(from my travel journal)
I am atrasada with my writing, so I am skipping ahead to the present for a moment--the last day of my trip.
Everybody left this morning so I'm touring Historic Quito by myself. I'm currently in probably the most magnificent Latin American cathedral I have seen to date. It is made from volcanic rock, but every inch is covered, mostly in intricate gold designs with a maroon background. The colors almost make me think of China, but instead of Buddha on the wall, there are carved scenes of Jesus, the Quinteno artists from the 18th century of various saints, and a calvary scene.
In front of me is the altar with the first Quitena saint's remains, and the twistin columns of the Baroque style. In the center are carved wooden statues of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus with a cloud full of little faces above Him and then God the Father holding a blue globe--I'm guessing the world.
From the back of teh cathedral I hear continous changing which I find very soothing after my crying spell at the Radisson (they'd tried to charge us for breakfast, but Becky and I didn't know were were supposed to pay. They were very kind and finally didn't make me pay. Probably the crying helped, although it did come mostly on its own.). I also hear the continuous chants of the Quitenos who want Ecuadorianos to vote "si" for a more socialistic constitution next Sunday.
I'm trying to listen to tours. I wish I could just get one, but it's nice to go at one's own pace as well. I'm sort of a nerd and like to know information.
I know why I like this church so much--the designs are Moorish. I love Muslim art: the arches, the interesting designs, swirls, stars, etc. What I find interesting is that sitting on my pew I can see the Incan symbol. Also, of course, there are tons of faces with Indian characteristics, fruit, and suns. One sees that a lot in Latin American churches because the Catholics would try to entice the indigenous to enter with these symbols.
Interestingly enough there is an organ here made in the USA. Also there are two staircases, but only one is real--the other is painted on the wall.
This morning I visited churches and then a museum of a rich lady who gave most of her goods to poor children after she died. While a sort of creepy guy gave me the tour, it started pouring down rain. i was enjoying looking at all the art deco Czech Republicish paintings and painted glass, but eventually I had to head out into the rain.
It took a while to find a taxi that would actually take me back to Plaza Fosch in the New Quito. I'm sure it was because there were a gazillion people hinding under eaves looking for a taxi, so they figured they'd get more money taking people short distances. Thankfully an old man brought me to the plaza and actually used his meter. I gave him 50 cents extra for being so splendid.
I wasn't sure what to do in all the rain and with only 30 or so minutes until all the museums and churches would close. I decided to go to the colcal internet cafe called Flandernet after Ned Flanders of the Simpsons. I started writing emails when I noticed Stella was online. She said hello and from there we chatted over an hour. I was stoked becasue we hadn't really communicated in a long time. We chatted about her life in Spain, my visit to Ecuador, and about a lot of really random stuff. I told her how a few times this trip my crying has helped us not have to pay for things we didn't think we had to pay for )our alst night in Galapagos, and becky and I's breakfast this morning at the Radisson). Sometimes being emotional can be helpful. She then related a Simpson's anecdote about grandpa saying he can turn his emotions on and off like a faucet and then he immediately starts laughing, crying, laughing, and then crying again. Good ole grandpa. I'm so stoked Darren and I get to go visit Stella and Jason during spring break for more hilarity.
I continued chatting with Stella until the rain stopped and she had to go to sleep (it was around 12:30AM her time). I stopped by the Magic Bean to warm up with some hot chocolate and try to decide what to do next. I wanted to maybe go to the "middle of the world" but it was already around 6PM and at the equator, the sun always sets around that time.
I decided to check into my hostel and then hit up a free jazz concert in the courtyard outside of Teatro Sucre. I was okay with it because I think it would be more fun to take a lot of cheesy pictures at the equator (i.e. doing backbends over both hemispheres) with friends then by myself, and I'd already seen a lot of cool touristic sites in the morning. My favorites were La Compania (what I've already written about) and the Centro Municipal Museum. The latter had fantastic sculptures and a section that had a guide who took me and another couple folks through various rooms in which she described all about Ecuador and its history. I was very impressed and learned a lot. Most memorable was one of the Jesuit rooms in which she could talk in one corner and another person could hear her perfectly well in the opposite corner. The room was constructed like this because there was a lot of sickness at the time, so the sacerdote could avoid contracting the disease by staying far away.
Equally impressive was the multi-media representation of patriots being killed in underground cells. Lights flickered, there were yells--it reminded me a lot of the Alamo exhibit in San Antonio, Texas.
That being said, I'd seen a lot of cool stuff, but still wanted to do more. So after my chat, and checking in, I walked around until I saw a colorful restaurant on a second floor advertising international food. Boy, was eating there a good decision. I ordered a humita and hot chocolate (actually I said hummus, but the humita was just as satisfying) and spent the next 45 minutes or so perched in a seat looking down upon the street. Such crazy stuff can happen in a partyish block in just a small amount of time. Women dressed up as devils advertised in short skirts for Club Diablos, couples walked by, but most crazy was this young curlied hair guy walking ataxically with a beer bottle who collapsed right under where I was sitting. I watched him lie on the ground for quite awhile with his beer spilling everywhere. Eventually he used a gate to pull himself upright and continue stumbling around leaving a stream of beer behind him. I saw him drinking more on the street later on and then a snare drum with the claps of his friend in front of him.
After paying I talked to one of the owners for probably 15-30 minutes. He is originally from Uruguay. We talked about his daughter in Dallas, traveling, working, etc. he asked me to chat with him after the jazz concert. I said maybe, but I knew I wouldn't come back. Going to talk witha 40 year old man late at night just seems a little sketchy to me even though he was super nice.
By the time I got a taxi to Teatro Sucre, the jazz concert was in full swing. I sat on the ground next to what looked like a mixture of Latin Americans and USA exchange students. I listended to the last song of one group which lasted 30 minutes--that's jazz! Then I ended up talking to the youngins. They were super cool. One girl, Heidi from Oklahoma, is just in her fifth week of an exchange year. I told her about my year in Argentina. She's stoked about her experience already which is awesome.
The funniest, most enthusiastic taxi driver gave me a ride back to the Plaza Foch. He kept cursing, but we spoke about traveling (of course), outdoor activities, and music.
Man, now I've been sitting in another super colorful restaurant for about an hour and I am SUPER tired. I just hope I can wake up in time tomorrow to get my bag from Radisson and catch my flight.
I hope I can fall asleep because my room smells a bit like turpentine.
