Outside the gates of the presidential palace in Quito stand guards dressed in ceremonial attire. These are actual soldiers who are picked for the honor of standing guard while the president is in the palace.

Quito has some of the continent’s best examples of colonial art and architecture. Must-stops include the National Museum of Colonial Art and the Guayasamín Museum, dedicated to contemporary artist Oswaldo Guayasamín. The Manuela Sáenz Museum, named for Simón Bolívar’s mistress, showcases the couple’s love letters. Book a room at Casa Gangotena, a newly restored historic mansion with a prime setting that overlooks Plaza San Francisco.

This traditional lock can be seen all over Ecuador and in many other parts of Central and South America. It's basically a huge padlock that adorns the front doors of many haciendas and historic buildings. The locks weigh quite a bit as they are made of steel and the average size is at least 12 inches top to bottom by about 16 inches wide along the top. Original antiques and new reproductions can be found at markets and stores in large cities and even in some of the smaller more remote Ecuadorian towns. Every lock carries it's own intricate design stamped or hammered into the surface. The skeleton keys are bulky and heavy which ensures any hacienda guest will leave them behind for safe keeping. The mechanical simplicity and enormous size make these locks a fascinating reference to Ecuador's colonial past and continue to celebrate it's contemporary craftspeople. Beautiful and ornate!

A somber afternoon in Quito should definitely go towards the Guyasamin museum. Oswaldo Guyasamin was an Ecuadorian artist of mixed ancestry who created artwork to illustrate human and social inequalities. This poem mounted on the wall in rough brass touched my heart - I cried because I had no shoes, Until I saw a child Who had no feet

Boca del Lobos is a funky little restaurant in the Mariscal neighborhood of Quito. The decor, as you can see, is a bit surreal with bright colors, abstract art and a tree growing up through the floor. The food is tapas style and a mix of Spanish, American-ish and Ecuadorian ethnicities, the most successful of which are the Ecuadorian dishes. I loved their little empanadas and the atmosphere and would recommend it as a fun food adventure.

Who knew this view of Pululahua Volcano exists from a hotel bed just 30 minutes outside Quito. Not many people, which I discovered on a recent visit: http://www.afar.com/afar/staying-on-the-edge-quitos-volcano-hotel.

We were in Quito during the holidays (La Navidad) and had an unexpected run-in with many Quitoans when we visited the major landmark El Panecillo – home to the large statue La Virgen de Quito. The entire area was filled with locals for a special Navidad event. People were dressed up everywhere we looked, some women were in Disney princess costumes, others were in authentic indigenous costumes. This group of children, playing a distance from a large tent and stage, tried to convince us to ride a lone donkey tied up near the base of the statue. We declined, chatted a bit, and they let me take their picture. After the first few takes the donkey moved out of the shot and the kids tried to pull el burro back, only to get yelled at by the owner who was a few hundred yards away.

For spectacular views of the sprawling city of Quito, take a ride in the TelefériQo, which takes you up the east side of Pichincha volcano. Don't worry, the active caldera is on the western side of the mountain! You'll rise almost 1000 meters in 8 minutes. In addition to hiking trails and lookout points, there are shops and cafes at the top. On a clear day, you can see 13 volcanoes. The most challenging hike from the top is the Volcano Route, going to the summit of the Rucu volcano. Unless you're doing one of the hikes, consider going in the afternoon, when there's less chance of fog.

Along La Ronda street young boys and teens play an old game called trompos, in which a player tries to knock his opponents spinning top out of a circle. This boy's top is in his hand.

Have you always wanted to be a clown? Would you like to clown with Patch Adams? Join the real Patch as he clowns his way through the country with an international team of clowns. Don't worry. You don't need any clowning experience just bring a clown outfit and a desire to help others. You'll be clowning in hospitals, old people's homes, daycares and the town square. Expect the unexpected! You will have to pay for your airfare and lodging and an additional fee makes this holiday pricey. But how often can you be a clown!

