HOLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We´ve been in Quito for hmm....about a week, and it´s so amazing!!!!! There are many different parts of town, but the Mariscal Sucre area feels very much like San Francisco with an international local flair, and awesome food. Our first day here we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant. The food was pretty good but the mid-day minty mojitos were even better, and the price was right at a twofer! Then we stumbled upon this bookstore, called Confedarate Books. interesting... Anyway, I was happy as a clam. It was a really neat old store, reminded me a lot of Green Apple books in San Fran with creeky dark wood floors and a smell of grandma´s musty sweater chest. (those of you who know green apple know that it´s the bessssssssst bookstore ever!) So Cass and I pretty much got lost in there for a good hour or two...and felt kind of bad that we didn´t buy anything...oops. Then we walked down the cobbled pathway and into this pub. It was awesome because the Ecuadorian futbol team (Lido, I think) was playing Argentina (Arnsenal) and it was playing all over town. We sat our lil hinies down and ordered a beer. Cass and I were literally the only gringos in this place, with the rest of the crowd being local Ecuadorian men dressed in their suits, just getting off work. The energy in there was awesome as Ecuador was winning the game.
As the night progressed, we mingled with some of the locals and ended up meeting a few film producers. We were stoked because Cass and I are going to document this indigenous tribe in the jungle. They said that they would travel to the jungle with us, and they are stocked full of first class equipment. But as Cass and I thought about it later, we decided against it because we want to be as non-invasive as possible and trekking into this very small community with this crew and tons of equipment may obscure our sincerity and true purpose of going in the first place. Then we sang a bunch of Karoeke...not that there was much of a English selection, but it was a good night.
The next day we traversed across town to the Museo Amazonico, which displays history and artifacts of many indigenous communities. We really wanted to go since it is so pertinent to our trip into the jungle soonly approaching. That night we ate at a delectable Indian restaurant. This is some of my favorite food. I met two chill guys from Cameroon who have been living here for a few years. We ended up dancing salsa with them that night at a nearby bar. Life is good.
Now, Cass and I have each been placed with separate families for our week long homestay and are taking 4 hour spanish classes in the morning. My family is extremely nice, consisting of mi mama, a 7 year character named Angie, and a 19 year old named Vanessa. There is also another guy from Switzerland living there as well. The first night I was there, Hapatia cooked a special Ecuadorian dish consisting of potato tortillas (sooo good), beets, avocado, and an onion and tomato type salsa. Very fresh, very good. The first night at dinner, it was a little nervewracking because I am still learning my spanish and it was somewhat difficult to talk at dinner. I can get by and a little more but I still have difficulty just shootin the breeze. I felt like I was oblidged to try and talk, but I felt nervous. I know this is normal but the pressure of being in someone else´s home and wanting to be polite had me a little uncomfortable for awhile.
Ok, so I have a little side story to share here so bear with me. The next morning as I was walking to the store, I felt this weird twinge in my head. Next thing I know, I am pulling out a freaking bug of a decent size out of my head. I totally freaked. I was already feeling a little vulnerable, slightly feeling this ¨I´m tired, mid travel lull¨ and it seemed to trigger that last nerve. So, I looked around and I happened to be right across the street from a hospital. Far from a serious enough matter to go to the hospital, I walked over there anyways, undoubtedly with the most distressed look on my face to inquire about this problem of mine. Let me also tell you that this is somewhat common for travelers, always sleeping in different bed in all the various hostels. I have heard many stories of bed bugs etc., but hadn´t yet experienced it myself and was hoping to never encounter this unsettling dilemna. I walked into this hospital with the bug still between my fingers and exclaimed to the security guard, ¨Ayudame por favor, yo tengo piojos en mi cabeza!!!!¨ (please help me, I have bugs in my head!!) how hilarious is that..... any of you would have been laughing at me had you seen this sight) I´m sure he thought I was completely over dramatic since there were families walking into this hospital in serious pain. He told me to go to the pharmacy to purchase a special kind of shampoo. I proceeded to find a pharmacy and somewhat frantically hopped in a cab with my shampoo purchase and headed back to my family´s home. Turns out, my mama had accidentally only given me a key to get in the lower level of the complex and I could not get into the apartment. I then knocked on the neighbor´s door and told her my problem and asked if I could possibly use her bathroom to wash my hair. Unfortunately, the woman I was speaking with was the housekeeper and the owner was not home so she couldn´t allow me to use the bathroom. I then walked to the nearest hostel, and again, told the receptionist my problem. For 5 bucks,she kindly let me use the bathroom. I was so grateful that this shower had hot water!!! After washing my hair with this shampoo and letting it sit for about 15 minutes, I felt much better. By this time, my mama had returned and I was able to get inside the house. I told her what happened, and she said it wasn´t a big deal. It was a big deal to me, however I survived!!! Later that night, my mama looked through my whole entire head like a monkey and I was good to go. I knew while all this was happening that this was yet another comical story of my travels. I know this is the longest entry ever so I applaud you if you are still reading!!!!
Later that day, I met this awesome guy who actually owns a blues radio station north of San Francisco. He plays bass, mainly blues and jazz, and told me that he was playing a show that night with an Ecuadorian blues band. He wasn´t sure where but he told me that he woud leave word at the front desk of his hotel. I went to his hotel later, and turns out, the front desk man had given the piece of paper with the name of the bar on it to another woman who my new friend had apparently told to come by the hotel as well. I went to the only jazz bar I knew of, hoping this was the place! Turns out, it wasn´t but it was alright because there another awesome jazz band playing there. I ended up staying there all night, listening to the most familiar jazz band play wonderful music. Most of the band was from the States. It felt so good to see some live music in this very familiar feeling venue with brick walls covered with beautiful art and photography. I felt like I was back in San Fran or Colorado, soaking up the sound of the sax, trumpet, and upright bass. I met this awesome guy who actually has the same birthday as my best friend Cara, April 30th! I love those Taureans!!! He is a musician here in Quito, and teaches drums and voice lessons to little kids! Perfect. He told me of a place where I can possibly buy a cheap guitar, so I think we´re going to go there one day this week.
Yesterday was also a good day. We went to the Old Town part of Quito, which feels very much like Europe actually. The architecture is breathtaking. The best part of my day was sitting on the old cobbled stone streets, listening to this old blind man play his red marbled accordian. I sat here, so content, for an hour probably. The sound of the accordian, so similar to the organ for me, is so soothing and provokes a feeling that is so nostalgic of my deep roots and ancestry. It has a very magical, almost eerie sound that I so deepy love.
My morning Spanish class went well, my professora knows so much about herbal medicines here so we spent the majority of my lesson talking about different natural remedies that I intend on sharing and utilizing back home. Alright, well I´ m starving and the rain outside has lessened, so I´m going to head back out into the world, but I wanted to give yall an update! I could definitely see myself moving to Quito one day.
I hope you all are well. I miss you guys a lot, and do look forward to coming back when the time is right. I´m working on getting over this mid travel hump....taking freezing cold showers at 7 in the morning can be testing but really helps one appreciate the luxuries we so often take for granted back home.
We will be here until Saturday, and then we are trekking into the jungle...more on the intensity of that later!!!
okie dok, take care!
Much Love always,
Whitney xoxoxo
Love,
Dad