Blogs from Quito, North, Ecuador, South America - page 159

We´re all checked out of our hostal in Quito, waiting to go to the airport to fly to Peru. This morning, we visited the "Capilla del hombre" (The chapel of man), a gallery and entire space deisgned by native Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamin (there is also an official website). The paintings were very blocky and obviously inspired by Picasso, and a couple of others. He´s quite the national figure and, although the gallery opened a few years after he died (2002), several important local and international figures were at the inauguration, including the president of UNESCO, Fidel Castro, and former French President François Mitterrand. Guayasamin designed the entire building, and the artwork, murals and sculptures inside. Very impressive! He also travelled the world during his life, and most of his art reflects the sufferring and oppression ... read more

Although I´m not usually a big fan of urban settings, Mike took me on a walking tour from Mariscal Sucre to Old Quito. It was like walking backwards in time as the architecture progressively changes from modern, to republican, and spanish Colonial. We started off going through a park with a market replete with all the typical tourist merchandise, probably mass-produced and overpriced. I´m going to see what is available where before buying stuff, although I already got myself a shoulder bag for walking around town. Mike helped haggle the price down for me (He just really likes to haggle). Even in the park, the extreme dichotomy in affluence was apparent: well-dressed business people walking past drunk people sleeping on the grass. A large tree, with the lower trunk painted white to protect it from sunburn, ... read more

After trying to get cheaper flights, we finally booked one to head to Cuzco via Lima. There, Mike and I have a whirlwind tour of the area planned: 1 day at Macchu Picchu, another day at an Inka fortress, and I think we head to Lima on the next day. Mike wants to spend a day in Lima checking out some colonial hospitals. I wish I had more time to see more in the area, but the realization that the entire Cuzco area, loet alone Peru, could be a trip in and of itself. I will have to satisfy myself with seeing the major landmarks. It looks like I won{t be able to spend the time I wanted visiting Pisac and the sacred valley, but I will have to content myself with seeing it from the ... read more

#1- First 10 in Ecuador- Wednesday, August 17, 2005 I suppose I have quite a bit to catch up on. Not much happened in the first five days here in Quito, but I’ll give you a quick description… Upon arriving from Canada on the plane I went to straight to bed, as it was quite early in the morning (about 6 am), and I hadn’t been able to fall asleep on the way over. At first glance, the hostel looked like a nice place to meet people; when I got up a few hours later, that proved to be a correct assumption. Hoping to find people headed in the same direction as I was, I leisurely perused the hostel for a couple days. Upon the passing of those two mellow days, I hooked up with a ... read more

No surprises there. I tried counting in the shower on the final day, but gave up at 45, and I hadn´t even got to my left leg, which has a bumper crop. As if this weren´t enough, I also have three splinters and also one bite on my face (no less) which has got a bit infected and is really rather unsightly. I also forgot to take my malaria tablet one day (damn it damn it, another 3 pounds down the drain) and I´ll probably start having fits soon. So, it wasn´t exactly good for my health. It was, however, just good. Proper good, in fact. I´d forgotten how much I´ve been wanting to go to the rainforest (rainforest, jungle, they´re interchangeable) since I was old enough to want to go to places. Actually, yeah, it ... read more