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<\/a>We met a German couple at the campground in Ibarra. They’re in a huge 4×4 truck that makes our van look like a toy.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n One highlight was a visit to a raptor rehabilitation facility where we got to see flight demonstrations of some amazing eagles and hawks.<\/p><\/div>\n They even had two bald eagles. This one is “Gringo,” the female is named “Gringa.”<\/p><\/div>\n We got our first real glimpse of a snow-capped Andean peak.<\/p><\/div>\n We crossed the equator for like the fifth time, but this was the first time we drove across (since we crossed it in Gabon, anyway, 10 years ago. This time the temperatures were MUCH cooler!).<\/p><\/div>\n In Quito camped in a parking lot at Parque Carolina, a huge park that featured this airplane in the kids play area.<\/p><\/div>\n There was a festival while we were there and we got to sample some exotic Ecuadorean cotton candy.<\/p><\/div>\n We first met Melanie and Justin from Providence, Rhode Island, back in Colombia and really hit it off with them. We got to spend a few days hanging out together in Quito.<\/p><\/div>\n We rode the Teleferico (gondola) to a viewpoint above the city.<\/p><\/div>\n At the bottom of the Teleferico there was an amusement park where we spent the rest of the day.<\/p><\/div>\n Quinn loved the bumper cars.<\/p><\/div>\n The next day we went to the old town to see the changing of the guard. The president, Raphael Correa, came out to wave to the people gathered in the plaza below.<\/p><\/div>\n In a nearby cathedral, a painting of the Last Supper features Jesus feasting on Cuy (a local delicacy of roasted guinea pig).<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>