Saturday was scheduled to be a day to visit a school and distribute Pillows of Love in an Indian community in Santos Pambo, but Friday night the director of the school called Sara to let her know that the students had not arrived in from the provinces yet. By now we have learned that we can't rely on any type of firm schedule here in Ecuador. Flexibility . . . patience are two characteristics we've learned well.
Although we would have loved to meet and interact with more children, we did breathe a sigh of relief because so many of us were feeling awful. Sara had some medicine on hand that did bring relief from the belly pain, nausea and diarrhea, but many in the group were ready to just lay down for a while.
While some stayed in the hotel to rest, others went on a sightseeing tour of Old City in downtown Quito. Our first stop was Panecillo Hill where the statue of the Virgin of Quito overlooks the entire city. We were stopped part way up the hill by a traffic policeman who informed our bus driver that the Vice President of Ecuador happened to be there giving a speech. We would have to walk the rest of the way up the hill. No big deal. We're seasoned walkers by now and it really wasn't far.
Vice President Lenin Moreno giving a speech.
The view from Panecillo Hill was amazing.
Sara bought a bit of pig's skin to snack on. Yes, that's the pig right there on the left.
Ecuadorian travel friends Estefi and Femi pose for a picture.
This cathedral, Basilica del Voto Nacional, was one of the tallest buildings in Old Town standing at a height of 115 m. It was built in 1873.
We walked back to the bus to descend the hill into the streets of the historic district.
We toured La Compania de Jesus Church, but were not allowed to take photographs inside. Inside were gold leafed altars, pillars, and walls typical of Catholic churches here.
After stopping back at the hotel for our sickies who didn't want to miss out on shopping, we headed to an Indian Market in Quito. We were getting more and more familiar with Spanish and jumped at the opportunity to practice our bartering skills.
We returned to the hotel where we filled Pillows of Love and rested.
When we went downstairs for dinner. We were greeted with this:
Our Ecuadorian friends and translators and their families had been invited to join us for dinner.
Hannah had a belated 11th birthday party since she was sick on her birthday. The hotel graciously put her cake away for tonight.
After supper and goodbyes to our Ecuadorian friends we packed up and prepared for our long day of travel home.
I feel badly about not helping w/ the stufffin' of the pillows...we just had to shop some more at the Indian market!!!