ive woken up in a much better mood!

lets just scratch yesterday shall we? yesterday sucked.

last night two guys tried to rob me as i was walking down the street. i was a few blocks away from the main commercial strip, just looking for something nice to eat. i'd actually gotten a little lost, spent 10 minutes trying to re-orientate myself, done so, found the street the hostel was on, about to turn on to it and bam - there it was. i knew exactly what i was looking at, about five steps away from the setup, two guys, one on either side of the sidewalk, i saw them, they saw me, no illusions.

i possibly had time to stop and quickly walk in the other direction, but i didnt want to run or get lost again, and i didnt want to show fear. and i wasnt afraid, i was only carrying ten dollars, i knew there were some dodgy areas of town, and mentally i was ready for it.

i kept walking straight ahead, looked directly at them

the first one grabbed me, and pushed me into the other who was already now blocking my path. i kinda bounced of the first guy and then scuffled with the second guy, something i don't think they were expecting. i swung around, and pushed the second guy firmly back into the first one, swung back and kept walking away from them in the same stride. in three or four steps i was under the well-lit intersection. i looked back, they were too far away to do anything, it all happened so quickly, they spat a couple of obscenities and then left.

i checked my pockets - nothing missing. it might have been a bit stupid, and if they'd pulled a knife they could have had my ten dollars. but i knew when i grabbed the second guy and looked straight at him - that they were just kids, and the only thing i needed to be feeling was some slight irritation.

still i was a bit nervy though, didn't want to be out on the street no more after it, i swallowed my culinary pride and got some take away pizza slices to eat at home, beer at the hostel to relax me, and last night, i slept better than i have in ages.

quito is great, a city in the valley, houses etched into the side of the mountains on all sides, the od volcano here and there.

the city gets cold at night and i especially feel it in the morning. i want my hot shower to be just that little bit hotter. its weird to think that - after sweltering for so long on the caribbean side of things.

explored the city on sunday - & every second sunday many of the roads are blocked off so quitoans can ride around the city. they love their cycling, which is great, but also crazy, there's some pretty steep hills in town. i wonder how the altitude levels effect/improve their comparative fitness.

the old city thoroughly deserves its unesco heritige listing, and we had a wonderful explore - and climbed to the very fricken top of "the Basilica" which was amazing, if a little unstable at times.

both the new city and the old city in quito have crime problems. especially the new city at night - which i've seen firsthand - but it think its still a better place to stay because there is more to do in the evening.

ive given up on spanish for a bit. my brain is full. my remote work is affecting that - i've had to switch out of travel mode for the last couple of weeks, but only for the next four days, and then i'm back :)