Higher than I've ever been without an aircraft around me

As part of our tour of Quito we started off with a trip on the Teleferiqo  - a cable car - which takes you to 13,300ft on the upper reaches of the Pichincha Volcano. We were there early on Sunday morning ahead of the crowds but in company with the serious hikers who were planning to take on the 3 hour hike to the peak at around 15,200ft.
I was impressed to see the 8 year old girl with her sister and parents confidently striding off up the trail when I could only manage a short climb to the viewing point before I needed to stop for a breather!
The views were amazing, across the City which was hidden by the cloud, to the string of volcanoes in the Andes on the western horizon with Cayambe, Antisana and Cotopaxi topping out at 18,500 -19,500ft.

Our guide/driver for the day then took us to the San Juan viewpoint above Guayapo to see the route across the mountains to the Amazon and then to the top of Panecillo where the huge statue of the winged virgin looks out over the city.

We followed this with a walking tour of the centre of the colonial city - which has more than it's fair share of large ornate churches.

Decided to skip the last couple and headed home for a glass of beer and a pizza after a brief stop in the Plaza Grande to see the Sunday afternoon crowds.
Time to pack up for tomorrow's trip to the lower Napo valley in the Amazon basin where we will spend the next few days before returning to Quito next weekend. No telephone or wifi so no contact till we get back to the city - looking forward to it.