Quito

Having extended our stay in Baños we had only one night in Quito before catching our flight to Panama. We stayed at a cheap hotel/hostel in the historic sector of the town. We were left slightly unnerved after the first thing we see walking out side of the hostel was a man sprinting away down the road from a local women with her handbag in his arms! Welcome to Quito!!

We spent the afternoon walking round the historic sector and were impressed by its beauty and architecture...we ignorantly had no idea it was like this...probably based on our time in La Paz and Lima. Nonetheless we both just didn't feel comfortable and felt the streets were fairly intimidating. As a result we headed back before it got dark and decided to head out to the new sector of town for food that evening. After getting a recommendation we opted for an Italian restaurant to enjoy pizza and wine whilst celebrating the end of our South American journey! The food was truly excellent and the calzone David had was probably the biggest he has ever seen! It goes without saying that this put a big smile on his face. With Lynne failing to finish her giant pizza we took it back with us in a doggy bag to have the next day!! We went for a few drinks afterwards in nearby bars but found a lack of atmosphere and decided to head back.

Before taking a cab to the airport in the afternoon we spent the morning strolling around the local area once more! At the airport after paying the ridiculous airport fee of $40 each (!) we had mixed emotions, sad, to be leaving South America after an amazing 8 months but happy, looking forward to Panama, Cuba and being a step closer to returning home!(Not that we were ready to return just yet!)