I am a Flight Attendant and I had been in Quito a few times that month. After doing quite a few of things over the month, I decided to play tourist and go on a Red Bus City tour. It's a hop on , hop off type bus and tour. It turned out to be a great and inexpensive way to see so much of the city. This was the view from the open air top going down a street....and I do mean down. It was extremely steep and narrow. How that bus driver got that double decker bus through those streets still amazes me. Quito is a great city, rather inexpensive and full of interesting squares, statutes, artisans, and culinary experiences.

Landing in Quito, the city looked mostly as I’d expected: a mixture of grime, bright colors, enticing street food, and the general feel of dust & humanity. But what I didn’t expect was how amazed I’d be at the mountains. I’ve been around mountains before, but always in the context of nature & preserved parks. Those mountains seem deliberately placed - on display for appreciation. This was my first time in a city that melds right into mountains. And more importantly, this place blends mountains, city, country, and clouds. I can only begin to imagine the wonder and awe of ancient peoples, as they discovered land that touched the skies! We took an afternoon from the trip down to Banos to ride horses along the side of the Tungurahua Volcano. The experience of riding a horse up the side of this mountain was lovely. There is a difference sense of quiet … the rhythmic thumping of the horse’s hooves, the droop of leaves heavy with the rain, and the soft crackling of twigs below my field of vision. Near the top, I stood on aromatic ground - the air thin with new sediment from the depth of the earth, cool with the mist of a translucent cloud. We took in the fresh greenery, the bright lava rocks, the fresh mineral water, and the sensation of standing inside a cloud. Looking across the valley to other clouds perched in nests of the valleys and floating along the sides of neighboring mountains eye level, it was truly the meeting of heaven & earth.

Knowing little about Quito, and somewhat preoccupied by anticipation of our Galapagos trip, I was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful city. The Basilica del Voto Nacional is a gothic inspired cathedral in the historic center of Ecuador's capital of Quito. Upon seeing the cathedral, you're reminded of the Notre Dame in Paris. But in the Basilica, the grotesques or gargoyles that line its exterior are not far from the usual - instead they are Ecuadorian animals such as iguanas, armadillos and Galapagos tortoises. For about US$2 you can also climb up the cathedral towers. For those who aren't afraid of heights, the view of Quito is simply spectacular.

Our tour guide Erfain from Mio tours took us to this hallowed place, the Battle of Turi monument is very special and it is celebrated annually. There are 73 steps to the upper level. The battle was between 4,000 Ecuadorians and 8,000 Peruvians on February 27, 1829. It paved the way for the beginning of Ecuador, as a new country.

Book a suite at Mashpi Lodge and you can spot howler monkeys, sloths, butterflies, and hundreds of bird species from your Philippe Starck bathtub-with-a-view. Opened in April 2012 on the 3,000-acre Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve, the lodge has resident biologists and a library stocked with bird books. A new tram traverses more than a mile of dense forest canopy, providing guests with an overview of the reserve’s extraordinary plant and animal life. Photo courtesy of CereallyExplosive/Flickr. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.

The first time I had these little potato pancakes at a street stand in Otavalo, I thought that llapingachos was the pancake alone. But then later I went to a restaurant and saw Llapingachos under the comida tipica menu. A llapingachos meal is the potato pancake (stuffed with cheese) as well as chorizo sausage, fried eggs and an avocado and tomato salad. If there's anything I love more than potato pancakes (with cheese!), it's potatoes with eggs for any meal. If I lived in Ecuador, I'd eat llapingachos in every form for every meal. Perhaps it's good I just visited...

My 3 best friends and I recently started practicing yoga. We discovered it independently - Ellen in Alaska, Anna in Michigan, Katie in Ecuador, and me in NY. While visiting Ecuador this past June for Katie's wedding, we came up with the brilliant plan to practice yoga together on the Equator! The day before the wedding, we headed outside the city to the Mitad del Mundo site and found 'balance' at the center of the world!