The good, the bad, the ugly, and the absolutely bonkers
The good: old Quito, the bad: my knees (but not my feet!), the ugly: pickpockets, and the bonkers: Carnivale
Unlike most historical cities, they never had to enclose it with a wall so the roads while narrow by today's standards, are quite spacious. The indigenous people here had been dealing with an 'Inca' problem for the previous 30 years or so, so the arrival of the Spanish was seen as a solution (at least the Spanish did not practice human sacrifice) or at least as the lesser of two evils. And being up in the mountains, one has the benefit of the upper ground! Thus the Spanish did not feel the need to build forts. Ironic, because the typical architecture, even today, is a house built around a courtyard with a well barred gate!
The really interesting thing about Quito is that the Incas, and the last 500 years, are really just a blip in its history. There have been humans settled here since there were humans in South America.
The number of churches here makes Quebec look like it wasn't trying. There is literally one on every block in the historical quarter. The most startling aspect is that they are all Catholic, but I guess that's what you get when the Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, Jesuits, and a couple of orders whose names in Spanish I didn't recognize, start slugging it out!
We walked so much on Saturday that I insisted on taking the Trolebús went we went for dinner at a restaurant in another neighborhood. Portions here tend to be quite generous, and I made the fortunate call that we would decide what to order for dinner while eating the appetizers. We never got to the main course! Unfortunately, as we made our way back to the hotel, Serge lost one of his cellphones while we were jammed on a crowded bus. We know it was a pick-pocket because not 5 minutes after he realized it was missing, he got a message (on his work cell) that the first had been reinitialized. Thus the decision to avoid public transit from now on!
I don't regret not wanting to walk, but a taxi would have been prudent. It took Tylenol and a pillow under my knee to get to sleep that night. The plantar fasciitis from last year has not returned (yay!), but I am going to have to experiment with different models of heel padding. I can tell you that arch support on top of built-in arch support is too much, even for my high arches. The resultant tilting of my feet within my boots threw out my knees, and made a start on my hips. (But my feet were fine!)
Sunday morning we walked up to newish Basilica (19th century, rather than 16th), a huge Gothic style, well 'building' just doesn't convey how big it is, mountain of a church. On the way, we definitely passed some street walkers who were trolling for business, presumably anyone who wasn't in church on a Sunday morning! At the Basilica del Voto Nacional (they take democracy very seriously here!), Mass was being held in the main area, and Serge and I entered right by the altar.
Oops! Fortunately we were able to sidle behind the support columns around the gymnasium sized altar area where, low and behold, we found a small secondary church where I would expect to find the sacristy. Well, small is a relative term. It was still bigger than the church we got married in! It was gorgeous, all the stone had been plastered and painted in patterns. The upkeep must be horrendous, but everything was extremely good condition.
The main church is plainer, apart from stained glass everywhere, but all the stone was beautifully carved everywhere, and really shows off the strength of the arch!
By then, we had pretty much overdosed on historical monuments and amazing architecture, so we wandered down to a park to sit and enjoy the sunshine amid some huge Monterrey cypress trees. Here is Serge standing in front of one:
yes, you have to zoom way in to see him, and that wasn't even the biggest one. There was one that had blown over and even lying on its side it was taller than me!
I found it curious that there wasn't more people out enjoying the sun in the park, but later, as we were heading back from dinner, we ran into a parade to kick of Carnivale. They had all been preparing! Parades here involve a lot of audience participation. The custom is to spray anyone and everyone, but especially those in the parade, with something resembling soap foam. Some of the parade participants were spraying back, so you can just imagine the chaos!
Cans of this stuff are for sale everywhere, and this mousse can really fly. Fortunately it isn't sticky, and doesn't seem to stain, but you can get quite damp (I am sure those in the parade were soaked), and you will need to clean your glasses afterwards. Yes, I speak from experience!
When we got back to the hotel, they just laughed, and said 'but of course, it's Carnivale!'
We are now tucked into a little hotel near the airport because we fly home tomorrow, so I will finish with some exciting news we just got from the farm.
Meet Calypso (3 days old) born last Friday.
Hasta luego everyone!
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