A walk through the historical center of town surprised us with an awesome protest against petroleum and mining operations in the Amazon! This meant a lot to me considering my time living in the Amazon two years ago with the organization called Union de Afectados por Texaco, which has been fighting against Chevron Texaco in court for 20 years seeking justice for the billions of spilled gallons of crude oil which made the cancer rate in the region twice as high. The women were singing a song about strong women opposing the destruction of nature. 

Small world! My friend Bri, who I worked with last summer at VPIRG in Vermont, was living in Cuenca for a Workaway project and ended up in Quito for a bit. We met up and had an awesome day in Centro Historico. The highlight was climbing up the Basilica, which I had actually never done despite all the time I had spent in Quito. It was great. For $2 you can climb to the top and get a GREAT view of the city by climbing god-knows how many sketchy stairs. It was awesome. 

I've spent my past three birthdays with my host family in Ecuador! This was was equally great, with the whole crew coming over one night and me going to their house the next. Baby Luana was not impressed with the birthday cake and it was hysterical. 

I HIGHLY recommend the free walking tour of the Floresta neighborhood in Quito if you have the chance to do it.  The walk takes about 3 hours and it is a great overview of the lovely artsy neighborhood. I went with my host sister Gaby, her partner Juanse, their baby Luana, and my pals Emily and Dyalla. Here's the website where you can get more information: https://www.quitostreettours.com/street-art-and-local-life 

And here is an overview of what we did: 

We started at the Swiss Hotel in central quito, then walked up towards the neighborhood while getting a quick tour of a local food market on the way. Our first stop was a local theatre called "Ocho y Medio" which doubles as a cute cafe. The neighborhood has a strict parking ban so you can clearly see the the colorfully decorated road blocks everywhere. 

I was quite pleased when we ended up at a well-known pottery studio in the area called "Perro de Loza" connected to a vegan restaurant called "Vegano de Altura." Meanwhile, our tour guide pointed out some beautifully painted murals. We stopped at a park where we received some free Pacari chocolate samples (delicious). 

The tour is "free" but really by donation. We thought the tour deserved at least $10 each and our guide was made happy by our tips. Worth the afternoon!