Intro to Quito

Today was a good day to start exploring Quito. Isabel had told us about a new French bakery that had opened recently, apparently with the absolute best treats ever, so of course, we decided to check it out. Luckily it was just down Republica del Salvador past Portugal to Irlanda. We were a little skeptical; I insisted on trying the croissant to see if it was 'French' enough, Eric of course ordered a baguette (more expensive than one would expect) and Maya tried the pain au chocolat. Cappucinos were remarkably good, Maya ordered Mayan hot chocolate, which was made without milk and therefore thick and tasted of honey; it was hot and burned my throat, but was tasty. More important was that the bread and the pastries were excellent. A French pastry chef had taught his workers well. The rest of the cakes and pastries looked amazing. I will have to watch myself and not indulge too much. Last time I was in Ecuador, I enjoyed 'Cyrano's' far too much. Hopefully I will stay away from 'Cyril'.

Eric wanted to stay in the apartment and work on his talk, so we stopped at 'El Espanol' for internet and less than tasty coffee, and Eric bought some more 'carga' for his internet device, and Maya and I left him for colonial Quito. The Ecovia goes directly to the old town, and we were there in twenty minutes. The ascent to Plaza Grande was packed with people, both hawkers and customers. The main square was full of visitors, with a band playing the theme from the 'Titanic', prosytelizers telling us about Jesus and the bible, women selling ice cream, and boys trying to polish our running shoes. We had stopped at a mass at St Augustin on the way to Plaza Grande, and visited another church at the corner of the square, that is not often open, and quite lovely inside. I tried to make comparisons to the baroque churches in Rome, on which these colonial churches are modeled, but they are truly so very different and with an entirely novel feel. It was Sunday, so almost every open church had a mass going. 

We checked out a 'Diego Rivera' and 'Maya' exhibit at the colonial university, and then walked along to San Francisco, passing artists drawing faces and painting local scenery. The road was closed to traffic and full of local visitors. The 'papeleria' stores were open, and long lines of customers were waiting, presumably to buy school supplies. We passed my favorite museum, La Casa Abalado, and of course I wanted to go in, but Maya was not interested, so we checked out the new hotel on the corner. It had been under construction the year we lived here, but now it was new and gorgeous and likely outrageously expensive. At San Francisco square, we visited the main church and the Catuno chapel, and had to be quiet because masses were happening. Maya was most interested in the 'Tanguez' Free Trade store, still a rabbit warren under the San Francisco monastery, but newly painted and rooms added. I must remember to buy as many wonderful items as possible. I was so disappointed when we left Ecuador last time and I had always told myself that I would buy things but ran out of time and bought nothing. Of course, in an effort to avoid robbery today, I brought just enough money to last the day, and there was not enough to buy any souvenirs. We live here, and are not strangers to Ecuador, but we remain tourists.

I was starving, so we ate at the touristy restaurant attached to the store. The empanadas were good, but the sandwich unremarkable. Better to eat local. Maya wanted to get home to practice her violin (how could I complain about that?) so we found our way back on the Ecovia and were home in time to watch the sun go down at the apartment. It is Maya's job to make dinner tonight, the first real meal in our new apartment. We have movies at $1.50 each to watch tonight. Eric and I walked around the terrace to watch our view and take a few photos. We have a bit of a view of the mountains between buildings. I hear an occasional plane fly by; I did not plan for that, but there is a new airport ready to open next month, as long as the roads to the airport get finished (probably not), so perhaps the planes flying by will stop (not likely). We are very comfortable in our new home, and the cats are happy, getting into every corner to explore.

Sept 8

Maya was up early working on Lesson Six of her homeschooling program ( I am so impressed!), long before Eric and I awakened. Breakfast with the sun shining in was just perfect. Eric and I were slow moving, but there was a lot to organize in the apartment; most important was rescuing my computer, which had been dying for sometime and was imminently nearer death (I expected that; it is five years old and has been through many adventures). Eric wanted to back up my computer, but was struggling with his drives, and it would take a day or so to back everything up. Much time was devoted to getting the computers set up and working. 

We all walked to Quicentro for coffee and internet, and when Eric went to Isabel's to help fix their water pump, Maya and I wandered around the shopping center looking for a backpack and were held hostage in the food court with too much choice. Maya settled on vegetable risotto which was made with the wrong rice and odd tasting cheese, but tasty nevertheless. I love the yoghurt with fruit, usually served with yucca bread. We met Eric returning from a successful venture at Isabel's and after Maya finished her violin practice, she and I took the Ecovia to the Rio Coca bus station. Ihad forgotten that to get to cumbaya, it ws best to leave the Ecovia station and walk to the other bus station, so we wasted a lot of itme waiting for a bus to Cumbaya at the wrong stop, before I remembered where to go. Once we boarded the bus, off it went speedily to a hardly recognizable Cumbaya corner. A new shopping center had been built, and the circle that once caused enormous backups was gone. We walked down the hill to Maria and Hernan's house. Many new restaurants and establishments dotted the road, and everything looked better than ever. 

Noticeable was how dry the hills were, and how many fires had raged. I had read about one in the area around Puembo that had taken several days to control and had wiped out hectares of land. When we got to Maria's we checked out their blueberry crop, which had struggled through five months of drought. It was great to catch up with Maria, who was shocked that we were back in Ecuador. Gabriel had grown a lot, but Maya was a head taller. We caught up with news, and Hernan, Maria, and Gabriel all came over to our place for pizza and leftover birthday cake. We drank the wine that Isabel gave Eric for his birthday, and could have drunk more. What a wonderful change for us, to have a place to entertain. We missed that when we had our former Quito apartment. The cats area delight as well. They will keep us company especially when Eric is gone and Maya and I are alone.