Honoring the local

The churches here are fantastic, elaborate, no surprise.  The gilt, the focus, the detail and upkeep - amazing.  The main Quito cathedral, the Basilica, was designed by a French guy in the 1880s, who cared enough about the local culture to design the church with gargoyles that represented exclusively local fauna.  Interested folks are allowed to climb to the top of the main tower over three fire escape like ladders -- no nanny state here.  It was harrowing, invigorating.  Another church nearby includes a 1753 frescoe of the Last Supper, again honoring local customs, includes a prominently displayed whole baked cuy (guinea pig) as the main course on the table.

Brooms, sort of

Those of you who know my broom passion will understand my disappointment in Quito.  These are the only brooms I've seen.  Normally those leaning against walls, those that have seen some action (last pic, on balcony), are more interesting than the new ones.  Not so here -- all are the factory-made, standard variety.  I'm hoping the countryside has more to offer in design, craft, natural origins. I had to do a broom post, even if rather dull.  Toilets, my other regular foreign fascination, will get no further mention here, unless things change dramatically. It's neither pretty nor interesting.

We've extended our stay in Quito a bit, now leaving on Wednesday for 4 days in Mindo, in the cloudforest, and a location that's been the winner of the annual Christmas Bird Count three years in a row.  : )  Winds are blowing NW.

Quito and one of its many parks

We're in Quito.  Life has changed.  Today we just walked around the city, getting used to the altitude change, the simpler focus, the lay of the land.  Nice people, good food, good cerveza, foreign language.  We happened into a park, and hung out for over an hour, watching folks, families just hanging, playing on this lovely Wednesday afternoon.  Three things impressed:

• a storyteller in the park who'd gathered and held a crowd (he's the one in the blue shirt);
• the amazingly fun looking playground equipment throughout the park, stuff that can no longer make it in the US -- waay to "dangerous", I'm sure, for our litigious society.  The swing in the photo is like a papasan chair basket that you lie down in, and the girls on both sides of it pushed as hard and high as they could.  The merry-go-round just visible behind it looked super fun, too.  These were a small part of the offerings there.  We'll go back, to await our swing turn. 
• being in the vicinity, walking through the corner while money was being transferred from a bank into two heavily armored cars/almost tanks -- with at least 20 guys with machine guns in khakis with bulletproof vests and intense faces, aiming their guns all around while money carrying guys literally ran from the bank to the armored vehicles.  Scary.  Too scared to take photos. 

I'm guessing that this blog has looked broken . . . it has been seriously and knowingly neglected, awaiting its actual purpose:  the walkabout.  Life's been waay too busy, and fun, as we traveled around this beautiful, kind, generous country, hanging with friends and family, gathering hugs.  Hug meter full. 

Tomorrow  . . . Quito!  I can't wait to escape the details this departure has required of us.  And I can't wait to explore this world with my Spanish-enabled, adorable, responsible, competent love.  But I would be quite happy, too, never leaving the folks, the life I've loved here.  May I have both, please?

Our walkabout begins with a 6-night stay at a hostel in Quito.  Nothing else planned.  We'll see where the wind blows us, likely west and south along the coast.

More, and hopefully more interesting (sorry about the obsessing here) stuff to come in this chapter.  

Adios, current life!