Centro histórico de Quito

The historical center in Quito is one of the best preserved colonial centers across Latin America. I joined many great teachers from my school to take a walking tour of this beautiful part of Quito. It was amazing to finally go out and start looking at all the fantastic places in this city.

The view from the rooftop of the local hostel.

The first stop was in the market to try various fruits from Ecuador including yellow dragon fruit (Pitaya), golden berry, passion fruit, and others.

A walk through the streets….

In the Hotel Patio Andaluz, we tasted many different percents of dark chocolate and learned about the yellow cacao tree. It is fascinating that it will absorb flavors from other trees planted nearby.

Independence square

Statue honoring those who fought for Independence
Carondelet Palace at Independence square is the seat of the government in Ecuador.

Street of the 7 crosses

There are many churches here in the old city, many from Spanish occupation and influence.

Church of the Society of Jesus. This is one of many churches along this street.
Cross outside of the church.
Museo numesmatico – this used to be a bank and now it’s a museum showing the evolution of Ecuador’s monetary system.
Iglesia de Santo Domingo.

San Francisco Plaza

The church is said to be spectacular inside but unfortunately we did not go inside.

Calle La Ronda

This street started as part of an Incan trail. Spanish colonists built houses on the trail in the 1500’s. At the turn of the 20th century it was popular among many types of artists and in the 2005 was restored after many decades of neglect. It is really charming with cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings.

We heard the guide mention cuy, which is guinea pig and a delicacy here in Ecuador. Always willing to try something new, we ate lunch at the restaurant, and that is what I had. I did think of my childhood guinea pig pet, Squeaky. Sorry, I had to try it. It was good. Kind of tasted like duck and a bit like squirrel. They actually say it tastes like a cross between duck and rabbit. The slight greasiness reminded me a bit of duck.

1/4 of guinea pig. That is the back leg.
View from the restaurant.

We walked back to a shop we were browsing in earlier. Such beautiful streets.

Besides artisans and street vendors, there were some dressed up as characters. Here Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy is having fun with a small child.

A really great afternoon with some fun colleagues at school. It was a beautiful sunny day and it is pretty hot here in the sun at this altitude.

A different change of pace….off to Ecuador

It was a longer summer than what I’m used to but having that time at home was amazing. Before I knew it, it was time to go to Ecuador.

It is a bunch of flights to get there.

The school put us in the Sheraton until we found an apartment. I had already found mine and committed at the end of June but still needed to sign the contracts, etc. I chose an apartment based upon location and the reputation of the landlord. Here is a link to a quick tour: https://youtu.be/lvdYFYguqrA

View from the rooftop of the building.
A different view.
Panorama from the top of the building.
Signing the lease. I was happy someone wanted to share an apartment as this space was big and at the top of my office range.

The week was filled with obtaining our bank account, visa, and SIM card. Very different from China. Times that we would meet would change unexpectedly, SIM card activation took a couple days, and we were surprised that we received our bank card in three days and not the two weeks they expected…. By mid week I was moved in.

We were in buses or cars most of the week traveling to the agencies we needed to be at

It wasn’t until later in the week that we had time for shopping and walking around. Some of the views around La Carolina and Batan.

Dinner at the directors house. Great Ecuadorian music and three kinds of ceviche: chochos (Andean soybean), camarón (shrimp), and pescado (fish).

There was an assassination of a minor presidential candidate just before I left the US. The city was calm and there were no protests when I arrived. It was the week before the election and I was surprised to learn that it is required for citizens to participate in elections. They must register and voting is on Sunday. If they do not vote, they are fined $450 which is one month’s wage (minimum wage). In order to have an orderly voting process, no alcohol was allowed to be purchased or served Friday through Sunday. Anyone publicly intoxicated would also be jailed. It is called La Seca (dry law)

People in line for registration to vote
This vendor at Mercado Iñaquito had bulk dried goods and even refillable bottles for
natural laundry detergent.
Inside Mercado Iñaquito.
This park is named after the Machalilla culture that over inhabited the area for 3000 years. There is a statue honoring the founder of modern day Turkey.
This park has outdoor sports facilities and great places to walk around.

On Saturday, a group of us went hiking in Parqué Metropolitano. It is the largest park here and is mostly forest hiking. It was a great 6 miles and even better that it is only 300 meters from my doorstep.

Indigenous community that was able to retain their property when the park was created around them.

It was a beautiful hike and that evening our building had a progressive dinner. There are 4 apartments of teachers from our school in the building. Our apartment started and we made roasted potatoes (papa chola) with guacamole and farmers cheese. Plantain chips were also great to dip into the guacamole.

The other apartments contributed with entree and dessert. It was a great way to start in and not be out and about.

Sunday was very relaxing. As it rained off and on and was a voting day, we stayed in and did some work and relaxed. I heard helicopters overhead twice and there was one police car present on a short walk I did. Otherwise, not many people were out and only about a third of the businesses were open.

Our buddy teachers that transported us all week long and helped people find apartments bought us these beautiful flowers. They are such lovely and warm people. Though we spent hours in the car with them, it was amazing to talk to them!