Earrings and Incas

It has been so nice to finally get to explore Quito a bit. As Eben wrote, the Basilica was absolutely amazing. However, he conveniently forgot to mention that actually reaching the Basilica on top of the hill and making it to the top of the clock tower was way more challenging than I ever expected. First, you must remember that Quito is a city on top of the Andes. Major roads around the city weave all over the mountainside, and even streets within the city tend not to lie flat. So of course, since the Basilica is on top of a hill, in order to reach it you must walk uphill. Very very uphill. I felt like I should have had hiking gear and emergency flares for the occasion. My legs hurt so badly, and I was panting by the time we reached it. We decided to climb the three levels of the Basilica so we could enjoy the views (which were, of course, phenomenal). After we reached the third level, however, we had to cross a rickety bridge and climb a ladder that was (I swear) made of a few metal bars and chicken wire. CHICKEN WIRE. To top it off, I had worn flip flops (who knew they made climbing chicken wire a slippery task?), so I was silently panicking as I slowly made my way to the top of a turret. That led us outside (cool!) where there was yet another chicken wire ladder that led you to an even higher turret. Given the strong feeling that I would fall and die, I stayed put. Eben climbed it, though, and he says it was beautiful. After backtracking down the first chicken wire ladder and bridge, we climbed a few more ladders (they just kept coming) to go up to the clock tower. You could peek out of the tower walls and look out at Quito, which was amazing. It reminded me of being at the top of the Due Torre in Bologna, where you can see miles upon miles of rooftops and hills. I was proud that we made it that far.

Something funny I've noticed is that there is a lot of graffiti in Ecuador. A lot of it is, of course, political, but I think that the most of the things we've seen are professions of love. The Basilica stairways were covered in ¨Maria, te amo para siempre!¨ and things like that. It's pretty cute. :)

So let's see... Ricardo left us to go back to Vassar. He took us to a poetry reading featuring himself and a couple of friends at a small bar nearby. It was really quite lovely. I kept thinking how cool it was that they could come together and read their poetry together. I don't think many American guys would be too keen on reading love poems to their buddies, but here it seems to be okay. Pancho had also put up prints of some photos he had taken while in Peru, so overall it was an evening of sharing art.

Ricardo was supposed to leave Friday night to fly back to New York, but the fog was so bad in Quito that all flights were canceled! He ended up leaving Saturday afternoon, and I believe he has finally arrived in Poughkeepsie after an overnight layover in Atlanta. No good! It's pretty sad to not have him here anymore since I feel like we didn't get to do enough together, but his family is taking good care of us. :)

We all drove out to Otavalo Saturday afternoon, which is about 2 hours from Quito. Otavalo is home to a huge market that pre-dates Inca times! The city is definitely famous for its market, but it's also interesting because the otavaleños (people from Otavalo) mostly are in traditional dress. This means that the men tend to keep their hair long wrapped in a ponytail, and the women wear beautiful long skirts and blouses. The colors on the women are very vivid, and I couldn't help but feel giddy when I saw their striking appearances. Apparently men also traditionally wear dark hats and ponchos, but I didn't really see that. It's very Andean Cowboy, which I absolutely love. Hopefully I'll see more later in our journeys. I tried to convince Eben to buy an Andean cowboy hat and poncho, but he wasn't going for it. Persistence is key. :) Anyway, the market stalls seemed to be neverending. It was so fun to walk around and browse. There were lots of beautifully colored ponchos and sweaters, sculptures from Bolivia, shrunken heads (scary), touristy t-shirts, and the most amazing array of jewelry. I practiced amazing self-control and bought only 6 pairs of earrings and a sweater! I could have wandered the market for hours, it was so fun.
Most of the people in Otavalo are indigenous, and I expect that the crafts are produced by them, so it felt good to know that the items we were seeing were authentic. It makes me even more excited to go to Perú and Bolivia, where I am certain we'll learn more about indigenous cultures. Ricardo has plans to learn Quechua (or Quichua, I can't remember), which is the traditional language of indigenous tribes, though Spanish is becoming more popular among younger generations. Once I get all of my Spanish back, I think it would be fun to learn Quechua. I wonder if I can use it in the United States?

So that's all of the big stuff we've done. Last night a lot of family came over to play cards, and Eben won twice. He won a bit of money but is now playing another round downstairs, so I suspect he might lose some of it today. Hopefully not. :) We only have a few more days in Quito, so our goals are to see a few more things in the Old City, go on over to the New City, and take a cable car with Ricardo's sister Jany up to the Panecillo. So much to do! Perú is quickly approaching!