Our Ecuador Volcanoes team has all arrived in Ecuador without complications. We started our first morning in country with a team breakfast and then departed on a city tour of the historic, colonial are of Quito and a trip to Mitad del Mundo (literally the middle of the world), or the Equator. We had good views of our climbing objectives, Cotopaxi and Cayambe, from El Panecillo, a hill in southern Quito that looks out over the city. From there we toured around “old town” Quito, visiting churches, parks, and the presidential palace, all while learning about the rich cultural history of Ecuador. The last stop on our trip was to the equator, where we visited an ethnographic museum. In addition to information and exhibits about the many different cultures of Ecuador, we stood on the equatorial line, with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern. We’re headed out for a team dinner before getting some rest in preparation for our first acclimatization hike of the volcano Rucu Pichincha, which sits on the flanks of Quito. We’ll check in tomorrow to let you know how our first venture into very high altitude goes. Thanks for checking in! RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team