The hostel we were staying at was putting on a potluck lunch for Christmas day and doing a small gift exchange. On Christmas eve day we went out to get our supplies for the potluck and gift exchange. The stores were the same as at home, with the craziness of everyone doing their last minute shopping!

In the evening I just got some wine and snacks and had a quiet evening at the hostel.

The next morning we walked the streets for a bit to try and find breakfast. The main square had some places open, but for the most part everything was closed. People in Ecuador generally do their celebrating on the 24th and party until the early hours of the morning. Things eventually got a bit livelier in the afternoon once everyone was up!

The host opened the restaurants kitchen so we could prepare for the potluck in the morning. After breakfast we spent a few hours in there preparing our food and helping others out. Although it wasn’t nearly the same as at home, you could still feel the Christmas spirit.

The potluck was delicious and we had way too much food as potlucks usually do. After we did a gift exchange game and played a couple other fun party games that took us into the evening. We ended up spending the rest of the day at the hostel with the other travellers staying here.