After a seamless arrival to Quito last night, we started our day with a homemade breakfast at Aleida’s, ready to get to know this beautiful city!

Our first stop was the Botanical Gardens in the Parque Carolina, where we had a fantastic orientation with the students while learning about the biodiversity of Ecuador. Next we headed to a delicious Italian food restaurant to enjoy a pizza lunch, where the students practiced ordering their own food in Spanish for the first time!

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In the afternoon we visited the Old Town in Quito, where we climbed up one of the towers of the Basilica and took in a stunning view of the city before heading to a charming theatrical walk through the area, where they taught us the secrets of pre-Hispanic Ecuadorian art techniques, and the students committed not to share what we learned with the modern world (shh!).

We are off to the community of Las Tolas tomorrow, so it may be a few days before you hear from us again, but we are so excited to share with you the future adventures of this amazing group!

Chau!

— Alvaro & Mattie