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Published: January 22nd 2010
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Ansley y Mariana
Getting ready for the fiestas! You are all probably wondering how the Quinceneras went. We have proof of Ansley dancing (!!!) con un chico Ecuadiano (!!!!), but I’ll let her put up those videos later. She borrowed an extravagant dress, pink high-heeled slippers and Marianna painted her toenails and styled her hair. I think she had a good time mingling with Marie Jose’s friends and who knows…maybe she will write a bit about her experience.
We are well into our second week in Quito, and frankly I am ready for something a bit more tranquil. We’ve come to terms with the “theater and theft” of our camera last week and will buy an overpriced Canon digital camera this Thursday at the “Mega-Maxi” mall so we can continue to document our trip. Ansley has a camera as well, but it is better to have two to use throughout the remainder of our trip. And, as I mentioned before, we have learned our lesson about how and what to bring on our outings.
We visited ‘El Museo del Agua’, which provides excellent information on where the City of Quito gets its potable water supply. Supposedly, the water coming into Quito is potable…but you won’t catch us
Ansley and Marie Jose
Heading out to the Quinceneras drinking it! The museum had a great display of ‘burbujas’ (bubbles) as well.
After the museum, we took a(nother) bus to ‘La Virgen del Panecillo’. La Virgen is an enormous statue/museum situated up about 200-300’ above the city. We were going to walk the road to the top, but as we started, Mariana noticed two young men that were ‘loitering’. She told us that ‘mi corazon me dice que estes chicos tienen malos intentos’ (my heart tells me that these boys have bad intentions), so she flagged down a police pickup truck, we all climbed in the back of the police truck (seven people in the back of a small….POLICE…pickup truck), and they drove us to the top.
From the top of the Panecillo, it is possible to view the entire city; it seems like it is the city that never ends. About 22 miles long by about 2-3 wide, it is an incredible sight. We stayed up there until the lights of the city came on, then took a taxi down to the city center (this time 8 people in a car the size of a fiat!). From there, we took a bus back to the house. The
Virgen del Panecillo
Night time view of Quito from the top bus got more and more and more crowded and when it was time to get off the bus, we had to push our way through numerous people standing in the aisle. There is no way but to ‘disculpame’ and push your way through, or you will not get off the bus. We keep thinking about trying to take pictures or video, but it is a little unsafe to pull out a camera on the bus, so for those of you who have not had an experience riding on a bus in Latin America, take our word that it is ‘muy diferente’ than buses in the United States.
I’ve come down with a case of the tummy crummies, or maybe a bug. Tengo un poco de fiebre (I have a bit of a fever) and just feel kind of lousy. Although we are washing our hands often and are trying to be careful about what we eat, the kitchen conditions here are….less than ideal. I surmise that there are funky bacteria everywhere and I’ve managed to ingest some. So, I’m taking it easy this afternoon (while the rest of the family is off enjoying the wax museum) as we are
Virgen del Panecillo
all of us at the top planning a trip to Otavalo tomorrow.
Rather than take 3 buses and 2-days later to get to Otavalo, Mariana talked to her neighbor…who has an extended cab/ 4-door truck to see whether he would be willing to drive us all to Otavalo, and if so, for what price. He told her he would do it for $8/hr and Andy and I agreed that it was well worth the price to hire a driver for the day. So, on Wednesday, 20 de Enero, we awoke early (I was still feeling ‘malo’), and after breakfast went to the neighbor’s house/store (the same store where Marleigh bought the eggs). We all (seven if you include the driver and you might as well, as without him we aren’t going anywhere), crammed into the truck (we did see seatbelts…..) and headed off on our journey.
Our first stop was ‘La Iglesia de Quinche’. Quinche is quite a distance from Quito (it took us at least 1 ½ hours to drive there), but apparently this church has a long and rich history of miracles. I should be much more specific and say it is La Virgen de Quinche who the Ecuadorian people believe has provided
Iglesia del Quinche
Inside the Igleslia del Quinche them with ‘milagros’. Apparently there is a routine procession where people walk from Quito to La Virgen del Quinche (at night and it takes about 8 hours).
Our next stop was a beautiful lake, and then off to Otavalo. We first walked through the Mercado with all of the different types of food. We stopped here and there and Marianna explained some of the different types of foods. We sampled some kind of fruit (I don’t know the name of it, but apparently you slurp out the insides and swallow (don’t chew the seeds as they are bitter)). So we tried it…quite weird and good. We also tried these tiny little bananas (oritos) that tasted incredibly sweet. Of course we saw lots of weird animal parts too…. Then we went to a different section of town where the artisans sell their wares. We did a little bit of haggling and ended up buying a nice variety of goods (I guess I can’t tell anyone as some of the items might end up being regalitos (little gifts)).
From Otavalo, we went to this little town of Peguche and took a hike to a lovely cascada. We had lunch, then
Otavalo
Buying goods in Otavalo walked back and began our long drive back. But, of course, Marleigh wanted ice cream and every 10-minutes said: “Yo quiero helado”. Finally, we stopped, got ice cream and I took a much needed potty stop. Did I mention that I’m still feeling a bit sick in the stomach. Oh well, that’s life (sometimes no more than a potty stop).
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Barb Eager
non-member comment
como siempre es bueno escuchar de sus experiencias
Que lindas son las fotos..gracias para compartirlas con nosotros. Cuidate y disfrutate, Barb