We arrived in Sangolqui (about half and hour drive SE of Quito) on Saturday 19th in the afternoon and have been made very welcome by the Hotel owner, Rodriguez, and the representative of the Spanish School, Maria. The hotel is one of the oldest buildings in the town and overlooks the town square and church, and in the distance the mountains. We have spent time on the balcony watching Ecuadorian life unfold before us. Until this evening we were the only guests.

This morning we had our first opportunity to go walking - Rodriguez drove us to the Pasochoa National Park about 15 km from Sangolqui in his jeep. We started the walk at the base of a very old volcano, through rainforest type vegetation - pretty flowers - very lush green and wet! We heard many birds, but saw few, probably because it was relatively cold. It started to rain towards the end of the walk and persisted throughout the afternoon. The first rain we have had since arriving in S.A. Rodriguez collected us but about 8 km from town we ran out of fuel and were stranded on the American Pacific Highway (not as grand as it sounds - plenty of potholes!). He eventually got more fuel but the jeep would not start, so he flagged down a passing vehicle and we travelled back to town squashed in the front seat of a Mazda pickup!

This evening the couple who will be learning Spanish with us flew in from Madrid. Jackie and Brad are South African, who have been living in London for 3 years. They will also be joining us on our long trip.

Lessons begin tomorrow morning and in the afternoons this week we will be helping with a project for the eldery, poor people; next week we will be with the children in the church centre.

Hope you are enjoying the photos, there are many more but it takes a long time to download due to slow internet.

Bye for now.