Heavenly fires in Quito, Ecuador

contrast. it´s the only word to describe this crazy mixed-up city. in one day, i´ve been to old town (historical centre, police everywhere to guard the tourists) where the locals mostly ignored us, new town (the Mariscal, where you feel like a walking ATM), the only part of the city to have every international cuisine featured within a square mile, and a shopping mall in the north of the city, frequented by the upwardly mobile Quiteno and his-her spoilt teenager. Quitenos for the most part appear friendly and polite, but the level of muggings means you have to take a taxi everywhere - not a particularly expensive pastime (when was the last time you travelled anywhere for less than a euro?) but it does cut down on the meandering! Tomorrow I am resolved to a greater commitment to the tourist thing, but for now I am content with my day´s spanish and a night on the terrace of the hostel to look down over this beautiful place. if i dare to muse on the sights, imagine huge white breakers rolling in on a shore in a good wind, and you have an image of the clouds rolling in over the volcanoes around us. at dusk, with the sunlight behind, you could almost imagine a heavenly fire behind them. in the dark, the lights are magical - you can only see a slice of the city up close, but the line of lights stretches north and south in the valley of the volcanoes for miles. incredible.