If you remember from a previous blog post, we tried to subir (climb) the Basilica earlier, but were prevented from doing this by the strict timekeepers of the staircase. So we (me, Ashley, and Wesley) went back. April 2, 2011. Partly cloudy, but no rain. And we showed up around two so that we were guaranteed the chance to subir. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice....oh wait. You didn't fool us twice, Ecuador. So take that. There were several levels to the church towers. First was the "balcony" of the church where we could see the sanctuary and a gorgeous stained glass window at the back.
The next level was a small balcony that looked south where we could look through a little telescope thingy and see the Panecillo.
The next level was a souvenir store and the baños (bathrooms). Then it was up even further to a little rickety bridge that was in the "attic" of the church and took us from the south side, across the sanctuary, and over to a small tower where we had quite the 360 degree view of Quito.
We thought our adventure was over then, but turns out that when you cross the rickety little bridge back to the south side of the church, you can climb the clock towers. There were about 5 more levels to those. No joke. By the time we got to the top, we were so high up that it was cold and chilly, but worth the view.
Looking north:
April 9, 2011:
Mitad del Mundo. Middle of the World. That's the name of the actual town. Again, if you remember from an earlier post, we already visited the equator with BCA, but we've been told that visiting this touristy equator site was a must. So Wesley, Ashley, and I headed for another weekend adventure. We got there and there must have been some conference tour or something because there were about 50 business men standing outside in their slacks, button-down shirts, and briefcases listening to someone talk. And what do they do when the gringas show up? Turn around and stare. Of course. So unfortunately, we had to share the park with these guys. Took pictures with the monument.
We were on our way to climb up the monument when one of the businessmen politely asked us if he could get a picture with us. We were at a tourist site, but who knew that we would BE a tourist site. Haha. Inside the monument there was a little museum dedicated to Ecuador history in general in terms of indigenous people. Can't say we looked around too much. Just went to the top and took pictures. From there, we walked around the town and checked out some of the other places Mitad del Mundo had to offer. We stopped in a bug museum where there was a bug collection mounted on the wall. So they were all dead thankfully, but it still gave me the creeps to see beetles the size of your fist with pincers longer than your pointer finger. And moths bigger than hummingbirds. And hairy tarantulas. And over half of these insects are native to Ecuador. Wonderful. I have no idea what I would do if I met one of those things in the wild. You can't kill it. I mean Wesley said you would literally need a sledgehammer to stop one of those beetles.
From there we headed to the main square where an indigenous band was performing and dancers in native dress were doing their thing. We ate in a nearby restaurant where we sat on the balcony so we could enjoy the music. Entertaining.
We had heard that there was this interactive museum that was a must see, so we spent the next half hour tracking that down. It wasn't within the walls of the touristy city part, so that made it tricky to find. This interactive museum is actually situated directly on the equator. The touristy town part has a line drawn for the equator, but that's a lie. Our museum guide showed us all sorts of strange occurrences that happen on the equator. Let me tell you, I had no idea how freaking cool a line can be. Seriously. First, we balanced an egg on a nail. That's right, a nail. I have a picture AND a certificate to prove it.
Then, we did the whole water draining thing. Northern hemisphere it spins clockwise, Southern hemisphere it spins counterclockwise. Directly on the equator? Directly down. None of this clockwise/counterclockwise crap. Straight down. Then we had to walk heel to toe on the equator with our eyes closed and our arms out to our side. Funny thing is that even though you walk heel to toe (which you would think would guide you straight), the pull from the poles makes it really difficult to achieve straightness. The last activity involved strength. Off to one side of the line we clasped our hands together and then put out arms straight out and up. Our tour guide pushed our arms down (with us resisting) with two hands. When standing on the line? She could pull our arms down with one hand. Same thing with squeezing your thumb and pointer finger together and having someone pull them apart. Strange, but very, very, very, chevere. That's where the museum tour ended and by that point it was pouring. It was quite an adventure finding a bus to take home, but we finally caught one after we were pretty much empapadas (soaking wet).
