Still in Quito

As Sarah left off, we had plans to go into the city with Jani, Ricardo's sister on Monday and to go up in the cable car. Well, we went into the city, but we didn't make it to the cable car until today. But let's start with Monday. Sarah and I accompanied Jani and her oldest cousin, whose name we still don't know, back into the old section of Quito. The goal: to see everything we missed. The outcome: mostly successful. We began at La Compañía de Jesus and believe me when I say that this was unbelievable. According to the guidebook, nearly seven tons of gold were used in decoration of the walls, ceiling and altars within the church. The whole church is glowing in when you walk in, it is incredible. They were also doing restoration work while tourists were inside and it was pretty cool to watch the artists/restorers do their work on the 17th century church.

We also made it into San Franciso, the church that was closed for restoration the last time we went by. It was closed for restoration for good reason, half of the paintings lining the columns were too faded and dark to make out what they were. It seemed like quite the space and I would be happy to go back once work is more complete.

The final church that we looked at was Santo Domingo. We were there while mass was going on and it was a little uncomfortable to be there while other people were worshipping. However, we were not the only ones doing it and we stayed completely out of the way. The church itself was very very nice, with wonderful wood carvings on the doors and ceiling. However, the most beautiful part was the Chapel of the Rosary, off to the side of the main altar. The space itself was primarily red and gold with incredible sculptures, carvings and paintings decorating the whole area. It was truly breathtaking for such a small space.

We tried to go to the City Museum (Museo de la Ciudad) only to find it closed for the day. So we went off in search of lunch and a bookstore. Lunch was uneventful and kind of boring and we found our bookstore in "Gringo Central," the backpackers area of Quito. This area is identical to any other backpacker's area anywhere in the world. That is to say that there are plenty of restaurants catering to those who may want a change from the local fare, bookstores with sections in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and hostels galore. We got some good books, since we have pretty much finished everything that we brought with us, including the complete Harry Potter collection. I think that we will begin to keep a book list since most often than not, we will lose the physical evidence of a finished book as it is traded in for something new.

After the bookstore, we wandered a few blocks to a market that sold everything the tourist could ever want. For the most part, it was a smaller, more expensive version of the market in Otavalo, the city that we visited on Saturday. The cousin made some purchases but we got our fill on Saturday, especially since any purchase must be carried for the next five months. This limitation is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. We spend less yet we bring home fewer cool things.

After the market, we called it a day and took the bus back to Cumbaya and the house. The bus system is actually surprisingly easy. There is one bus route from our suburb of Cumbaya to Quito. It takes us to a big bus terminal where there are a few choices, but they are pretty clearly marked. The trolley and the Ecovia (a bus) both go North-South through Quito down different avenues and the guidebooks are good about putting the stops on the maps. And so, for yesterday and today, when we were on our own, we were able to take the bus with no problem.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we went into town by ourselves to check out parts of the new section of the city. After a lengthy stop at the airline office to try to change our flight from Lima to Cuzco (unsuccessful), and lunch at a pretty decent Indian place in Gringo Central, we took the bus down to one of the better museums I have ever been to. The Museo Nacional del Banco Central del Ecuador was absolutely incredible. It is part of this huge cultural complex placed between two of the biggest parks in Quito. This complex contains four museums and the theater that we went to for the concert our first week. Anyway, this museum begins on the ground floor with an archeological section (Sala de Arqueología) documenting all of the different cultures in prehispanic Ecuador. The ceramic collection is incredible, and the presentation is also incredibly professional and informative. Following this section is the Sala de Oro, containing a very impressive collection of prehispanic gold work. The intricacy of many of the gold jewelry is astounding. Additionally, the museum provides information on the tools and methods used for gold and metal work during the Incan period. From there we moved forward in time to colonial art. There was a very excellent collection of religious art, much of it from the churches in the old section of Quito. We skipped the Republican Art collection and went to the contemporary collection which was very impressive. Almost all of the artists displayed are/were Ecuadorian and there were a few that really stood out. One of Sarah's favorites was Jorge Velarde who did a multi-piece instillation of different emotions on the same face expressed with different areas of the face (eyes, nose, mouth) and thus was a collage of emotion. I liked one by Tomas Ochoa who did a piece showing the faces of Ecuador and a commentary on the state of the indigenous peoples of the country.

After the museum, we returned to the house and relaxed a little while before going over to Pancho's house. We all worked together and made a very nice dinner of bruschetta, caprese and pasta with red peppers, black olives and capers tossed in. It reminded me of being back at home, and it was very good. We hung out there for a while, talking and looking at some of Pancho's photos before heading back around 10:30.

Today was also pretty eventful. We once again took the bus into town and went to the Museo Guayasamín first. Apparently, the last Guaysamín museum we went to wasn't actually the official one. It was five blocks away and works in coordination with the official one, showing mostly the big murals that the artist did. The offical Museo Guayasamín is in his house. In addition to his work, there is a collection of prehispanic ceramics, very similar to those in yesterday's museum, but not as extensive of course. There are some very nice pieces and a wonderful collection of ceramic bowls that completely covers one of the walls. Then of course there is his section, showcasing paintings from the very beginning to the very end of his career. It is interesting to the progress that he made as an artist, not only in style but in message and scope. There is also a section of the portaits he did, including one of Fidel Castro. There are originals for sale here and if I had a thousand to cough up, I would gladly purchase one of his prints. Perhaps in twenty years...

After lunch, we finally made it to the cable car, which had been on the agenda every day since Monday. It was really awesome. We prepared and brought warm sweatshirts and hats with us today because it gets quite cold when you are 4100 meters high looking down on some of the clouds. The cable cars were small but numerous, holding 6 people apiece and arriving every few minutes. The line did not take long to get through and we were quickly on our way up the mountain. From the cable car, the city gradually expands in front of you and we were able to look down on the airplanes flying into Quito. The whole complex is quite touristy, with a theme park at the bottom (a little strange), and plenty of restaurants and gift shops. However, you are able to get away from it relatively easily by exploring the paths to different lookout points along the top of the mountain. Additionally, since there weren't many people there, it was quite peaceful up there looking out over the city. It was very cool when there was a hole in the clouds and a particular area of the city was illuminated, differentiating it from the rest of the city. Also, there are horses for rent if you feel like exploring more of the mountain. We thought about it, and for $3 per person it was pretty tempting, but it was already getting late and we decided that there would be other opportunities for horseback riding on our trip. However, we did get a few pictures of the Ecuadorian cowboys and the pack of dogs that was following them everywhere. After our little walk, we got coffee and hot chocolate and enjoyed the view for a while before heading back down and back home.

We have only two days left here in Ecuador and we aren't quite sure what we are going to do. We are going to see Inti-Illimani, a very political and very awesome Chilean folk music group, tomorrow night. We had the opportunity to see them last summer on Long Island with Sarah's parents and if this show is anything like the one last summer, we are going to have a blast. We also should have more photos on the way soon.