The City Sleeps Early

So I wanted to come to a tropical country and here I find myself - Quito, Ecuador. It's a bit of an anomaly for what most think of when they think of the tropics. Don't be fooled by its location only 2 degrees south of the equator. At 2800 meters above sea level, it has quite the mediterranean climate. That is, hot, sunny days during its dry season, and cool to cold nights. The thin atmosphere doesn't retain much heat and offers little protection from the sun. In the first few days after I arrived, I received a nice red face, but have since learned my lesson - I carry sunblock with me no matter where I go.

The sun does keep a regular schedule here though. From dawn (at 6am) to dusk (at 6pm), 12 hours of sunlight is the norm year round. With the setting sun comes the change in temperature and the locals and tourists alike don their jackets for warmth. Though, now that I think about it, the locals wear jackets beneath the hot sun as well = protection. And it's actually not too uncomfortable with such low humidity.

The work day in the city ends anywhere from 4pm to 6pm, depending on who you're working for. Municipal jobs are a standard 8am - 4:30pm, while other empresas can start and end earlier or later. And when work is finished for the day, most either head home or for a quick cafecito at a cafe nearby. Though, if you're a tourist, you're likely to find more of you're kind in the Old Town (Centro Histórico) or the trendy New Town (La Mariscal). Sitting in a local coffee shop (The Coffee Tree) in La Mariscal right now, the music coming from the speakers is European, American or Spanish Pop. Flat screen tvs show the latest sports news. Tourists and well-to-do locals sip drinks, coffees and snack on small dishes.

Yet, only several blocks outside of this plaza at the corner of La Reina Victoria and Foch, the contrast is surprising. The buildings become more homely, street vendors line the sidewalks and beggers wander between tourists and business men and women pidiendo limosnas.

As night falls, others come and go within La Mariscal and other parts of the city. Yet, with increasing darkness, the danger increases as well...or so I've been instructed. Wandering about town at late hours (read: from 9pm on) means you're taking on are greater a risk. Actually, I should say that I'm taking a risk - I don't look much like the average Ecuadorian and thus am easily identifiable as someone who might have something worth stealing.

Compared to many other cities in Latin America, Quito does seem to go to sleep early, especially in areas outside of the centro, like Cotocollao. In this particular barrio, the streets empty regularly at 8pm as most are already indoors with their families. But I guess that's where I'd want to be when it becomes dark outside on chilly weeknights - at home with my family.


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Picture 1: Part of Quito's Centro Histórico - narrow streets crowded with buses, cars and people. Small shops are fit snuggly next to each other. Small sidewalks make walking in the streets between coming and going traffic necessary.

Picture 2: La Basilica. It sits atop a hill in the Centro Histórico and is visible from just about any point in the old city center. The difference here is that instead of gargoyles, it boasts sculptures of deer, boars, crocodiles and other forest animals.

La Familia Ecuatoriana

I've only been here for a week, but I can already say that I love Ecuadorian Families!

Big, loud, always gesticulating when they talk, they love to have a good time - the whole extended group of them.

At the moment I'm staying with Santiago and Bárbara in Cotocollao, in the northern part of Quito. Bárbara's family is originally from Ibarra, 2-3 hours north of Quito. So to Ibarra we went (caravan style) for the festivales last weekend!

Celebrating the signing of the declaration of independence of Ecuador, May 24th is a national holiday. Only this time around, because the 24th fell on a Thursday, Rafael Correa (the Pres.) shifted the holiday to Friday the 25th.

Before leaving town, Bárbara, Santiago and I swung by Santiago's parents' place and picked up his sister, Cris. We were followed by Bárbara's uncle Manuel and her abuelita and abuelito.

Los abuelitos tienen una casa en San Antonio de Ibarra, un suburbio de Ibarra...pero más de este tema más tarde....

The abuelitos' house was built to hold the abuelitos + 7 children. So, of course, we all fit. And there was still room for more. For two of the three days we were in town, Bárbara's uncle and aunt came to visit...with their 16 year old daughter and 37 year old son and their son's wife. (Brownie points if you can figure out how many of us there were total in less than five seconds ;).

The custom, which I enjoyed thoroughly, is to come for a visit when the family is in town and do nothing more than sit with each other in the sala, talking lively, sharing jokes, tea, cafecito, pancito and possibly even a trago of whiskey (for the men).

Of course, once you get a whole bunch of Ecuadorians together who are related to each other, the conversation(s) go off in a million different directions. Everything is up for comment, from the 16 year old's love life, to the most recent episode of the popular telenovela (...the tv always plays in the background during these get-togethers...it acts like a back-up diversion when the conversation lulls even just a little bit).

By this time, I had adjusted relatively well to Ecuadorian accents (those from Quito speak slower than those from the coast). Though, in a group context with people throwing around dichos, expressions and other jokes and colloquialisms, I became lost. Bárbara, being the wonderful host that she is, took the lead...during the entire weekend, conversations with family and friends were punctuated with side conversations between the just the two of us. Her explaining what exactly that word meant in what context...and, "oh yeah, even if you refer to a policeman as a 'chapa' when they're not around, it's never a good idea to say it to their face!" me: "oh, ok...got it...'chapa' = not a good word for policeman = don't use in public."

Even with my ability to prove that I do speak (some understandable form of) Spanish and that I can understand Ecuadorians, I still received (and continue to receive) remarks such as..."oh, you speak Spanish!?" or "wow!, I can understand you, you speak really well"...me: "why thank you!" :) (What's even better - surprising those on the bus by addressing them in Spanish, when they and I know that they've been chit-chatting about me).

I also spent a fair amount of time standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the men in the family so that they could measure their heights against mine...you know...just to be sure that their eyes didn't fool them and that I really am that tall. And their facial expressions when I told them that I was one of the shortest in my family..."Dios mío!"

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Picture 1: Mi familia Ecuatoriana sans a few. Me, la abuelita, la Bárbara, Santiago's sister Cris, and el abuelito (tiene 90 años!!) In San Antonio de Ibarra, the family is known as los Cuy (aka guinea pigs that when cooked well make a savory meal; its a specialty in the region). The abuelito was the son of one of the first officials of the town. Apparently, every family has a nickname.

Picture 2: Short boat ride on Lago Cuicocha in Protected Area Cotacachi-Cayambe. When its not raining (as it was the day we were there), you can see small bubbles coming up through the water, indicating the steam coming from below the ground in this once active volcano. La Bárbara, Me, Bárbara's uncle Manuel, Cris.

Picture 3: Festivales de San Antonio de Ibarra! What a surprise! The weekend we were there, San Antonio was celebrating its 146th anniversary. Processing down the main street were groups of dancers, big-rigs and large trucks blaring music, and las reinas candidatas from each small neighborhood tossing flowers from their floats. This particular group was able to convince the honored officials to come down from their stage and dance.

Bienvenidos

Welcome...to my blog. Travel writing is a thing I like to do when I have time, so sit back, relax and enjoy the cultural, linguistic, culinary, and visually-enticing ride through Ecuador that we're about to take.

It's my first time in the country, so anything and everything is up for comment...by me and you. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts, as well as provide suggestions for things to do if you've been here before.

Three months of travels, new experiences, people and good stories...here we go!