¡Hola amigos!

We have now arrived in Ecuador! We came into Quito (the capital city) on Sunday night at 12pm! Scary to be faced with a new country and language late at night in a strange city. Luckily we had a pick up arranged. We were completely oblivious to the police riots in Quito earlier in the week - the government put a freeze on the police salaries so they rebelled with street riots and explosive,s and the army had to step in. We have been told by other travellers that the riots lasted about six hours, but things are all quiet again now and Quito is as safe as it was before (not sure how safe that is though!) So anyway, we arrived safe and sound at our hostel in Quito and the next day we made it to Otavalo very easily; it took a couple of hours by car. We are staying in a lovely hostel in town which is a bit like a little oasis amongst all the hustle and bustle of the town. It is much more westernized than we expected and everyone has been very friendly so far.

As soon as we arrived Lindsey was thrown into the deep end and had to use what little Spanish she could remember from her A-levels. A lot has come back to her now and we are managing quite well. Graham has caught on and understands most of what people are saying, hand gestures are very useful. We have been going to Spanish lessons at the Spanish School every day at 9am. The afternoons have been spent exploring Otavalo and the surrounding area. So far we have been to El Parque Condor (to see the condors and other birds of prey), La Cascada de peguche (a beautiful waterfall) and we walked back to the village from there (and got a bit lost!!). Today we went to La Leguna Cuicocha with our friendly taxi driver- Marco, who is very keen to take us everywhere! It was beautiful, amazing views over Otavalo and the volcanic crater that is now a massive lake, with the volcano behind. We climbed along the path a little and then sat and ate our lunch (nuts and water!)

We don´t start our volunteer work until Saturday/Sunday when we meet the rest of the group and our host family. (Zoe and Greg - our family are called the Dias family which I believe is the same family that you stayed with). We are really looking forward to it. Before we go to meet the rest of the group we are going to visit the Animal market on the edge of town which Otavalo is famous for (aside from the main market that takes place in the town plaza). Can't wait.

Sending lots of love to you all, hope to hear some of your news when you have time.

Love and best wishes
From Lindsey and Graham
xx