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High in the Andes to Rendevous with Friends
Entry 22 of 83 | show all | print this entry |
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Ecuador...just a teeny weeny country, and yet it possesses so much diversity..in its landscape, biology, people and culture. What´s the first think you think of when you think of Ecuador? Well, firstly, it's sits at the "Middle of the World", and on both hemispheres since the Equatorial line passes directly through it. Secondly, the Andes mountain range crosses the country smack down the middle, dividing Ecuador into three main regions: the mountains, the Amazon tropical rainforest, and the lowland Pacific coast. As a result of its small size (Ecuador is only 283,560 square kilometers), you can pop over to all these regions in a relatively short time...giving rise to the famous adage that in Ecuador "you can see the sun rise over the Amazon, have lunch in the Andes and finish the day by watching the sun set over the Pacific." Because of the short amount of time we spent in this country, we only managed to see two of the three regions. But, thankfully, some of the shortest bus rides we´ve been lucky to experience in any one country have been in Ecuador!
A culture where everyone kisses each other on the cheek as an initial greeting, accompanied with the usual Buenos Dias (Good Day), Buenas Tardes (Good Afternoon), and Buenas Noches (Good Evening), Our first impressions of Ecuadorianos were that they are a polite and hospitable bunch.
Quito, Ecuador´s capital was a city that will definitely stand out in our memories as one of the more pleasant and beautiful metropolises of the world. While we were practicing our new Spanish vocabulary, and trying to differentiate it from our Portuguese words from Brazil, we spent our time in the Old City, just whiling away the hours while waiting for our 2 good friends from Canada to arrive and backpack with us for the next 3 weeks. We spent our days roaming in and out of enormous Spanish colonial buildings, walking through large parks where locals would laze, sitting on benches in lively plazas where activists would congregate and debate political issues, downing freshly squeezed, vitamin-enriched juice concoctions like carrot/orange or blackberry/strawberry, and tapping to the beat of mystical Andean woodwind bands performing here and there with their pipe flutes and indigenous voices blowing in the wind. And, from our hotel room, views of the Virgin of Quito towering on a hilltop above us (she´s made of 7 thousand pieces of aluminum) kept reminding us of Catholicism's dominance throughout South America.
 
Enter Ronil and Nazimah very late at night at the Quito Airport, meeting us all the way from our home town, Calgary, to spend a few weeks with us and roam around the country, engaging in the splendors of travel...and soon there were 4 backpacks, not just 2!
 
While in Quito, the four of us stayed in the high end suburbs of Cumbaya, with the family of a friend of Nazimah´s, and Ronil's co-worker in Canada. Our hosts, the Viteris, welcomed us into their homes, and treated us divinely. After rejoicing and celebrating and catching up on gossip from home, we got right down to planning our trip. In the wee hours of the night, Ashif and Nazimah could be heard blabbering about perhaps heading first to "Chimichanga" and then to "Gunga" and maybe to "Seda" along the way. The names couldn't be pronounced, not because of lack of knowledge, but more because being silly was of utmost importance. Once we had some semblance of a plan, we decided to head out into the rainy streets of Quito for just a few more days and then it was off to the volcanic mountain region of the Ecuadorian Andes.
 
Every single day, the rain came down on us like clockwork. It was that time of year in Quito and as we ducked in and out of churches and cafes, we tried to take in some of Quito´s most famous sites while attempting to stay dry.
 
Highlights included:
- the Trolley. What a way to introduce our friends to transport in the developing world...overly crowded, lots of shoving and squeezing, watching your pockets, and the only affordable mode of transport for thousands of locals, young and old. Everyday, we would board the trolleys and experience real life on the city's efficient transit system.
 
- the Telefariqo, a cable car that soared to dizzying heights and took us to the mid altitudes of Volcano Pichincha that towers above the city at 4100m! Altitude made our steps laborious, and our lungs seemed to have to work that much harder, but, the views of the long and narrow city, from this vantage point, in and out of clouds, was phenomenal!
 
- the Basilica. Though this is one of Quito's most ancient looking churches, it is actually one of its youngest, barely 100 years old. The highlight of this place is most definitely the clock tower and belfry, both of which are accessible only by steep ladders and hundreds of slippery stairs. Exploration of the inner framework and towering heights of a structure like this would definitely not happen in North America or Western Europe as surely it would break some safety code or another, and people would surely complain about such a thing. It was an exciting adventure making our way to the upper reaches of the clock tower and walking on the roof above the inner cathedral. Only Ron and Ashif made it to the very top where panoramic views of the entire city could be found. Interestingly enough, there was one place near the altar where you can perfectly see La Virgen de Quito sitting atop the hill far away in the old city through the small stained glass window inside.
  
- sampling local cuisine...Yes, folks, he did it...Ashif ate an entire guinea pig! A very common practice in Ecuador, the guinea pig is still a food source for Ecuadorianos, and its meat is claimed to be deliciously tasty. Despite their common name, the animals are not pigs, nor do they come from Guinea. They are called Cuy here in South America, because of the squeaking sounds they make.."cuy cuy cuy". Our friend Fernando called it, QFC, or in other words...Quito Fried Cuy. Ashif worked hard to finish off his plate, and had a difficult time combating his disgust from the thoughts of eating such a creature, and feeling sorry for the rodent that could very well have been his pet at some point in life; Ronil and Reeshma dug in for a few morsels as well. We even tried Caldo de Patas (Cowfoot Soup), which was a little more palatable.
  
After a couple of days in the big city, we headed for the tranquility and serenity of the nearby mountains.
DID YOU KNOW? Ecuadorians used to have a currency called the Sucre. This was completely phased out in 2006, and the official currency is the US Dollar. Ecuadorian coins have the equivalent value of US dollars, but are only valid in Ecuador.
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| 22. | High in the Andes to Rendevous with Friends - Quito, Ecuador Dec 14, 2006 (  92 ) |
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