La Capilla del Hombre, Sunday, 5/6/18

We made raisin toast for breakfast, along with a couple of those sweet little bananas, the kind we can't get in the states, plus juice and coffee.  Just what we wanted.  Having a furnished apartment with a fully equipped kitchen, and high-speed Internet, to boot, is also just what we wanted.  Oh, and a view of the city from our fifth floor, and those mountains!

A good-sized television sat in the living room, but we didn't turn it on, or maybe Jimmy checked it to see if it was ALL in Spanish, and I guess it was.  We didn't need the TV anyway.  No, we played cards a couple of evenings, and I could get online and commence the endless blogging of our trip.  Besides with all the touring and walking we've been doing these past few weeks, we're usually sleepy very early.  Very.  We don't go out at night, not in a strange city by ourselves.

A big blue, empty water bottle (like Arrowhead) had been left in a kitchen cupboard. We took it down to the guard the day we arrived, gave him $3.50, and the next day a vendor brought us a new one.  We used this water all week, for coffee, drinking and cooking, and by the last day, it was still half full.  Nice that we didn't have to worry about having safe drinking water.  Believe it or not, this apartment cost $195 for the entire week!  Even adding in the water, we had this very nice place for under $200.  What a deal.  Thank you, Vidal and Sarah.  Oh, and I almost forgot, our apartment, as with most places in the city, had no heating or cooling system.  It's always spring here ... the sun warms the days and the land cools off at night.

Both of us wanted to hang closer to "home" today.  We "knew" we could walk to Metropolitan Park from our place ... as in, it looked close on our Quito map, and then we figured out that La Capilla del Hombre was in the corner of the park closest to us.  That site figured prominently in our "must see in Quito."  We like to walk, so we took off.  Danged if our route didn't start UPHILL right away.  And it continued straight uphill, leaving us (me) gasping, wondering why we didn't hail a taxi since they're everywhere.  

What can I tell you about La Capilla del Hombre?  In English that's "The Chapel of Man."  Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-1999) was a native Ecuadorian, who was a master painter and sculptor of Quechua and Mestizo heritage.  We bought tickets for both the museum and the house (oh my goodness, it's much more than a house), with an English-speaking guide for the house.  We had to wait a bit for the English tour, which was fine ... it gave us a chance to buy a Gatorade (or the like) and rest a bit.

Guayasamín was also an avid art collector, including work like this piece above.

Behind me is the Capilla del Hombre Museo overlooking the City of Quito, designed by Guayasamin himself.  Guayasamín was a champion of the poor and his museum is a tribute to mankind, to the suffering of South America’s indigenous poor, and to the abiding hope for something better.  No photos were allowed in the museum, but if you would see his paintings, you, too, would be moved.  They're large, over-large, and full of expression.  Click on this link to his museum.

I could live in this house, with its airy rooms, filled with art from Pre-Columbian to modern.  His was a staggering collection of everything from beauty to grotesque, including erotica, and he designed his home around his collection.  Imagine being able to do that!  The house itself is a work of art.

No photos allowed in the house, either,

so we had to content ourselves with outdoor art pics.

The building of the museum started in 1995, but sadly Guayasamín passed away before it was completed in 2002.  If you're ever in Quito, please put this on your "must see in Quito" list.  The couple in the background?  Beginning a long embrace.

Quito is such an attractive city.

We paused on our way down a couple of times.  Jimmy liked this house, above, with its own commanding view of the city.

It's also a very steep city!

Nobody wanted to cook tonight, so we returned to El Chacal, for more soccer (futball), and chicken, as well as two "papa al hornos," or as we know them, baked potatoes.  Muy delicioso.

