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Published: July 13th 2011
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If I have one tip when gong to Ecuador, it would be to basically bring ALL your cash in $1 bills. I had spent all my 1’s, 5’s, and 20’s, and what can only be a tourist's greatest fear, was left with only a $100 bill. So much, yet so worthless in that form! After unsuccessfully getting change at a bank, and with no coins, I was unable to get myself to work, so I drove around with Nancy to two other banks who also rejected her asking to split a hundred.
After Nancy kindly allowed me to exchange the bill after she got the same amount out of the ATM, we drove around Quito for a while. Though the day was pretty gray and cold, Paige and I decided to visit some unseen sights of the city. I successfully led us both to the Museo del Arte Contemporaneo that I pass everyday on my way to work. It’s a beautiful building…with not much in it. After wandering around the seemingly empty museum simply trying to find some art, (maybe that was the point?) we found the three exhibits on display. We both found our favorite exhibit to be the
one by a Swedish photographer, Rolf Blomberg. It consisted of about 25 black and white photographs mostly of scenes around Quito, from the mid 50s to mid 60s. They were absolutely beautiful, and it was great to see some of the same sights, and even characteristics, of the city that Paige and I had seen and experienced captured from the past.
We then found our way to the plaza in front of the San Francisco church and hunted to find a high end boutique run by a friend of Nancy’s that makes authentic Panama hats. After circling a few blocks for a good half hour, we realized the store, Homero Ortega www.homeroortega.com/ had been right in front of us the entire time! Unfortunately, we had missed Nancy’s friend, but we got a chance to look around the store and look at the beautiful hats.
That night we got a good night’s rest for Nancy’s granddaughter’s first communion. Saturday morning, everyone woke up in a flurry. We got ready, packed into a taxi, and arrived at the church early to snag the best seats. The two hour long ceremony was pretty standard, but the beautifully decorated church and all
the boys and girls looked very handsome, and Dadi looked lovely. We returned to Nancy’s for what was supposed to be an afternoon of music and dancing but, just our luck, the electricity was shut off for those few hours after lunch. But we happily drank the best champagne I have ever tasted, and feasted on a delicious lunch of lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, avocadoes, rice, and cake. Dadi’s four-year-old brother, Estefano, provided more than enough entertainment and loved being the center of attention.
Towards evening, Royal, Nancy, and I had a nice conversation and even lit a set of candles to ward off the darkness that began to creep throughout the house. However, we were startled when Juan Jose opened the refrigerator and its bright light spilled into the glowing candlelit darkness. Nancy had realized that the breakers were still off and for all we knew the electricity could have turned back on during the party. We’ll never know.
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