My first day in Quito was muy interesante! I am definitely feeling the affects of and adjustment to the the altitude. I experienced an odd sensation of electricity running through my body from my head down through my chest and arms. And boy, am was I tired! While waiting for our food at a local restaurant, I started to fall asleep! I’m on day two and things seem to be subsiding. Everyone says drinking la Coca té, (the Coca tea) will give me a little buzz and help me to get over the symptoms of altitude sickness, after a few sips I didn’t feel anything. Maybe I need to set myself up a tea pot and sit with it for a while.

The picture above is in a park in the central plaza of the old city of Quito. It’s a beautiful little oasis surrounded by blocks of cobblestone streets and colonial Spanish architecture. When you walk the streets of the old city, you realize there is little in the form of green space immediately under your feet, but you can see in the surrounding mountains and valley the lush green fields and trees that make this a city of both green, for its expanse of fields and forests in the valleys, and grey, for the city’s cobblestone streets and sidewalks.

Of course, I did see much more than this, but we are preparing for a day trip and I don’t have much time right now to post more photos of my experiences on my first day, but I will follow up with a post tonight!