Exploring Quito and then gone for awhile

Hey Everyone. So today we pretty much had the day to explore the Quito area. We spent most of the morning walking to crowded streets of Quito´s historic ´´Old Town´´ with a number of inviting plazas and historic large cathedrals. The highlight of the day had to be the climb to the top of Quito´s tallest cathedral, Basilica del Voto Nacional. The climb up the winding stairs and steep ladders offered a spectacular view of the city from the top. We spent some time walking the city to the newer and more commercialized ´´New Town´´ area. It was crowded and more commercialized but offered a lot of excitment and energy. We returned to the mission for some fried tree tomatoes in honey(which were great!) followed shortly by a dinner of homeade soup and bread. On the downside, we found out that there are no towns near our village of La Pradera with internet access. So unfortunately I will not be able to update the blog for awhile. We leave tomorrow for the Otonga Reserve (read post below for more info) to stay the night and continue on to the village of La Pradera where we will be doing our work. We also found out that it will be an hour and half walk to the nearest town where we can hopefully pick up a bus that comes once or twice a day back to the highway towards Quito and larger towns (with Internet). My next posts will probably not be for awhile, but I will do my best. It will be an adventure for sure. I am very excited to reach our village! Hope to keep you all updated. Until then....Adios