We arrived in Quito, Ecuador with no problem. Flying into the city, we went over amazing lush green mountains - the Highlands of Ecuador - that were really amazing. Quito sits at 9000+ feet, and the moment we walked off the plane we could feel it. This feeling of shortness of breath was pretty remarkable. Just walking up a staircase felt like a huge task.
We are staying with Nate & Fernanda, a wonderful couple who has been so hospitable it's remarkable. Nate is American and Fernanda is from outside of Quito. Fernanda is an architect and is restoring their beautiful home that sits right across from the huge Basilica of Quito.
We settled our stuff in and went for a walk around the old city. We went for a very slow walk, due to the altitude! Quito is a bit reminiscent of San Francisco in terms of the super hilly streets and homes off in the hills in the distance. So walking up these hills in the altitude was quite the feat. We were keeping pace with the ancient grandmothers, and that was just fine with us.
The old city is so incredibly beautiful. They have restored most of the buildings in a really wonderful way. There are huge churches everywhere you look as well as a lot of museums, restaurants, stores, etc. It doesn't feel touristy like many of the other cities we've been to. Everyone is just busy going about their day in this gorgeous, old place with so much history.
We had a wonderful dinner with Nate & Fernanda that night. We lingered for a long time in the restaurant, telling stories and having another round of beer, because it had started to pour outside. Apparently it has been raining like crazy lately due to the La Nina phenomenon.
The next day we walked again around the old part of Quito. We went to some famous churches & got to check out Museo del Alabado, a museum dedicated to pre-Incan artifacts. It was incredible. They had so many unbelievable pieces from as far back as 4000 BC.
In the afternoon we drove with Nate & Fernanda to their family beach house near the town of Esmeraldas. This was our first glimpse of the Pacific on this trip! We got in late, but a wonderful woman named Margarita, who cooks for Fernanda's family, had left us dinner. We stayed up late telling stories & laughing and finally fell into bed around 3am!
The next day and a half was spent lounging in the beach, finding incredible rocks and shells, reading, and eating the most delicious food made for us by Margarita. We had shrimp ceviche, calamari, rice, coconut shrimp, a fish casserole made with peanuts and plantains, beans, fried plantains, fresh made ahi (sort of like a salsa but way better) and all sorts of fresh squeezed juices. Amazing!
The weather was mostly good at the beach (good enough for a serious sunburn for me!) but then it was rain, rain, rain back in Quito.
Today we're off on a 12 hour bus ride to Cuenca through the highlands. We are sad to say good bye to Nate & Fernanda, but hopefully they will come visit us in NC this summer!
Breathless walks up a staircase reminds me of walking up the stairs of a hostel in Cuzco. And being humbled by grandmothers PASSING me up hills... While they carried loads down their backs, dangling at their ankles and held by a strap across the forehead! The part I don't believe of your email is your 3am bedtime! That's not the Eliza I know. Apparently, there's no tv watching to lull you to sleep eh? Love following you two on your adventures!
ReplyDelete