This cloudbank descended on our neck of the woods after we were comfortably settled in the apartment.  Look at the cloud line on the right!  Yup, we got rain out of this one.  In fact, it rained on Monday, but no matter.  We spent the day packing and repacking after getting rid of two pairs of shoes and clothes that we didn't want to take home, which gave us room for a few souvenirs.  We cleaned out the fridge and pantry, except for nonperishables.  Lastly, we tidied up the apartment.  A taxi would pick us up at 8pm for our Midnight flight to Dallas.  BTW, the taxi driver was dressed in a suit.  As we discovered in our dealings with most Quito natives, he spoke no English.  Tuesday (the 8th) at 11am, our flight will land in Sacramento -- the 12th flight this vacation.  This, the 37th, is my last South America 2018 post.  You can read them all under that label.

Our trip, all of it, from beginning to end, was remarkable for its diversity, a dream.  The new friends we found and shared excursions with, so super, we couldn't have asked for better.  For the rest of our lives, Jimmy and I will look back on those expeditions to Macchu Pichu and the Galapagos Islands with awe, Napo, too.  The food was good, the wildlife we saw up close was amazing, climbing to 16,000 ft (!!), stepping on the Equator, wow, who'd a-thunk it?  

This IS Ecuador.

Otovalo! Saturday, 5/5/18

We'd heard about Otavalo's fabulous Saturday market and decided we wanted to see this.  Easier for us to enlist Viator again for a tour.  Cool beans, the meeting point where the bus would be waiting at 8am -- Quito Tour Bus on Avenida Naciones Unidas (United Nations Avenue) -- was within walking distance from our apartment.   Also on this all-day tour were visits to Cuicocha Lagoon and Peguche Waterfall.  What we must have missed in the translation was that we'd be going to Quitsato Sundial, where we'd be standing at Latitude 0° 0' 0" -- woo-hoo, dead center on the Equator -- something we never expected to do in our lifetimes!

One foot in the Northern Hemisphere,

and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere for both of us.  

You can see much of the sundial, but I couldn't get high enough to capture the whole thing.  The sundial is a large circular mosaic, 177' in diameter, which draws an eight-pointed star indicating the solstices and equinoxes using dark and light pebbles.  Intermediate lines pointing to the cardinal directions are also included, and the Equator line is drawn by using smaller, darker pebbles between two metal plates.  A guide walked us through the entire pattern ... it was fascinating. 

After marveling over this, we reboarded the bus (big bus with quite a few people) and instead of making straight for the Saturday Marketplace, the drive continued through Ecuador's verdant foothills.  I couldn't make sense out of which direction we were going because we kept making hairpin turns, this way, that way.  The scenery was out-of-this-world.  BTW, lunch bags were waiting for us on our bus seats, and we nibbled away as we felt like it.  Bottled water, too.

Jimmy and his new best friend, Bob.

Tour buses stop when a) people have been sitting for a while and might need to go, and b) when there's a gift shop of some kind involved.  They all do it, and they do it all the time.  Tourists don't mind, they get to shop, buy stuff or, for the looky-loos, you can have your picture taken beside a colorful display!  Never pass by a bathroom is my take on the situation.

This enterprising young man and his llama (left) and alpaca (right) were resting on the green grass.  If you gave him a coin or two, he'd place you between the animals for a photo op.  Great idea.

You'd think, judging by the clouds you see in most of my pics, that it rains all the time.  Nope.  Mountains make their own weather (like lakes) and naturally cloud up daily.  Sometimes rain slops over into the valleys, often not.  We passed through the outskirts of Otovalo to get to Cuicocha Lake.

Cuicocha Lake is a 2-mile-wide caldera and crater lake at the foot of Cotacachi Volcano of the Ecuadorian Andes in the Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve.  Cuicocha translates to "lake of guinea pigs!"  Some say because one of the two islands is shaped like a guinea pig, others tend to believe guinea pigs lived on the islands.  Either way, it's a funny name.  We'd don life jackets and ride through the narrow pass between islands on a small boat and around the perimeter.  The lake, which is 656 ft deep at its deepest point, is highly alkaline and contains little life.  It has no known outlet.

