Sunday (11-2-2008). Quito. The Clouds.

We woke up in time to catch the complimentary breakfast that comes with the hotel room. It was served underground in room of stone bricks and arches. Afterwards, we caught a cab and took it straight to the Teleferico, Quito’s new cable car system that rises over Cruz Loma, a hill at the skirts of the volcano Pinchincha.

In a small cable-car, surrounded by tourists chatting enthusiastically in German, we slowly climbed upwards until we were 4,100 meters above sea level.




10 minutes after we had climbed aboard, we were at the summit of Cruz Loma, looking upwards at Pinchincha and downwards towards Quito. We were surrounded by the 14 peaks of the Andes at what is known as the Volcanoes Avenue, in the thick of the clouds.






These are what clouds look like up close:



We watched them wisp over the hillsides below us.


This is Quito from a distance:



Sick as I was, it was glorious. But neither of us were in a state that we could handle a three hour hike to the volcano and it was very chilly, so we walked around a little more and caught a cable-car back down.







Afterwards we stopped by La Basilica, one of Quito’s most magnificent constructions. There was a mass in session, so we snuck past the “No Tourismo” signs and into the catacombs, meandering through the labyrinthine passages and briefly through the mass. Directly outside, we found a café and sipped mint tea and coffee.




For lunch we headed to Fruteria Monserrate. I was out of steam at this point and told Ryan that all I cared about was a bowl of tropical fruit with raspberry topping and whipped cream that the Lonely Planet guide had promised would be delicious. He came back with the fruit bowl, the sandwich for himself and a chocolate milk with orange blossom sponge cake and tres leches. This definitely made me feel a little better.

Afterwards we found a small teatro in a market where there was flamenco dancing and then wandered to Plaza San Francisco where a huge crowd had amassed around a beautiful woman playing an electric violin. With my last bits of energy, I searched for a sturdy canvas backpack (which seems to be the style in Ecuador) so that I can replace my shoddy backpack that I have been using since 9th grade when I return to Philly and will be living out of a backpack and couch hopping.

By the time we accomplished this mission it was raining and my cold was overtaking me. With no strength to find dinner, Ryan brought back pizza and sangria. I was unable to partake in the Sangria. The rest of the night was a struggle to stay warm and pack.

Infirmity aside, I was glad to have stepped into the clouds today.

Saturday (11-1-2008). Loja to Quito. Quito (elevation: 2850 meters). The Equator. Mariscal Sucre.

We taxied out at 6:30 AM to make an 8:20 am domestic flight to Quito. We had primarily traversed Ecuador via bus, but from Loja to Quito it would have been a 15 hour bus-ride. The brevity of our 45 minute flight left us feeling like we hadn’t traveled half as far as Sara Guro even though we were now clear across the country. Most of our flight was spent determining the safest area to stay with the closest proximity to the best sites. The Lonely Planet travel book had flagged numerous areas in town as too dangerous to walk even two blocks by foot at night and we particularly avoided those. This placed us in Old Town, the more historic area that used to be more dangerous than Mariscal Sucre, but since the renovations the crime rates have reversed. We opted for comfort and security over a hostel and checked into the Hotel San Francisco de Quito which promised a loft, double-doors, balconies and warm water. Our hotel:



From outside our hotel, there is a completely unobstructed view of La Virgen del Panecillo.



Our ideal vision of us in Quito involved sipping wine on a balcony and watching the sunset. Instead there was non-stop rain, chilly air and a miserable crippling cold with moments of downright delirium and fever. This didn’t stop us from exploring the city. After we checked into the hotel, we took in the view from the hotel roof and had lunch at a small restaurant with an apparently senile matron who managed to serve me the almuerzos but didn’t give Ryan a single item that he had actually ordered. Then we taxied to a roundabout where we could catch a bus that would take up directly to the middle of the earth. Sort of. Actually, it took us to Mital del Mundo, a park where most tourists believe the equator lies. There is a huge monument at Mital del Mundo marking the measurements of Charles-Marie de la Codamine taken during his 1736-1744 expedition. He thought he’d discovered the spot of the equator through triangulation. But GPS technology has recently proven that he was 240 meters off from latitude “00.00.00.” At this spot, Inti-Nan, a lesser known but way niftier exhibit sprung up. That’s where we went.



