms and drove into downtown Quito and ate a delicious lunch at Hasta la Vuelta Senor, which was on the top floor of an intricately designed building.When we walked outside, it was pouring so our plans for going in the cable car were canceled. We ran across the street to get away from the rain, and Julia realized she had been pick-pocketed. She realized the thief had dropped her wallet and she got it back. Julian watched the whole thing and did not say a word,  but she got it back so it was fine. We all ran back to the bus, very paranoid about losing our things. We drove to the local food market to have a scavenger hunt, for different Ecuadorian foods, and the winner was the person who spent the least amount of money and bargained for their food. After comparing the sizes of our huge plantains and who had the most exotic fruit, we headed over to the local artisan's market. We had 45 minutes to shop, and bargain with all the vendors in the stalls. We returned back to the hostel to relax for a bit and compare gifts before leaving for dinner. We walked for ten minutes to a nearby restaurant called Columbia, and we met Santiago's family, saw a cultural performance from one of the best dance groups in Ecuador, and had a fabulous dinner. We took pictures with the dancers and walked back to the hostel. Santiago had a surprise waiting for us when we arrived. It was what we had wanted for a couple of days, cuy or guinea pig. Everyone grabbed a piece, and enjoyed. Julian did not, because he had a pet guinea pig as a child, he felt bad. Matt grabbed the head and ate the eyeball. We had a heartfelt ceremony where we exchanged gifts and thankyous and good-byes. Headed to bed for a 6 am breakfast...

Blogged by Stephanie and Natalie!!
Adios, hasta luego