Day 1 - nothing here, just met the guides in the lobby and found out what time to show up for breakfast on day 2.
Day 2 - we had a separate breakfast in The Hacienda restaurant (different hotel restaurant than where breakfast normally is). There was one other family with 3 kids (we had met them at the sushi place earlier) and 3 couples (one on their honeymoon, the other two were older) for a total of 15 guests! The destination manager also joined us. We had the Costa Rica destination manager when we travelled in 2018 over spring break and it's nice to get to talk to them and get their insights on how they make various decisions on these itineraries. They are in charge of several different trips so you can pick their brain about other places you may be thinking to go.
Our first activity after breakfast was a trip to 2 different attractions on the equator. The first is a bigger monument Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, considered a "historical Equator monument" since after it was build they realized the actual equator is a few hundred feet away. The local guide, Robby, is pretty knowledgeable and a naturalist by background. We spent some time walking around and getting pictures, and then our second guide, Lauren, gave everyone $5 to purchase a white elephant gift at one of the shops by the monument or later on. Afterwards we went to another attraction along the real equator. This also had an Intinan Museum. It was interesting to learn how guinea pigs were kept under beds as a source of heat. There are some shrunken heads which may be a little disturbing for younger kids just FYI.
Next we went to lung at El Crater which is actually located inside a crater. The food was excellent and every place we ate was able to accommodate for vegetarians. We came back to the hotel for a few hours and then that night we took a bus to Old Town Quito. Robby did a great job of explaining a bit of history with the conquistadors and missionaries. On this itinerary we also met the local partner ABD uses to help with security for the guests. We had heard in the past people travelled with arm guards on this itinerary. I saw people who looked like cops or security guards walking with us on the tour, they may have had guns but nothing obvious. They mostly kept panhandlers and street vendors away, we never felt unsafe though.
We walked into a store that makes Panama hats, which actually come from Ecuador. They can get pretty pricey but it was interesting to learn how they are made and the history behind them. My wife got a hat from my son and he got a lot of compliments on it afterwards, but sadly the shape got a little ruined between the flights after. Then we went to a chocolate store for a demonstration and sampling. It was somewhat similar to a chocolate tour we did in Costa Rica last year but always a good place to buy easy to pack souvenirs for friends back home.
Finally, we finished the night on the roof of Cafe Plaza Grande, the oldest hotel in Quito. They had a really nice ballroom setup just for us. The patio had a gorgeous view of Quito at night and the weather was just perfect. We got see some musicians and dancers perform and the desserts came on dry ice so it looked almost like a volcano.