Quito and Riobamba

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Hola Amigos!

We arrived at Quito around 11 pm on the 15th, and were promptly met by our archaeologist friends - this was a good thing because as you step out of the airport EVERYONE´s whole family is there to greet them...this creates a bizarre scene of crowds yelling and cheering on both sides. We didn´t do much that night, but the next day (Saturday) we walked around the "new town" aka the "gringo district" and saw the local market.

Quito is a very beautiful city which is surrounded by mountains and low rolling hills. In fact, it seemed at first that the airport appropriated the only flat strip of land in the whole region! There is so much history in the architecture, yet within the new town there are many eclectic modern bars and restaurants - like the Sutra, which is a bar decorated Hindu style yet plays anything from Nirvana to Led Zeppelin to (of course) Bryan Adams!

On Sunday before we left on our bus trip we quickly toured the old town, which includes a colonial style main square with an enormous cathedral and government buildings. The whole area reminded us of Europe, including the old architecture AND of course the pigeons in the square.

The bus station, like most we´ve experienced outside North America, was pandemonium. Fortunately, you can always find your bus because the bus company has many people who are incessantly yelling the destination...we quickly flocked to the sound of (and I quote) "RiobambaRiobambaRiobambaRiobambaRiobamba!".
Our new aspiration is to be able to repeat this as quickly and for as many times as them.

The bus trip was really scenic, and (bonus) the buses bore no resemblance to those in Ethiopia - they don´t keep extra gas in the back, you are able to open the windows, and the Ecuadorian buses are more like Greyhounds with cushy seats and air conditioning! We gringos got in at the station, but the bus picked people up for the next hour as it was leaving the city - "picking people up" consists of yelling the destination repeatedly out the window (see above), and slowing the bus down just enough that people can hop on. Heaven forbid they actually STOP the bus...

Riobamba is a much smaller town but still seems big as we haven´t really had the time to explore. We´ve been too busy helping our archaeologist friends at their two sites, which we´ll explain later. We´re staying in the "dig camp", which is actually a beautifully decorated 6 bedroom, 4 bathroom unfinished house on the outskirts of the town. We have our own room on the third floor with a mattress on the ground and a great view of the volcano Chimborazo on the horizon. Actually, it feels a bit like Pompeii....

Here are a few pics just to whet your appetite. We´re hoping to hit the market on Saturday.
Update soon!

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Photos

A mix of the old and new
Colonial Spanish architecture sandwiched in between the modern...complete with a bust of Ghandi in front of the fountain!

Archaeologists in the morning
Our friends Eve and Mike are teaching us the morning fashion in our mansion.

Comments

[Little Sis]

You're Safe!
Ok sorry about that last comment (apparently you can't push the enter key) Anyways, happy to hear you haven't been abducted by Quitoean guerillas, as mom and dad surely suspect since you haven't called home yet. Quito looks beautiful, and the bus situation sounds just like Mexico (the not stopping technique). Hope you guys are having a good time, drink lots of Ecuadorean beer for me! Julie