More travel time

I'm just finishing up a nice week and a half with my brother visiting. We're back in Quito after doing a bit of traveling (he leaves tommorrow). The first couple of days we spent in Quito, wandering around old town and (at least for me) enjoying eating something other than potatoes and rice. We actually spent an extra day because I lost my cell phone and had to get it replaced, which was a pain but I figure at least I made it this long without something happening which is better than a lot of volunteers. So the extra day we spent taking the Teliferico (a gondola ride) up to Point Loma which is at 41oo m and gives you a nice view of Quito. There was a bit of nervousness because we saw a lightening strike or two, but the storm never really materialized. It was also cool being able to watch the planes coming in to land from above them. It´s a view you never really get unless you're already in a plane. The next day we did mountain biking in Cotopaxi national park. We drove way up on the mountain to about 15,000 ft. and then enjoyed gliding down. There was some peddling involved but not too much. We had lunch at some inca ruins that overlooked a valley right out of lord of the rings. It was a really nice trip overall. The past couple of days we were staying at my place doing a little bit of hiking, but not a whole lot because my brother caught a stomach bug and was laid up for a few days. So that's been my last week or two. It's been nice doing some touristy things again. I don't have any plans for thanksgiving this year because any get togethers volunteers have planned have been a bit too far away for me. So I'll probably just be hanging out at my place and maybe have thanksgiving dinner at one of the local hostels. I'll try to get pics up soon of our traveling.