Quito... if only breifly.

Phew, have finally arrived after a looong day of travel.  When we first arrived in Quito, the plane was unable to land due to rain and fog, and so we had to fly to Guayquil and refuel and sit on the tarmac for 1.5 hrs.  I was thinking to myself...  what's a bit of rain??  Pilots land in a bit of rain and fog all the time in Vancouver, right?  Well, the lovely Ecuadorian gal form Quito sitting next to me on the plane explained that because Quito is at such high and altitude and surrounded by mountains, it makes landing very difficult.  What's so hard about landing around mountains, I thought?  Pilots do it in Vancouver all the time, right?  Well, apparently, the airport in nestled in the heart of the city, which is nestled right in the heart of some peaks.  Then I was remined a few years ago about the plane that crashed into the side of a mountain when trying to land in bad weather in Quito....  that's OK, I'd rather be tired and arrive late rather than be splattered on the side of a mountain.