I was stuck in the middle of the boat and was hard put to take pictures.  The two islands looked pristine, untouched, except for a small niche set with a Madonna.  No one lives on the islands and no one is allowed to set foot on them, either.

Our guide was happy to tell me that I would see black ducks here.  Harumph ... a coot!

Andean Coot, but heck, it's still another coot!  

The water was a very pretty, clear blue, aqua near the shoreline.  I am not sure what the white streak is.  I don't think it's water, and it isn't cold enough to be ice.  If I was told, I done forgot!  Since this is part of an ancient volcano, I'm thinking it has something to do that.  After I got home and saw the picture, I realized it was too late for me to ask the guide!

The boat ride was nice,

but nothing we couldn't have skipped.

Local indigenous people with their distinctive dress.

The bus drove toward Peguche Waterfalls, where I spied this mural.

I think the mutt is real.

Sacred Peguche Waterfalls are located within the “Bosque Protector Cascada de Peguche,” known as one of the most beautiful forests in northern Ecuador.  We followed this path through part of the lovely forest before seeing the falls.  Of course, we could hear the falls before we saw them.

Considered sacred by Indigenous Peoples, at certain times (equinox, solstice) of the year, ritual baths are undertaken.  The cascade is roughly 60 ft, loud and dramatic.

I didn't think it especially warm up here today -- Jimmy and I both have overshirts on -- but you see people splashing in the pools!  I wouldn't want to play in this water!

I loved the look on her face as she watched the skimpily dressed bathers.

Is that a half smile; I wonder what she's thinking ....

At the falls, another enterprising fellow brought these two dressed-to-the-nines llamas, and for a coin, you could have your picture with them.  I fell for it this time.  Jimmy didn't mind.  He thought they were cute! 

Yes!  We were here!

Finally, it was time to visit Otovalo's famous marketplace, where we'd find wondrous colored textiles, as well as everything from "jumpers to armadillo shell guitars, wall hangings to ceramic fried eggs."  The bus found its place to park and disgorged its people bent on shopping!  Jimmy and I made maybe half a block before raindrops began, and within a very short period of time, it poured.  It poured buckets.  Tarps went up, clothing was collared inside plastic sheeting, broom handles scaled up to the heavy tarps and one push sent a gusher of water to the street (and shoes), over and over.  We tried to shop, bought a couple of small things, and then we gave up.  Too bad the day's activities hadn't been reversed -- we're told the market is really something.  All we saw was water.  Oh well.  I didn't bother getting out my camera till we were on our way to the bus -- here's two pics.

Yes, we enjoyed our outing, sure we missed seeing the marketplace in all its glory, but we go with the flow, so to speak, and rain was unavoidable this afternoon.  The drive back to Quito was uneventful and peaceful ... may have been some dozing going on.  Another sliver of this exciting country to add to our memories.

Wonder what we'll do tomorrow?

Historic Quito -- Friday, 5/4/18

Trapped!  Me on the inside, Jimmy on the outside, with a thin, but intractable, door in between.  A hundred thoughts raced through my mind, and Jimmy's, too, as the packed bus roared away.  What to do?  I was appalled that I got on the bus, but the automated door slammed shut in his face ... we looked at each other through the pane in the door, our eyes big, and our hearts on the floor.  Nuts, we failed in our first attempt at using Quito's public transportation!

The only possible solution was for me to get off at the next stop and wait, which I did.  In Quito, the bus system is more like a electric tram, with a large, covered platform in the middle of opposing lanes of traffic.  I left the platform, and waited on the open ramp, so Jimmy could see me better.  I was sure (I hoped!) that he would be on the next bus.  I waited a couple of minutes and then watched as another bus approached.  Yes, there he was, pressed against the door and waving a little.  Oh, the relief!  He hopped off and hurried to me.  We hugged like we'd been apart for years!  That's how our day began!

