Tiny little temors in bed....

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Well, what a difference a day (and a new posh hotel) makes.
Yesterday, I was so exhausted I could barely type. Now that we are safely in the arms of the Hilton family (and soon the Passport to Travel tour group family as well), I feel more relaxed since the before we left. I expect to update yesterday's blog more later, but the internet at the Hilton is not gratis, so I want to get today done first.
So, I had a bit of headache this morning so I skipped going to breakfast and took my time dragging around the room getting packed up for the big (and I do mean big) move. Some Tylenol and a hot shower helped and I felt up to trying to find the convent for the desoured lemons. Fortunately, we found it easily. Unfortunately, the guide book was out of date, and the nuns only sell them on Tues 😞. So we had some time before meeting Jorge (the first Jorge again) for another tour around the city.......why you may ask did we hire Jorge again after he royally ripped us off the first day? Don't ask me, I just work here.....Sharon made those arrangements. Anyway, since we had some time, we slipped into the Church of Santo Domingo while the mass was going on. Of the churches that we have been in so far, that one has been my favorite. Behind the alter are these really beautiful stained glass windows which glowed with sunlight. The other churches and cathedrals are so dark and uninviting. We could only stay about 10 minutes, but in that time I got the impression that I was watching the catholic version of a rock concert. Tons of people standing along the railing in front of the alter, a man singing into a microphone which broadcast through very very loud speakers, the crowd singing along, and the padre running from some interaction with the crowd back up to the alter microphone to sing a line or two, then back down to his adoring fans. It was a little surreal.
We slipped out and met Jorge. Now our plan was to go to the Teleferiqo, the sky lift to the top of one of the local moutains to get the view. Sharon had mentioned that she thought we should set the price before we set out and I agreed. However, when we set out, she never mentioned fixing the price (I have to inject here that she had previously bragged about her dad having something to do with a flea market and that she KNOWS how to bargin.........so I left that stuff up to her), and he took us for a ride again.......first, we went back to the Church of Santo Domingo (mass still in progress), so Jorge could walk around pointing out saints and telling us their names (now.....they are printed at the bottom of the statue or picture mind you.....). Sharon did decide to light a candle for her brother. But the interesting thing is that the "candles" are electric and turn on when you deposit a coin.....not quite the same effect. The next divine stop was the chapel Jorge called the Devil's Chapel, also known as the Capilla de Cantuna. It's called the Devil's Chapel because the legend is that the builder, and indigenous man named Cantuna, sold his soul to the Devil to get the church finished on time (not an original legend.....I saw a similar story about a church in Romania I think it was...). But he tricked the Devil by removing one stone before the deadline was reached. We were only there briefly since the monks were closing it for the day.
One thing Jorge did that we would not have done on our own was walk us up La calle de Rondo - the street where he used to live. It's really lovely, pedestrian only, and quiet. About half way down the street was a convent where the nuns bake bread and cookies and sell them to the public through a barred door. So, we each bought a treat. Then, Jorge wanted to take us to ANOTHER church.....and at thought, my headache suddenly reappeared with a vengence......and we convinced him, no more walking, no more churchs. However, he really wanted to take us to the top of El Panecillo where a huge statue of La Virgen de Quito looks down on Quito, but by taxi.....his nephews taxi.......so we went.....nice view of the city, photo, photo....finally the Teleferiqo, which we rode to in the nephew's taxi after stopping at Hotel Real Audiencia for our luggage. Pedro (the nephew) would stay with the bag and the taxi while we rode up and back. Jorge walked us to the entrance and said he would meet us when we came back down. So, off we went up the mountain, a nice smooth ride, and walked around and enjoyed the view, then back down to meet Jorge and Pedro to get us to the Hilton Colon (thank god! I was really getting worn out.....). But before we got to the hotel, Jorge said it would be best if we paid before we arrived. Long story short....we got hosed again, although we did not pay him what he asked for. And, I should mention that, afterwards, I checked the few facts he gave us that I remembered and I don't think a single one was right....or complete.......oh well.
We are here now, with laundry service washing our dirties even as I type and in an hour we are getting massages and I feel more relaxed already!
I suppose I need to explain the titillating (sp) title of today's entry.....Sixto told us yesterday that the reason that Ecuador doesn't have earthquakes as destructive as those in California is because there are almost constant little earthquakes here......and you can't feel them during the day because you are upright. But when you are horizontal, as in bed, you can sometimes feel them as a slight tinge of nausea....
Well, I should sign off for today.....

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