On the bus back to Quito it was so crowded that I unfortunately had to stand, and of course it was hot as hades. You know, if there is a hades.
Once at the bus station, I thought I was forgoing adventure by taking a taxi, I thought wrong! My taxi driver was this spunky lady, talked a mile a minute and drove the same way. She was taking the city streets at speeds up to 100 km all the while practicing her English. During the drive her phone rang to which she answered "Whatsamattawithyou." She then spoke in broken English and informed her son she was driving with "Miss United States." It was hilarious. She was so sassypants, a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively) from the typical taxi driver.
At the hotel, I was met with another Alice in Wonderland room.
Seriously, is the universe trying to tell me something? I had another attic room, with a very tiny shower.
During the day on Saturday the city was pretty quiet as it was a holiday weekend. The only sound that punctuated the stillness and silence was a man driving around in his pick up with a loud speaker. Not quite sure what he was saying.
Here is what I imagined " Hi there my name is Raul and I am an environmentalist. I challenge all Ecuadorians to refuse straws, not litter, and pick up other people's litter. We can be the change we wish to see in the world!" Dare to dream.
As I wandered the neighborhood I was on the hunt for the book "The Road Less Traveled." I know it was a shot in the dark to get it in Ecuador, but my guide book mentioned a couple of English language books shops so I thought to give them a try. I tried the "English Bookshop" first as a traveler going through the reserve last week said the owner was quite friendly.
And friendly he was! He did not have the book, but his bookshop was so cozy I could have stayed in there for hours. He even had a rental section of hard to find books. He is an Englishman, full of advice and interesting facts. We were discussing the guide books as his bookshop is listed incorrectly in mine, and he informed me that the author of the Rough guide was given $3000 and told to write the guide book. How is that possible? Apparently for a couple of Lonely Planet guidebooks the authors hadn't even been to the countries, just wrote on recommendations of friends. No wonder in mine it is seriously missing some information.
After our lively chat he recommended me to journey up the street to a book shop owned by an American named "Confederate books" Complete with a confederate flag on the logo. He did warn me that the owner is a Republican (GASP!) and not very nice to customers. I was regaled with stories of customers getting told off in this specific bookshop. Yowza! I have serious qualms about giving my money to Republican, but as a UU aren't I supposed to just recognize their inherent worth and dignity?
Thus, of course HE had the book, and to top it all off, HE was friendly! lol
My plan is to hopefully read it in the next couple of weeks, followed by donating it to the English Bookshop for their lending library.
That evening I met a neuvo amiga in Quito. A fellow OT and UU! We had a nice meal and shared stories of our lives. I enjoyed listening to her stories of how OT is practiced in Ecuador compared to the States.
The next day it was time for a tour of old town. Prior to that I totally fell during breakfast. Starting to think this is a theme of this trip. I was carrying my breakfast tray to the window and completely missed the stair. In front of a whole group of tourists. Picture of grace!
Post grace in action I took the bus to the old town, because I am trying to master the bus system. I was successful! Upon exiting the bus I crossed a beautiful park, despite the homeless family with five children running around. So sad.
The first monument I entered was the basilica, it was just beautiful.
A service was occurring to which I sat and listened. Only understood one word. Buscar=look. I was a bit disheartened to only see 30 people in the service, until I realized there is a church on every corner in that area. So many choices to choose from!
The service was beautiful, the priests voice was booming through the imposing grey walls, accompanied by a guitar during the hymns.
I wandered around for many hours, saw many churches, of which they are all blending around in my head at the moment. An interesting point in the day was when I toured an old colonial house in the old town. The house was built in the 17th century, the woman who lived there was widowed at 30 and dedicated her life to helping the homeless children in the city.
Interesting facts learned whilst on the tour:
1. Quito is the first city in South America that brewed beer. A Franciscan monk brought wheat to Quito, planted it, and thus beer was born!
2. Locals say that weather in Quito is like a woman's moods. It changes often. I had to laugh when the guide told me that.
For lunch I had a tasty meal of a salad and french fries, yum!
Post lunch I headed over to the tourist office for a walking tour. Upon entry the guards (who are the tour leaders) informed me that there would be no tour for that day. Why? My personal opinion is that they didn't feel like it.
Between that and the numerous men leering at me, I was done. The men around town like to say things like "Hola Gringa, where are you going" while eyeing me lasciviously, and it gets old quickly.
I thought up a couple of responses :
"Well right now I am looking for a bano due to the water/food situation here in Ecuador."
"Nowhere where you are going, I prefer my men with teeth, and clean ones at that."
"I am going to count my chigger bites, want to help?"
Instead I ignore them whilst a look of disgust passes over my face.
That evening I met up with an American man living in Quito, how nice it was to have a kindred spirit to chat with!
No comments:
Post a Comment