It was a very fun morning!  Ron and Sunitha came over for breakfast so we gave them a tour of the house and heard how they met (it was quite the romantic comedy with intensely involved parents, 3000 miles between them and discovering their families are good friends in India) over pancakes, fresh bread, and plenty of wonderful juice.  After we ate we took them down to see the "cafe" and promised to keep them updated with CV.  At about 10:30 Heather, Sydney, Eve, Alex and I went with their friend Sal up to El Panecillo, the small mountain with a post-apocolyptic Virgin Mary statue on top.  It's a bit of a hike, mostly just a lot of stairs, but led to a view of the entire city.  Quito is beautiful, very narrow and nestled in the valley but extends for miles north and south.  The legend of Mary is that she saved the world and stands on the slain dragon, facing the north with her hand raised, protecting this end whiling turning her back on the south.  Because southern Quito is more poor and troubled, this legend is widely believed, or so Sal says.  I'll let you decide and the pictures speak for the rest.   

We are now just relaxing and cleaning up a bit, and tonight I go with Alicia to her daughter's home in order to leave at 6 am tomorrow for 235 with Baggie and Gustavo.  I'm so excited!!!  Heather and Sydney said it was the best day they've had here so there will be plenty to fill in about upon my return.