Kia Ora !

Apologies in advance for any spelling mistakes - this keyboard is complete s***e and I am seiously having to whack my fingers on the keys to type this!!

How was everyone´s new years???

We had a great night! Chilled during the day in part of the new town called La Mariscal which is where all the restaurants and bars are. There will TONS of people during the day just wandering up and down the street as everything got set up. Not sure why really but meh. And there were about 200 times more police with guns about 1 million times the size of their normal ones! A bit freaky-deaky if you ask me!

We stumbled upon an English bookstore that is run by an American (one of the not so obnoxious ones that we have come across) and popped in there to have a look. He was clearing everything away because of looters! Which was a little bit un-nerving. After a bit of bribery - him trading the secrets of safety for our "crazy" night in Quito, in return for us purchasing a book, we got the low down on the night ahead...

Looters, flyers laced with drugs that put you in a trance for 4 days, burning of paper stuffed dolls etc etc. Not only that, but the man who runs our hostel stressed not to take anything with us, to only stay on two streets, catch a taxi back etc etc. Yeah, so we were a bit sketch about the whole night ahead!

Turns out it was very tame, we missed all the freaken burning because we were told it happens at midnight but apparently our information was wrong (thanks mr. bartender at the sports bar we were at). There wasn´t even a countdown - we started our own with two americans from our hostel and some weird middle aged ecuadorians that befriended us... We were offered flyers once and our hands swiftly moved to our pockets!!!

Was a fab night but not the crazy times we had expected for such a big city!! A big majority of the crowd had b*****ed off before midnight and only like three clubs were even open! What is that about????

We went to the Otavalo markets today - had to get up at 5.30am. Lame-o! Took about two hours to get there (first a taxi then a bus). I don´t know what´s up with this, but numerous bus rides we have taken in Quito have involved animals... First a cat in a box, then birds in a box and today a poodle on the back seat and a giant chicken in a handbag! Weird! Our bus driver decided not to stop at our stop and didn´t tell us that we should have got off, so enbded up going past Otavalo and getting ditched at a toll booth!

Markets were good, very big and quite intense! Weren´t the bargains we were hoping for, probably because so many tourists go there.. Had delicious pankcakes for breakfast and even more delissimo pies for afternoon tea!!! Mmmmm!

Back on the road tomorrow to Banos which will be a full on two and a half days of thermal pools, bike riding and horse riding. Eeee!

Better go! Hope ya´ll are well and are having a great beginning of 2010!

Love love love xxxx