The Old City

We started our weekend off on Saturday with another trip to Old Quito.  Are first stop was to a museum built into a church, where we were introduced to paintings, statues, and other works of art, mostly depicting various saints important to Ecuador.  We also had a view of the church, the monastary and the gardens, though we could not enter.  The nuns that live there still adopt old practices, such as using a very basic basin and pot for their bathrooms.  We had a chance to climb up the bell tower, where we had a beautiful view of the city.  I think the most interesting part of the whole tour was meeting an American woman, who was also engaged in the tour, who had been living in Ecuador for forty years.  She had also come to the country on a high school exchange, and ended up returning the following year, marrying, and settling.  Now she works as an teacher in an international school.  Although this exchange has impacted me a lot, I don´t think I could ever move here permanently!

Following our tour at the church museum, we took a trip to my host mother´s great aunt and uncle´s house for a Mother´s Day salute.  They live in the old city, among the winding, colourful streets.  The great uncle was very interesting; he spoke a fair amount of English, as he had lived in the United States for a year, fifty years past.  He lived in many different states, all in the East.  He would speak to me in English, and I would respond in Spanish, creating an interesting conversation.  

After a delicious lunch and much exchange of experiences in the United States, we headed to Itchimbía Park in Qutio, a beautiful green space that overlooks the Old City at the top of the mountain.  Beyond the open fields and ornaments, there are biking trails as well as smaller green spaces among foliage and oasises.  The park was absolutely beautiful; a resfreshment from the concrete that I am used to in Ecuador. 

 Overlooking the Old City.

My host mother, the aunt and uncle, and myself.

 On the left is the ¨Guardian¨of Old Quito overlooking the city.

The newer part of Quito, far off in the distance.

The Basilica, which I visited a while back.

The main square of Old Quito.  I can´t believe I found this!

Some of the beautiful colours, though a little dampened by the mist of the mountain.

Buildings leaching up the mountain as far as possible.

An Oasis among the trails.

Another city in Ecuador, bordering Quito, separated by a steep valley.

A green house of sorts in the park.

And here we are transported back to my town, Yaruquí, with some interesting foliage.  These plants are about as tall as me!

This fruit is called ¨pepino¨, which also translates to cucumber.  I am not sure why it shares the name, as there is no similarity.  It had a bit of a strange taste, but was still good.  I just think the outside skin is so pretty!

This is really interesting.  As cool as it would be, those are in fact not dust bunnies from our favourite Totoro.   Those are a phenomenon: they are rootless plants!  They start to grow from the seeds that collect in bird feces, getting their initial nutrients directly from the feces.  Then they continue to survive on the wire without any roots!  They can be found all over Ecuador.

My host mother and Abuelita and I.  I had bought them flowers for Mother´s Day, spending a whopping four dollars in total for two beautiful bouquets of flowers... imagine if they were that cheap in Canada!  Apparently this is even a little bit expensive in Ecuador.  My host mother bought two bouquets for $1.50 together.  Crazy!  

In Ecuador, Mother´s Day is a very important celebration.  While walking around the town, you can spot dozens of people carrying delicious bakery cakes, decorations in all the stores, flowers readily available to purchase in fruit stores, bakeries, convenience stores, the works, people buying gifts all over and an overall air of celebration.  Something that is really interesting in Ecuador is the respect of women.  Even maternity is so much more openly appreciated here.  Although Canada is pretty advanced, though not perfect, when it comes to equality and respect of women, Ecuador presents a special dynamic where all women are appreciated so openly and often. 

I also made some dinner and dessert for Mother´s Day, starting with spaghetti with tomato sauce and roasted zucchini, and ending with some intense bread pudding.  All enjoyed!