Quito´s historic old town is filled with bustling plazas and lovely colonial architecture. Filled with with character, it is a great a place to kick back and absorb the Ecuadorian way of life. We decided to do a loop and head towards the mountains before hitting the coast. We went to Guaranda which is a little town known for it´s delicious cheese. The route there is very scenic and skirts around Ecuador's highest mountain, Volcano Chimborazo which we unfortunately didn't´t get to see because of the cloud cover. In need of some relaxation time we went to the Ecuadorian coast, where our first stop was Puerto Lopez. its a dirt road fishing village and a good base for visits to the Machalilla National Park. We visited Isla de la Plata to do a bit of hiking and see the colonies of sea birds. We encountered many Blue-footed Boobies and their chicks. Some were only days old. Even though it wasn't´t the season, we were fortunate enough to spot a Humpback whale out at sea. We spent the rest of our time in the beach town of Canoa. Here we found an idyllic spot on the outskirts of town with its own stretch of beach. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves as we were the only guests there. It was perfect as all we wanted to do was relax and soak up the sun for our last week in South America. On our last day back in Quito, we went to Mitad del Mundo (the equator) and had fun jumping between hemispheres and doing a few experiments that can only be done at the equator. Tanya received a certificate for balancing an egg on a nail on the equator line. A skill she has always wanted to acquire.