Over the shock, we started anew, this time both of us on the same bus, headed for Historic Quito.  We knew about where to get off, and we did.  The historic center of Quito has one of the largest, least altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas, and it's one of the city's main tourist attractions. Quito was the first World Cultural Heritage Site (along with Krakow) declared by UNESCO in 1978.  Today would be a walking day for us.  We were aiming for Basílica del Voto Nacional, or Basilica of the National Vow, a landmark located atop a hill that can be seen from many parts of the city.

This has to be one of the most massive church buildings we've ever been in.  We didn't go up into the tower but walked all around the inside.  It's 460' long and 115' wide, and 98' high in the sanctuary.

The stained-glass windows were gorgeous. 

If you look closely, I am standing between the two massive doorways.

What a lovely soft color.

I think the clock has been on eight for a long time ...!

You see people entering the majestic Basilica at left.

This basilica is the largest neo-Gothic Basilica in the Americas -- the first stone was placed in July 1892.  It's noted for its "grotesques" in the form of native Ecuadorian animals, such as armadillos, iguanas, and Galapagos tortoises -- though I'm not sure what the animal is below.

  

The basilica was blessed by Pope John Paul II on January 30, 1985, and that's what it takes to make a church into a basilica (we learned on this trip).  The basilica is "technically unfinished," and according to local legend, when/if the basilica is completed, the world will come to an end.  Let us hope it is never finished.

In the background you see a black line enclosed by green?  It's a staircase!  Quito's streets are very steep and narrow ... most of the streets in Old Town are one way because two cars wouldn't fit going in opposite directions.  We continued walking in the district; that's Jimmy on the left.  As the sky grew darker, Jimmy ducked into a shop and bought an umbrella -- the owner understood the word "umbrella."  We already had one with us, but now we were both covered.  Thunder growled in the distance and within a few minutes, it started to pour.  We sought shelter in an open doorway.  Then, the sky literally split open -- rain teemed, lightning flashed overhead, and the thunder (because Quito is located in a valley) reverberated like a hammer in a bowl -- hard on the ears.  Scary to be out in it, so we stayed put till the show was over.  

Local street art.

Another cool one - Two Old Men -

a massive multi-story street art mural in downtown Quito.

We're enjoying a cuppa fresh brew at the Visitors Bureau on the ground floor of the Palacio Municipal.  We also bought chocolate here and got directions to La Purisima.  Nice to find a place to sit down and get out of the weather.  We'd looked up annual temps, rainfall, etc., before leaving home, and knew that April was Quito's rainiest month ... and we were just days out of April.

We wandered into the museum featuring local artists near Independence Square, but only had ten minutes before closing, so we hurried through.  When we were shooed out, we continued on our way toward La Purisima.

The columned building is the Banco Central del Ecuador.

The brooding dark building in the center of the pic is The Church of the Society of Jesus (La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús), known colloquially as La Compañía, an old Jesuit church.  Construction began in 1605, and the church opened for religious service in 1613, though it was still unfinished.  The building wasn't completed until 1765.  We didn't go in, as Mass was just beginning. 

Look at this yummy dinner!  Jimmy and I walked into Galletti Coffee Roasters to buy coffee and inquired (one more inquiry, por favor) if they could direct us to La Purisima Restaurant.  The lady pointed and said, "Right there."  Next door, but through an alley - hah!  We were to meet Jenny and Malcolm, our new Australian friends from our Napo adventure, for dinner.  Within minutes Malcolm strolled in, apologizing for Jenny who was not feeling well.  We three chatted, finally ordered, and talked some more till dinner arrived.  Jenny was missed, and I know she missed out on this place to eat.  I had the fish dinner, a slab of swordfish surrounded by tiny clams.  I left nothing on my plate, it was dee-licious.  Nice day, pleasant evening, good company.

Getting back to our apartment via taxi was an ordeal in the dark and rain, but we managed, though the taxi driver threw us out at an unrecognizable intersection.  Esta! Esta!  (This!) We figured it out and nobody got hurt, we walked up the hill to our place, and all was well!