Pichincha

Saturday was quite the day--

I slept in as much as I could, about 8:30, and then had breakfast and some quality time with the folks. We ate lunch at a neat little restaurant close to ACLAS, and then I met up with 10 of the students from our program to climb Pichincha. We took a van to the base of the mountain, and then rode in little enclosed cabins, kind of like a fancy ski lift, about a quarter of the way up the mountain. Then the climbing began... it's about a two hour climb to the very, very top. A friend in the group was feeling pretty terrible because of the altitude after about 10 minutes, so I stayed back with her and we enjoyed the view from one of the first hills. Still an absolutely amaaazing sight. We could see all of Quito, and way down into the valleys of the Andes. I'm hoping to go back again so I can climb the whole thing, because once you get to the top it's possible to see the three different cones. Nobody ended up making it all the way, because it was starting to get too dark, but everyone thoroughly enjoyed the climb and nobody got hurt.

We went out to eat as a group afterward, and then Anyel came to my house to watch a movie. My parents came home from an art festival around 10, and they fed us some deliiiicious fruit. It was neat to hear them playing cards with friends in the kitchen while we lazed about in my room watching a movie. Papa Marcelo really turns on the charm when I have friends over, and he's always asking if we're hungry, if we're cold, if we need something to drink, and then all the same questions again about half and hour later. I think my host parents are really, really happy to see that I am comfortable with bringing friends over. Laura and Anyel came over on Friday before we went out, and my parents won't stop talking about how friendly and fun and beautiful they are. All good things to hear!