Quito Day 2: Up the Mountain!

SO the day kinda went like this:
- Chill on the terrace with Nathan, our roomie, and get info on local hot spots
- physically shake Shane awake so that he doesn´t miss breakfast and we can get on with our day
- go up the TeleferiQo, which is the gondola up the mountain
- bus back to the hostel... meet wicked people and chill on the terrace some more...

Alrighty... one of the most notable things that I must mention is that apparently you can pee anywhere. Shane and I were on our way from the hostel to catch a cab to the TeleferiQo and a dude was walking up the street towards us. All of a sudden, he looks up, makes eye contact, and pulls his pants down and squats in a door way... not even kidding! So we crossed the street and had a little giggle but soon enough we realized that this peeing in the street phenomenon was not an isolated incident but in fact, so regular that they actually have servicos higenicos (fancy porta-potties) in the main squares to keep them cleanish!
Upon seeing ANOTHER pee-er on our return trip we decided that a new drinking game would come of this... and so it was born.

Beyond this little adventure we actually went up the gondola on the side of the moutain and had a wonderful little hike. The altitude at the top of the TeleferiQo is approx. 4100m above sea level and you could literally watch the clouds rolling in below and the planes coming down through the mountains... there was actually a path that lead to the peak of the volcano which is 4700m... the hike would´ve taken 3 hrs though so we vetoed it since the altitude was already kicking our asses at 4100m. We did take many pictures, stopped for many breathers, and even took a little horse back tour to see a waterfall and hear about the native plants in the area.
Shane also made friends with a local who taught us about Wawa Pachincha and Coco pachincha... the two volcanos (one active, one not) and the other big mountains in the area. He introduced us to his whole family and even invited us over to visit but we haven´t made it there yet!

Upon our return to the hostel we realized that we´d missed the few restaurants open on New Years Day, and the hostel wasn´t serving so instead we sat around the fire on the terrace, met some wicked people, and drank the few drinks til we were drunk... clearly very quick since we hadn´t eaten since we were up the mountain. One thing we did decide on that morning was to do a few days in Tena which is a tiny town South East of Quito on a 5 hr bus ride through the mountains (think of a very fun 5 hr long roller coaster) that boasted excellent rafting and kayaking, waterfall rapelling, and jungle tours... those stories will have to come in another post since time is flying again.

Anyway, a lovely little side note for those of you who care or at least know how much I care- beer here comes in giant (750ml?) bottles for $1.80 and tequila shots are a dollar... can you guess how the next morning went?

Well... more stories to come as soon as I let others use the interweb for a bit!!