A day in Quito

Sara here, writing after a breakfast that included fresh blackberry juice!   We had a wonderful day exploring Quito yesterday.   After breakfast we walked a short distance and signed on for a double decker tour bus (yes Sean I did get whacked by branches again, this time dripping water).   We were able to get on and off at different points all day and learned more about the city as we went along.   We got off in Old Town and wandered, starting with one of the many old cathedrals, El Sagrario.   I way wandered meaning Helen and I who have discovered that we have in common the trait of being directionally challenged.  Phyllis on the other hand is an excellent map reader so she was in charge of all our walking routes.

Then following something we read in the guide book, we went to the monastery Santa Catalina where the novitiate nuns are cloistered (a variant of closeted?) for their first 5 years.   Not that we wanted to join...but they make and sell healing tonics, lotions, honey and wine.   You purchase through a window with a lazy Susan type door, your money goes around and the Sister gives you your purchase and change.   Helen and I purchased rosewater and shampoo, finding the whole process most curious.

Then after a break for hot chocolate, we walked to a lovely square and went in to look at Teatro Sucre, a beautiful modern theater.   When we stepped inside, we were treated to a half hour of watching the rehearsal for a production of West Side Story.   Absolutely awesome young women dancing and singing, familiar songs from this musical.   We all had a moment of wishing we could be young again just for an hour or so and dance like these confident, flexible women.

Walking alone, we passed many yarn stores until I could no longer resist!   We went into a store with a huge, varied supply and benches of women knitting in the middle of the store.  I purchased yarn and needles for an on the trip project while Helen and Phyllis took photos.   The women all wanted their pictures taken.   Outside on the street we passed a group of school children sitting in a row on a curb, all in grey uniforms.   At the end of the row was an especially rambunctious boy, wrestling and wiggling and I said, "There's Alex!"

Then on to lunch where Helen had her first plate of goat and we polished off a way too big meal with a shared dish of blackberry paila (like sorbet) over a milk ice very much like the burnt milk ice cream Jenni loved in Mexico.   After which we decided that all future meals involved a shared plate!

Then on the the cathedral of La Compania of Jesus.   How do describe this place.   Incredibly large and ornate with enough gold to pay down the national debt of several countries.   Mind boggling.   After a few moments of gazing around, Helen quoted Holden Caufield from JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, "If Jesus saw this he'd puke".   Enough old cathedrals.   Back on the bus.

Now we traveled up a winding road to a hill overlooking Quito with an enormous statue of the Virgin of Quito, the only virgin in the world with wings.   I can't explain why this amuses me so.   Then back on the bus with the intent of returning to our stopping point.   Only the bus didn't have the same intention as the day was over for the driver.   After riding awhile, we realized no one else was on the upper level, the Andean flute music had stopped and the driver wasn't pointing out sights.   We descended to the utter surprise of the driver who was headed the opposite direction of the tour route to put the bus away for the night.   He found a good spot for us to catch a taxi and stepped out into the rain, instructing us to wait inside while he got a cab for us.

Our next stop was the Ethnographic Museums of Artisans very near our hostel.   We thought it was open in the evening however we arrived with only 15 minutes to see the museum.  It was so inviting, we went in for our brief time.  I can easily say it is the most beautifully designed small museum I have ever seen with an incredible display of artwork, tools and every day things from the indigenous peoples, particularly of the Amazonas region.   We were totally blown away.   When we returned to the hostel, I called Carmen to ask if she would like to go there with me this morning so she and I are going to return mid-morning.

After a small supper, Helen and Phyllis went into a frenzy of re-packing having just learned they were restricted to 10 pounds of luggage for the 8 person plane flight into the jungle.   They were wired!   I finally told them to say they thought it was 10 kilos since everyone uses the metric system here.   They flew out of bed at 5:30 this morning and were off for their visit to the Huaorani people.

Photos will have to wait until I'm at a computer where I can access a port to move pictures from my camera or Phyllis returns to the land of the wired with her new I Pod camera.

Six word story for the day.   Full day, magical moments, totally happy.