We took the same buses to Quito today, again with Christina this time along with Margoth who was an extra guide I guess. Today the second bus was insane! Some lady fell completely to the ground when the bus driver stopped short at one point. They man with her yelled at the driver as they were getting off. I’d never seen anything like that before.
This time we went to the Centro Histórico aka old town. We got off the bus and walked a short way up a really steep hill to the Basilica- a huge gothic church. Once we got inside we just went up and up and up. The first few levels we went up by stairs. Then on the second or third level we were above the ceiling of the sanctuary but below the ceiling of the church. The sanctuary ceiling was vaulted so when we were above it, it rose up to a point along the middle. Along that point in the middle was a skinny wooden walkway that seemed pretty sketchy. Even so, I walked across it- quickly.
At the end of the sketchy walkway was a ladder-staircase hybrid thing that looked like it went straight up. It looked like a ladder with really high railings and metal mesh under each rung. After that ladder we were on the roof of the Basilica and at the base of the tower we were about to ascend. We had to climb two more ladder-stairs to get to the top but it was worth it. The view was amazing. You could see Quito sprawling beneath you, stretching up into the mountains. It was gorgeous.
Then we had to go down. That was terrifying. I was seriously holding on for dear life, chanting to myself that I could do this. Once we made our way down the ladders and across the rickety pathway Danielle, Lauren, Christina and I decided to go up to the belfry. Maybe it was temporary insanity- we were all afraid of the first tower- I don’t know but we went up to the clock tower and belfry via a little green spiral staircase. That wasn’t too bad until you got to the top where the staircase just ended right at the bottom of the floor and you had to basically crawl out of a hole in the floor to get out. It was pretty cool to be behind all the clock faces in the clock tower. You could still go up after the staircase ended and we did, because we have problems. To go higher we had to climb an actual ladder that we realized was missing a rung near the top. Now this ladder was made of iron and the rungs were welded on so we had no idea how a rung could come off, but we didn’t want to think about it.
After going down, down, down we walked to the central plaza where the president either lives or works- or both, I don’t know, no one really told us. Then we went for lunch in this cute little shopping center. I was not hungry at all and we had two courses. We had soup and a plate of fried fish with rice, salad, roasted plantain and a fried potato that tasted like fish. It was all pretty good- except for the plantain which I don’t really like- but I could barely eat any.
We stayed at the restaurant for a while then started walking back to the bus. Apparently we were going to go to some museum but it was closed. We took the bus back to Cumbaya where I took the phone Guadalupe lent me to Movistar to get a SIM card and have it activated. Some other people came to get minutes too. The phone wasn’t charged so I have to go back tomorrow. Then a bunch of people went out for a drink and maybe get something to eat but I was so tired I wanted to get a nap in before the futbol game. Danielle and I walked home together until she had to turn, right by la Esquina mall.
I came back and took a power nap and then Pato and I left for the game. We went to pick up two of his friends and then parked at his dad’s house in Quito. We got a cab from there and bought our tickets from some lady scalper. Then we met up with Pato’s friend Alvaro and a girl he brought with named Vera maybe? We all went in near the end of the first game. We weren’t in one of the cheering sections so it wasn’t too crazy which was nice. Pato and Ana Maria were for Liga and Alvaro was for Quito. I stayed neutral. Both teams had cheers that were more like songs accompanied by drums, clapping and really loud whistling. At one point the Liga side was burning newspaper so there were a bunch of flames in their section. The game wasn’t super exciting but it was pretty good. We left a little early to avoid the crowds and cabbed back to Pato’s dad’s house. He had to move his car so we could get out so I got to meet him for a second.
Then we all met up again at Los Choris in Quito- there’s one in Cumbaya too- and of course I got choripan because I loved it so much in Argentina. It wasn’t quite as good but it was pretty tasty. Then on the way back from Ana Maria’s house Pato took the back road and it was pretty creepy since it was dark and really uneven. Once we got back I just went right to my room because I was so tired.
The next day Guadalupe's niece was at breakfast but they had already finished by the time I got there so I didn’t really get to talk to her. I told Guadalupe that I needed the plug for my phone and she gave it to me as I was walking out the door which wasn’t that helpful since I wouldn’t be near an outlet until I got to the Movistar store, but whatever. I walked to school with Betty who lives a little farther down the road and I think I handled the walk a little better than yesterday.
We met at the Casa Tomate and immediately left once everyone was there. Then we got on a different bus from the one we took the last few days so I was totally confused. Apparently it was a more backroads bus than the other one we usually take. We got off and went to the National Bank Museum. It had a bunch of pre- Colombian artifacts and religious art too. We had a guided tour but we moved along at a nice clip so it wasn’t boring at all.
Then we walked to a permanent artisan market- though I have no idea where it was- and looked around for 20 minutes. Danielle and I looked around for shoes for her since she had only packed non-sensible shoes. We found these crazy cloth ones but they were $45! Danielle tried half-heartedly to bargain but her questioning veinte? didn’t do the trick. From there we walked to la Mariscal aka Gringolandia just so we could see where it is and what it looks like, I guess.
We wandered around for about 30min looking for somewhere to eat and finally ended up at the same restaurant we ate at in the mall the other day. I could not even look at the amount of food they served so Christina, Alex and I went next door to a bakery to get something smaller. Alex and I got little pizzas and Chris a sandwich. We brought our food over to the other restaurant but ended up at a separate table anyway. We talked a lot about our homestay situations and whatnot then left. Only to go into the bakery again so everyone could buy dessert. I got an ice cream with one scoop of chocolate cookie and one of cappuccino. Some people shared fruit tarts too. From there we just went back to the bus and came back to Cumbaya. I have no idea what happened to the music museum.
Since it was still early Emily, Chris, Keunae, Danielle and I decided to walk a bit around Cumbaya. I needed to go to the Movistar and so did Kevin so we all went. I got my phone activated and we waited while Kevin got his phone unlocked and my phone charged. From there we went to the Supermaxi to get odds and ends- I accidentally bought conditioner last time so I needed shampoo. We walked around the little mall there and then we went to the super paco where you get school supplies but they didn’t have normal notebooks. They mostly had graphic ones (mostly with iCarly on the front) with graph paper in them. Emily and I found some of the least obnoxious ones and bought them. Kevin had to go but we continued our trek with the fybeca but everything was expensive so we left without buying anything. Keunae went to the bank to open an account and Emily and Chris caught a bus to Lumbisi. Danielle and I walked back home even though you could tell her feet were killing her.
When I got back I took a cat nap and then had dinner. I had a different soup than the one I have had every day so far and then some fried meat with little tiny potatoes, some tomato and onion salad and choclo which is a flavorless corn. There was a cheese sauce that was supposed to go on the potatoes but I didn’t like it. Then Pato came home and some of his friends came over and they played poker. I was invited to play too but I wanted to call Zach and maybe my parents.
Hasta luego,
Caitlin
I LOVE CHORIPAN!!
ReplyDeleteIt is soooo cheap AND delicious!