Quito

Ecuador is not the only country named after a latitude.  The other one is in Africa.

Quito

The heaviest weight I was carrying was the water bottle.  That moment I came up with a new definition of civilization: In my book a city is civilized if it can provide potable water through pipes to its denizens.

Walking back to the hotel

As the sun started going down it started to get cold.  We headed back to our hotel which was a bit away from the historical center.

Quito

Quito is just seconds of degrees south of the equator, but its weather is quite pleasant--in fact a bit towards the chilly side--owing to its altitude.

Quito old town

Quito's historical center is a treasure trove of baroque architecture.

Long walks in Quito

It is always advisable to walk in a new city to get your bearings.

Spiral Columns

Later in the afternoon we sat down to have a coffee in a bakery.  Ecuador was playing (against Honduras?) and there was great excitement.  Antonio Valencia was the pride of the nation.  Ecuador won that match--people were ecstatic, and we considered ourselves a blessing for the country we visited.  When we were in Colombia, Colombia was winning games; now that we were in Ecuador, Ecuador was doing well!