Quito, Ecaudor

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Quito is an amazing city bustling with activity. It is beautifully situated in a valley surrounded with mountains. When I arrived I was greeted by Roberto Peña´s family, his uncle Franklin, his aunt Marcela, his cousin Cynthia and her boyfriend. I was welcomed for the first time with a sign with my name on it. They then took me to Roberto´s family home. It is a very nice house in the North of Quito. There we tried to communicate in Spanish. That consisted of pointing to my travel document, using fragments, gestures, and the occasional French word. Yet we seemed to understand each other. My were wonderfully friendly and accommodating. They filled the fridge with food and took me around town the next day.

Franklin and company came by at 10 in the morning. From there they took me to the Virgen de El Panecillo in the centre of Quito. There you could see the entire city. We strolled around and took pictures. The entire city fills the valley and even climbs up the sides of the mountains. There are no large skyscrapers, but a myriad of colourful concrete buildings.

Afterwards they took out for lunch. I had a meal of grilled pork and corn done three ways. There was mote, corn kernels soaked in water, corn on the cob, popcorn, grilled corn and fermented corn. The last item is called chicha, which is a fermented corn beer. This beer was originally prepared by the indigenous people of the area. They prepared it by chewing corn kernels and then spitting them out. They would then let this concoction sit to ferment for a few days. I´m sure that the chicha I drank was not prepared this way, but I wasn´t about to ask.

A few blocks from the restaurant was the Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world. We walked around acomplex that straddled the equator. The equatorial line was drawn across the complex. It was built in the seventies, and I found out later that that line is about 240 meters away from the real equator, but it was still fun to pretend to jump from one hemisphere to another. There were also some traditional dancers performing. It was fun.

The next day, I explored the Old town of Quito. I spent the day walking through the historical district. It´s a wonderfully bustling area, full of yelling vendors, ambling pedestrians, whistling police officers and tooting taxis. I started by the day at the Plaza Grande. This area is surrounded with important buildings. Like most colonial centers, there was a nice fountain and beautiful building with hidden courtyards. I visited several 5 churches, one monastery and a museum. The highlight was the Basilica Del Voto Nacinal. I was able to climb to the top of the towers. The ascent required crossing a rickety wodden planks inside the main roof and climbing steep steps and ladders to the top. It was amazing. You would never be able to do such a thing in Canada.

For dinner I ate at a small restaurant specialising in Guatita, a tripe and potato stew in a seasoned peanut based sauce. I enjoyed the stew, but I don´t think I will order it again.

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