Novel Journey

We had to say goodbye to Quito today… too much to see further south to be hanging around the big city.

I’ve said before that detailing all the events of my time here is more like work to me than fun. And we left our work back in Atlanta… Besides, I imagine that that sort of writing is not nearly as enjoyable to read. Pictures we have to show some of our high points, but in many cases you’ll have to imagine the stories that go with them.

It suffices to say that we’ve had a lot of fun. All the people we meet are nice, welcoming, and generous- both travelers and locals. Ecuador is truly a wonderful little country on a spectacular strech of land. We went to the equator, both the massive monument 200 ft away, and the actual 00º 00.000 line. They say you’re actually lighter on the equator (less gravity)… which might help explain why we had such a light-hearted time playing with the gimmicks that demonstrate the ‘power’ of the equator. You’ve heard about the water in a draining sink spinning opposite directions depending on the hemisphere you’re in, right? Well, we got a demo of that. After the guides left, another american couple, Lada, and I had a fun time trying to figure out how they did it. We’ve got two theories now: the angle of the ground upon which the sink was set, and the way the water was poured in before the plug was pulled. Then again is could be the power of the Line. Any ideas? We took video of it if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about.

Anyway, a lot has happened since then. We checked out the South American Explorers group, joined and got our bearings, moved to another hostal in the new part of town, partied, slept, researched out next step, hoped in a taxi then in a hurried panic transferred to a bus, sat for 2 hours, landed in the small and nearly tourist free town of Latacunga, made our way to this cool little hostal, got a room, ate, and here I am. Lada just brought me back some little bananas or oritos (little gold) from the market, and I think she’s now taking a nap. I’m beginning to feel tired myself…

Tomorrow we embark on our first strenuous trek through the mountains. We’re headed to a massive lake in the middle of the crater of an old but not extinct volcano. And it’s some 4500 meters above sea level. On the way there and back, we’ll be busing, hitching on trucks, hiking through indigenous villages, and sleeping in cheap hostals next to warm fires. We’re excited. Wish us luck- hiking for 5-6 hours at that altitude could be a challenge. We’re leaving all the unnecessary stuff at this hostal to reduce weight, and we’ll come and pick it up on the way back.

See you in 3 or 4 days.

We’ve successfully arrived in Quito, Ecuador!! And we’ve already exhausted ourselves… at over 9300 ft above sea level, that’s not hard to do. Getting acclimated is always fun…

Anyway, this country is awesome! The people are friendly, the city is clean, there’s more to do around here than a small army could do in weeks, and the food ain’t half bad! I’m still crossing my fingers, though, that the food gods don’t punish me- but I won’t keep my hopes up. I’ve a bad track record with that so far.

The trip was also surprisingly pleasant. The immigration and customs check points were smooth, the cab ride was pleasant, the hostal was expecting us, the beds are comfortable, shower hot, and besides from the incessant street noise blasting through our second story window, quiet. We slept like logs.

Today was a rather auspicious day to arrive, too. Something that only happens every so often went down today: general elections. I’m not sure what or who they were voting for but I learned these tidbits from the cabby and a fellow traveler: they are voting to amend/change the constitution, all Ecuadoreños must vote or give up some of their rights, and there was a ban on the sale of alcohol this entire weekend. I suppose if they make their citizens vote, it makes sense to also make them do it sober. It’s easy to imagine swaths of drunk quiteños stumbling into the voting booths in the early morn…

As far as what we did today, I’ll give you a quick synopsis. We ate desayuno on the hostel roof, walked all over Old Town, checked out the Andy Warhol exhibit at the big art museum (he was awesomely wierd, by the way), ate, bought a cheap cell phone, napped, walked to the New Town and checked out some beautiful artwork in the Mariscal Sucre park, ate, and now we’re at an Internet café. I refused to wear sunsceen, so now my face is red, and Lada is still suffering periodically from a stomach ulcer. We’re treating her with Pepto Bismo before meals. My dumb ass will have to deal with the slight burn.

So we’re happy. All is well, we are living day to day, and so far we’ve been lucky. My spanish isn’t as rusty as I expected, as it has been rather easy to get what we need without those uncomforable moments of language misunderstandings. I even negotiated the cell phone purchase entirely in Spanish, and listened to the guide tell me all the strange things about Andy Warhol that I didn’t know while comprehending most of it. Lada thinks it’s hot. teehee.

That’s it for now. We took some photos, and we’ll upload them soon. I even plotted some spots with my gps, so you’ll be able to put the photos into geographical context on The Map page of this site! But I don’t think I’ll do that now.

Tonight we will be hanging out at the hostel (the only place that may sell us beer) and talk with one of the travelers who we met earlier. He’s also traveling for several months, and plans to go to Cuzco ( then Machu Pichu) and the Amazon. His name’s Ross and he’s been in Quito for a week now… so hopefully he can give us some tips.

Tomorrow I think we’ll head to the equator. La Mitad del Mundo!!!