There, a personable guide who spoke decent English showed Ryan and I around and explained the science and history behind the location. Apparently, this particular part of the Equator was inhabited by aborigines who designated it a holy site because the way the shadows fall differently along the equator line. They also buried their dead in jars because they believed it would serve as a sort of womb to the afterlife. Once the patriarch passed away, his wife would be buried alive with him. So would a lot of guinea pigs. If he was really important, his children would be buried alive with him too.



Shamans in certain Ecuadorian aboriginal cultures to heal people, used to shake a guinea pig to death in the face of the patient. He would then cut it apart and look inside the guinea pig for dark spots which would then determine which part of the patient was the source of the ailment. This is a San Pedro Cactus, the source of a psychoactive substance that is used during rituals.



Our guide showed us different mechanisms (ancient and modern) that are used to tell time based on the sun including a 19th century solar chronometer, a sundial and a double-sided ancient sundial; one side used for half of the year, the other side used for the other because of the unique way the shadows fall on the equator.







The Quitus did not measure time like we do. Instead, they divided the time of the day into three parts: Chisi, Tutu Manta, Pajta. And of course, there was the actual equator line:



(Ryan and I standing on opposite hemispheres.)







Apparently on the equator line, it is very difficult to walk in a straight line with your eyes closed without falling over.



We gave it our best shot anyway:





Also:


And that thing about the water flushing differently dependent on which hemisphere you are on? Apparently true! It’s called the Coriolis effect. Watch the leaves. This is on the Northern Hemisphere:



The leaves spin clockwise. This is about six feet away on the Southern Hemisphere:



Counterclockwise.

Anybody’s mind blown yet? No?

This is on the equator:



Straight down!

Also, it’s apparently much easier to balance an egg on a pin at the equator:





Our guide showed us some of the more bizarre wildlife found in Ecuador. Don’t pee in a lagoon or lake in the rainforest in Ecuador. This fish, when younger and smaller may crawl up your urinary tract and then grow to this size and have to be removed by surgery.



This is how large the earthworms can get here:



This is a better image of a shrunken head than the one I captured in Cuenca:



And these are step by step pictorial instructions on how you might make a shrunken head.





Then we got a little touristy:



And were allowed to play with blow-darts.









And…miss.

Ryan was a much better shot than I. He hit his target first try. I missed and nearly killed this guinea hen:



Our guide told me, “The monkeys are laughing at you.”

I bought some winter ware from an indigenous artisan because I was very cold and also the gloves and hat I bought were hand knit out of alpaca and have alpacas on them and I thought that was cool.

We left a tip with our guide for the awesome experience and walked back to Mital del Mundo, the fake equator. From there we caught a bus and walked to Marisal Sucre.

This can be one of the most dangerous parts of town after dark so we didn’t want to be out too long. Apparently in this part of town, men don’t even look for a wall, thing out they just piss on the sidewalk. But it’s a hotspot for tourists because it’s where all the cool dining establishments and the travel booking agencies are. You can tell you are in tourist land when you see signs that read “Traditional Ecuadorian Food.” If you really want traditional Ecuadorian food, just go to any restaurant in Old Town Ecuador and order the lunch or dinner. Marisal Sucre is filled with hip restaurants and bars with exceptionally extravagant décor of all varieties. Most of the restaurants could be placed in any city in America and be considered swank and you’d pay top dollar to hit them up. Here, they are affordable. After our disastrous lunch, we were craving something non-traditional and chose a Mongolian BBQ restaurant with one dollar cocktails.

