A lil bit of my world

Anyway, I love that feeling you get in an airport when someone's coming to see you, (which, incidentally, I will be having shortly because Amanda's coming to visit in a week!!) and it was great to see Travis again. Plus he got another stamp in his almost-full passport.

After a delicious dinner and lots of ribbing Travis about his Spain-Spanish accent (well, that was mostly me; my host parents thought it was great), we were ready to go out for a little while. I had planned to take him to our favorite city view at Cafe Mosaico, but turns out it closes at 8pm on Monday, oops. It worked out fine though, because Travis actually knows someone that was performing at Cafe Libro that night! Such a small world. Travis' friend Terri from Dallas is half-Ecuadorian, and she was in Quito with her family. Friends of the family own Cafe Libro, where we'd gone the week before for our salsa instructor's performance, so she was going to sing there (in English). It turned out to be like a huge family reunion, and us, but it was fun. Her family was really nice and her dad was really funny. After her performance, there were a couple traditional dances and a dance for the whole family. Her dad looked like he was having an incredible time; it was his first time back to Ecuador in 30 years. He got up onstage at one point and cracked us up. Terri's little brother seemed to be enjoying himself, and the lower drinking age, as well, haha. Once things started winding down we headed back to the house.

below: 1. Teri's dad & brother joining a dancer 2. Travis and I with Teri, her brother & sister 3. The dad with dancer again.

The next morning I dragged Travis out of bed around 7am and proceeded to schlep him all over the city, trying to take full advantage of his only full day in Ecuador. After walking a little bit around my neighborhood and doing a couple errands I had to do before leaving the country, we took a cab to the Historical Center to do some tours of the famous churches, which I had been meaning to do the whole semester anyway, so it was good timing. First we went to La Compania de Jesus, a gorgeous cathedral that's almost completely covered on the inside in goldleaf. Guidebooks call it "a masterpiece of baroque and Quiteno-colonial art with lavish golden altars and gilded columns, making it one of the most ornate structures in Ecuador" (tripadvisor.com). You're not allowed to take pictures, so I've borrowed a couple from websites. You're not allowed to take pictures, so I've borrowed a couple from websites. The Spanish conquerors of Quito and the subsequent Jesuit priests forced the local indigenous peoples to help construct the cathedrals, and their artistry was used for much of the beautiful decoration. As a form of quiet protet, historians believe the indigenous artists implanted some of their own beliefs into the artwork, including small images of animals or the sun, etc in gold reliefs that were otherwise purely geometric or scenes from the Bible. The church also has a large gold dome, which is definitely gorgeous. Our tour guide told us its other purpose was to bring the natives into the Catholic fold. Since the sun was a god to them, the cathedral was designed so that at certain times a year, the summer and winter soltices, the sunlight would enter through the dome and be perfectly cast on the images of Jesus or Mary above the alter, as if the Sun God were giving his blessing to the imported religion. We visited a few other cathedrals stoo, all beautiful, but none so ornate. We had to skip the The Way of the 6 Crosses, a street with 6 cathedrals on it, for lack of time.

Where I was really excited about going was to La Basilica, another cathedral with an old bell tower that can be seen from all over the city. Climb to the top and there's a gorgeous view. Travis has asthma and was obviously not yet adjusted to the altitude, but he did fine one the 6 stories of stairs (I was a little worried). The view from the top was worth it though; it was amazing. We were in the very top of the tower so there were only little gothic windows to see out of, but you could climb out of them and stand on a small wedge-shaped ledge to get the full view. (My thought of course was that my mom would have died had she seen me up there; definitley not a good stop for the very-scared-of-heights).

I'll let a professional give you more information: (frommers.com)

"Work on the basilica began in 1883 and is still unfinished to this day. Yet, visitors are permitted inside of this concrete marvel, which is modeled on Notre-Dame de Paris. Most people come here for the spectacular aerial views of the Old City and to see the Winged Virgin in the distance. For the best views, you have to climb 90m (300 ft.) to the top of the towers. Note that the elevators don't always work [*ours did, thank God*] and that the "ladders" that climb to the top are very narrow and quite steep. As you cross the bridge to enter the towers, look for the carved condors -- the stonework is impressive and the condors look as though they are about to fly away. The basilica is also famous for its mystical gargoyles in the form of local Ecuadorian icons such as pumas, monkeys, penguins, tortoises, and condors. There is a cafe on the third floor -- a good place to catch your breath after taking in the breathtaking views."

The painting was on display in the cafe, and that picture of my butt is really meant to give you an idea of the slightly precarious nature of the last level of the tower.

tbc...

Posted by: Well / 6:10 AM