Yesterday was the last day in Quito. 😦 I was supposed to leave 2 days ago but I just couldn’t leave this place. Not only is it so beautiful here, but I also met some amazing people in my hostel and they wouldn’t let me leave. I have never felt so welcomed in a hostel before. I arrived here thinking that I wanted to see as many places as possible in the amount of time I have here, but instead I gained some new friends and fell in love with a city. Sometimes it’s not what you see but the experiences you have and the people that you meet that make a trip worth it. It was hard to leave but I’ll be back 1 more day before I fly back to the States.
The last few days I have done a lot with my new amigos from the hostel. On Saturday, we took the Teleférico up to Volcán Pichincha.
Not a lot to say except more incredible views of Quito. I think I’ve gotten a view of the city from a ton of different angles now. 
Found a little hut at the top of the mountain. 
After taking the fast-moving cable car down the mountain, we went straight to the Basilica del voto nacional in the colonial part of Quito. Hay tantas iglesias en esta ciudad! 
Otra vista desde la Basilica. 
Tomando un café en una plaza. 
The food here is so cheap (if you find the right place)! Everything below was $2.00! 
Monday, we went to la plaza grande to see the changing of the guards at the Palacio Nacional. This was a unique cultural experience for me. I’ve never even seen this in London. It is such an ordeal and they do it every week! It was awesome though – there was a band playing, lots of guards, and school children sitting out front and singing the national anthem with them. The vice president of Ecuador even came out to greet us. 
I really couldn’t have picked a better place to stay while I was here. At first I was bummed that I wouldn’t be able to live with a host family during my stay in Ecuador, but this hostel was definitely the next best thing. I would highly recommend Community Hostel to anyone planning a trip to Quito. It really has a community feel (hence the name) and the people that run the hostel are amazing. I will definitely be back here! 
I leave you with the sunset over San Blas, Quito.