There were plenty of tables when we arrived, but as our meal progressed it became increasingly full to the point that pretty soon we were joined by a couple from Holland and Germany, and later a lone traveler from France. The five of us mostly conversed about our different routes of travel and sites we had seen along the way. I would have enjoyed it more, but my cold was beginning to escalate to a fever and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could last without falling over. Finally we parted ways with the French woman who was staying down the street and shared a cab back to Old Town with the European couple.

This is the night that my health took a dive for the worse.

Friday (10-31-2008). Vilcabamba, Valley of the Immortals. Halloween in Loja.

Ryan had somebody cover his class this morning so that we could go to Vilcabamba, a town that I really wanted to see. We went to a taxi terminal and took a flat rate cab for three dollars, about a 45 minute ride through the mountains.

We came to ride horses through the Valley of the Immortals.

Titled as such, because Vilcabamba boasts one of the oldest populations on the planet with people living up to 126 years old. Since the early 20th century, scientists have flocked there to study the longevity of the locals. There was a bit of controversy over some of the age claims because it became apparent some were using their parent’s birth certificates, but either way they would still be quite old as many of their parents had them very young. Riding up the hillside, we could see elderly people anywhere from ages 86- 100 in their boots sowing their fields.

The elevation in Vilcabamba creates a constant perfect temperature with sunny weather year-round. Rain comes enough that their gardens grow an endless supply of crops. The air is crisp and clean and the overall atmosphere relaxing. There is also allegedly a near perfect natural mineral balance in the water. Vilcabamba also attracts a sizeable international expatriate community which explains why it has the only actual “Cyber café” (that combines internet services with coffee) that I have seen in the entire country. Basically, Vilcabamba is a pretty chill town:





Upon arrival, we were followed for about thirty minutes by a small dog. This made us a little nervous, but it seemed friendly enough. Gavin, a New Zealand based guide we were told to find was out on a three day ride but there were numerous similar tours all around Vilcabamba and it didn’t take us long to locate another. Fifteen bucks a person bought us both a 2 hour guided ride through the mountains. I didn’t quite lie when I said I was an experienced rider, I just counted my third grade girl scout horse-camp as experience and the additional very tame trail rides I have taken over the years (all two of them). Unlike those rides, it was just Ryan and I and a young Ecuadorian dude and he was cool with letting us gallop up and down the mountain.

And gallop up and down the mountain, we did.











At one point, we rode up a small stream and up to a scenic overlook. Vilcabamba from a distance:


From there, we headed back:





Both our butts paid dearly for that horse-ride.

We had a filling lunch at a busy restaurant in town. Most of the vegetables on my veggie fajita were straight from their garden out back.

Later, back in Loja, it was difficult to tell who was celebrating what with the different festivities around this time of year, including Halloween, a tradition that seems to penetrated the younger generation of Ecuador. Today was some sort of celebration of Ecuador’s seal, as well as the beginning of a holiday in which the people of Loja transport a statue of Mary from Loja to another town. Also for Nov. 2nd’s, El dia de los difutos (Ecuador day of the dead) entire streets were filled with vendors selling bread figures shaped like babies (very delicious (( not inspired by Mr. Swift)) and coloda moroda, a warm purple drink filled with chunks of fruit.





We rushed to different pirated DVD stores to try to find a horror movie in English to show his classes for Halloween. We weren’t just being cheap. It’s very difficult to buy a legitimate DVD in this country because they simply don’t seem to import them and there are apparently no copyright lies preventing the sale of pirated DVDs. We ended up with Invasion, a remake / adaptation of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

I joined in on his first class to meet his students and watch the film. The students (those who showed up) seemed to have a lot of difficulty understanding it even with English subtitles, but I am sure it beat a typical English lesson.

We ended my last night in Loja at Mimos, an ice-cream parlor and restaurant where we had sandwiches and shared a magnificent three flavored ice-cream Sunday filled with fruit and topped with whip cream.