first impression of quito

 first time in the city. i thought: wooow, 19 degrees, amazing! but a few days later i realized that this was quite a cool day.

 as the airport is in the middle of the city, there are always airplanes flying so low that you think there is a hi-jacking..

 with my teacher, i went to an outside exhibition. ecuadorian artists made masks in carnival-style. these ones are the "mama negra" and a caricature of the spanish conquistadors.

 this mask of a monkey is made of trash found at the beach.

 if i remember correctly, here you can see a monkey, an afro-ecuadorian, a clown and a devil. all of these masks are the traditional symbols they always use for carnival.

 best crisps in the country - made of yuca and not potatoes! and probably also a lot healthier :-)

 in the old town of quito, in the background there is the hill "el panecillo" with the metal-virgin on top of it.

 plaza grande - the main square in quitos old town

  palacio del carondelet, government palace of ecuador where president rafael correa works
calle chile in the old town

 the street "la ronda" where you drink the best "canelazo" (naranjilla-juice with cinnamon, some kind of alcohol and whatever more. delicious hot drink!)

 the first colibri i saw - in the middle of old town

 that's the treat you get with my favourite yogurt. how great, a green plastic warrior!