Back in Quito

Since we returned from the beach Monday afternoon, we have been pretty busy and having a good time. Francisco (Pancho), Ricardo´s friend who goes to Columbia, is back in town from doing environmental biology research in Peru, so we have been hanging out with him quite a bit. On Monday night, after coming back from the beach, we ended up going over to Pancho´s house, which is awesome. The house is very open, with big windows here and there that make it seem like nothing is there, lots of exposed beams, lots of turns and little nooks here and there that defy any normal layout for the house. And it has a brick, woodburning bread/pizza oven outside.

That night was spent hanging out with the same crew that we have been doing most things with. We had pizza and it was surprisingly good. Apparently, everybody loves Dominos over here, it´s crazy. There is also Pizza Hut and Papa Johns, but we got the pizza from a local restaurant that gave it a somewhat Ecuadorean twist really just by having various types of corn as toppings on most of the pizzas.

On Tuesday, August 21st, Ricardo had a medical exam and a lunch to go to, so we were left at the house for most of the day until Pancho came to pick us up. He took us to his house and then we went for a little hike/walk on a path near his neighborhood. He is quite the photographer and was showing us a few tricks with shutter speed and whatnot. Anyway, the path overlooks this canyon that is quite beautiful and there are ranches with grazing cattle and horses, and a single house that looked like it cost a couple million to build.
Ecuador is also home to giant aloe plants, bigger than us, out of a video game giant. This picture is of a medium sized one:
After our walk with Pancho, Ricardo came over and we all went out to dinner at a place that served crepes. It was delicious. Speaking of delicious, although we did not eat Ecuadorian food the last two nights, the food here has been spectacular. A lot of it is corn based, and so we are having corn or potato pancakes with some cheese most mornings for breakfast. Those have been really good. Also, we have eaten quite a few humitas, made by Ricardo's dad's family in the south of Ecuador and brought up to Quito because they don't like the local humitas. There is a lot of rice although less beans than I expected. While we were at the sea, the seafood was fantastic, a lot of shrimp and some fish that I don't really know the name of. Either way, most of it was done in a green coconut sauce with some rice and plantains and was very good.

Wednesday was by far more eventful than Tuesday. We got an early start and headed out to see the equator. The measurement, made by some colonizers, is about 40 minutes outside of Quito and is quite touristy. Ricardo claims that while their Equator is about 200 meters from the real one, the Incas had it right long before. Given some of the evidence we saw in various displays near the monument, I think that I believe this too. Regardless, who wouldn't want a chance to be on both halves of the world at once?
At the Ecuator, you apparently weigh some 6 pounds less (when from the United States, it differs depending on home latitude) than back at home. I don't really know why...

From the Equator, we went back downtown to the soccer stadium to see a friendly between Ecuador and Bolivia. We bought our tickets for $5 around 2PM for a 6PM game. We were worried about it selling out, but we really had more time than we thought. To pass the time, we spent a few hours in a restaurant hanging out with the regular crew, drinking Pilsener of course. We entered the stadium around 4:45 and this place was great. There are no seats, just concrete benches all around and all of the concessions are roaming. The selection was unbelievable. We could get popcorn, empanadas, french fries, chicken, corn salad, beer, candy, nuts, pretty much anything that one would want without ever leaving our seats. The game was very evenly matched. Since it was only a friendly, not all of the regular starters were there. It was very fun being part of the general crowd, learning the song and the cheers. I have never seen a wave go so far at a match. One wave went around the stadium a little more than three times before stopping, it was great. There were also fireworks all over the place. At the end of the game, emotions ran quite high and there was almost a fight in front of the Ecuadorian net. Everyone from both teams, including the trainers and substitutes stormed the field, it looked like a baseball fight. That was during extra time and so the ref just called the game for safety's sake. Ecuador won the game 1-0, with a penalty kick for a goal in the 35th minute. After the game, a guy wrapped in the Ecuadorian flag jumped from the stands over the barbed wire fence and onto the field. Security did nothing, they allowed him to congratulate all of the players and then after hanging around for a little bit, they showed him how to get out with no manhandling or anything, it was amazing. As usual for this week, we went to Pancho's house after the game.

Today has been quite busy as well. We woke up early to get dropped off at the trolley station to go to the old section of Quito and do some touristy things. Ricardo had work to do, so we were on our own. We checked out some quite a few of the main attractions of old Quito. The area itself is gorgeous, with the Spanish colonial architecture and open plazas that remind me of the plazas in Rome. We went to the Cathedral first, one of the first (but not the first which was closed for renovation) churches in Quito. The church itself was gorgeous, with a carved wood ceiling and frescos coming down the pillars. It also housed the corpses of some former presidents and various important people from Quito's history. From there, we checked out the Museo de Cera, which shows quite a bit of Quito's history, but most importantly, the prison cells of the first independence revolutionaries of Ecuador. We then walked quite a few blocks uphill, the first time I have felt the thinner atmosphere, to a church called La Basilica. The gargoyles on the outside of the church are all animals from the Galapagos. Also, you can climb by way of both stairs and ladders all the way to the top of the clock towers and get amazing views of Quito.
After La Basilica, we ate some lunch and just walked around until Ricardo came and picked us up around 4:15. We are now preparing to go out to the local bar frequented by Ricardo and his friends because Panchos is showing some of his photos and Ricardo and Tobi (another friend) are giving poetry readings. Although it will be difficult for me to understand most of the poetry, I am pretty excited and will write more about it later.