Haley and I shared a cute little converted attic room at the hostel in Quito where we spent our first 2 days. It was in a very quiet neighborhood and had numerous adorable patios for relaxing and taking in the views. It even had a relatively normal looking shower, though as typical in South America the hot water only trickled for 3 or 4 minutes. It is funny how much I missed the smells of the hostel, the fresh squeezed juice (passion fruit for our first breakfast), and other little details that I would have never considered.

Quito is a beautiful city nestled in the mountains. We toured Quito for a day venturing to several beautiful churches, the presidential palace, the angel that overlooks the city, and of course the center of the world! At the equator we watched water drain in opposite directions, saw some impressive scientific specimens from throughout Ecuador, and even tried to balance an egg on a nail- (Daniel was the only successful one)!

This morning we flew from Quito to Loja, which is a valley of such beauty- I all ready feel like I could spend the rest of my life here! Haley, Mikaela and I are all living in the same house, and our host mother Maria is fantastic. I will post photos of our house and hopefully some of Loja tomorrow. The Universidad Particular de Loja is truly one of the cleanest most beautiful campuses that I have ever been on! Pictures to come tomorrow. Buenos noches mis amigos!