Arrived safely at Colonial House Hostel at 1.30am..ready for a good nights sleep!
On Monday morning we had a stroll around the old part of Quito where our hostel is. It's much warmer than we were expecting for the highest capital in the world (2850m) and everyone seems really friendly. We decided to head to la Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) 22km North of Quito,where you can stand on either side of the equator (2 buses and 1 1/2 hour journey for $0.50).
The middle of the world was marked by a large stone monument and a red line marking North and South which was ok, however we later discovered the official middle of the world calculated with GPS (150m away from the original) which was far more interesting. A guide demonstrated the difference in water spinning in the north, south and on the equator. Nathan won a certificate for balancing an egg on a nail head on the equator line! The guide also told us about the Waorani people from the Amazonian region of Ecuador and some of their bizarre rituals.
On the bus back we had a nice chat with an Australian backpacker who gave us lots of advice on the Galapagos and Quito!
In the evening we headed for a restaurant called Fried Bananas which had been recommended in Trip Advisor, little did we know it was an hour's walk from our hostel and had just stopped serving as we arrived! We found lively area though with music and loads of restaurants, so had a cheaper local meal of meat, rice, chips, beans and salad (carb overload) and a couple of Caipirinhas at Happy Hour.
Browny and Eddy are arriving later on tonight :)