Got back to Quito and went our separate ways, but then Wesley and I were invited to the Liga game that night by one of the soccer volunteers (Roberto), so I headed back to Wesley's house where she gave me some warm clothes (I hadn't had time to get all the way back to my house, so I was still a little wet). The game wasn't at la Casa Blanca (Liga's home stadium), but rather was at el Estadio Olympico Atahualpa, which is the home of la Sociedad Deportiva Quito, who Liga was playing that night. Inner-city match. Instead of being jostled and squished/smashed as we entered the stadium, we made a slightly different entrance. We were waiting in a long line to enter when news came that they had opened another door/gate. So we took off. Running. Found a spot just before kick off. I don't know if the stadium is bigger or if people were dissuaded from coming because it had rained earlier, but the stadium felt empty. We were in between the Deportiva fans and the Liga fans and unlike my last Liga experience, this game gave me a view of the ugly side of the people's passion for soccer. First of all, the game kinda sucked. It was a 0-0 tie and nobody played all that great. Second of all, tensions were high because it was two teams within the city. There were police everywhere.
Just before halftime a fight broke out on the Liga side of the stadium about 7 rows in front of us and across the aisle. Don't know what the argument was about, but they were punching and kicking a defenseless man on the ground before the police intervened. Then, during halftime, the Deportiva fans starting shaking a large Liga banner that they had stolen from the Liga side. It is apparently the worst of offenses to steal something of the other team's. In return, the Liga fans had somehow stolen a Deportiva banner and started waving that around, too. Of course we were caught in the middle of this yelling, cursing, middle finger fest. Things calmed down a little after halftime, but I saw another incident where a Liga fan was climbing on the fence, which was not what the police officer wanted. So he began hitting at the fence with his night stick, aiming for the hands. When the man wouldn't get off the fence, the police officer proceeded to punch the man in the face. So many distractions from the game. When the final whistle blew, we had to hang around the stadium and wait for the Deportiva fans to leave. If they would have let both sides out at the same time, there's no way the police could have controlled the chaos that would have ensued.
Liga fans:
Andres from volunteering was at the game, too, and afterwards, he, me, and Wesley were having a discussion about a facebook post. It's too hard to explain. Anyway, we made a bet about it and had to check it on the computer, so we headed back to La Chacha. The bet was a free pizza. Wesley and I won of course, so free pizza it was. Haha. Then it was back home for the night.
April 12, 2011:
Met at Rio Coca at 7:30. Headed out to Quilotoa, a volcanic lake. The drive was at least 3 and a half hours. Stopped a couple of times for snacks/bathroom break. We also stopped at a town on our way that is known for its artistry work. Made it to Quilotoa by 12:30. Took some pictures at the top and then headed down the crater. Holy cow is that place beautiful or what. This is probably my second proudest moment in digital photography. This panoramic view is practically seamless.
My first proudest moment? St. Louis. Summer 2010. Jumping picture timed from a distance? Can't beat that.
Anyway, we head down the crater. It's pretty steep, and at one point for about 200 yards I'd say (although I'm horrible at estimation) we "skied" through some deep sand/dirt. Pretty fun. We had the option to request a mule beforehand to ride back up, but Wesley and I wanted to tough it out and climb. We took some pictures at the bottom and admired the view until it started hailing. That's right, hailing. Pea-sized and vicious. It finally stopped, but by then we were soaking and bruised (not really) and still had to climb up the crater. Quite the workout, especially when the hail covers the ground in some spots making it slippery as heck. But we made it. Finally. Daniel had given us all $12.50 provided by BCA that we were required to spend in the Quilotoa community, so Wes and I bought ecuapants to change into. Something dry and relatively warm. We ate lunch in a nearby community house and then it was back on the bus and back to Quito. Home around 8:30. Long, but awesome day.
From left to right: Wesley, Hannah, Rachele, Ashley, me
Only 10 more days of classes before finals. Five days, then spring break, five more days, and then finals. Crazy, crazy. Things to look forward to: trip to Baños (a city, not the bathrooms), beach, el Amazonas, Cuenca, and whatever else I can squeeze in.
Catch you later, folks.
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