Reentry

Night on the Town

View of Quito From Itchimbia to the West

It is always wonderful to come home. Maya is happy and excited to see me and Eric has been in a frenzy cleaning up the apartment, so that I wouldn't be too upset about him filling the house with crickets for neurophysiology experiments while I am gone. I do not what to imagine what is was like when I am away, I am simply delighted that I feel so welcome after my week vacation.

Rebecca is exhausted, and nursing blisters on her feet and bruises all over, and has to adjust to the altitude again, so I decided to take it easy today. I was unable to sleep after a couple cappuccinos while waiting for our delayed flight from Guayaquil to Quito, so I finished four loads of wash during the midnight hours. I had used all the clothes I had brought to the Galapagos, and everything was dirty and smelly and in immediate need of disinfection!

Maya and her Violin

Maya had an orchestra concert at the 'Condamine' School, which is the local French school. I had tried to get Maya into the school when we moved here, but she did not speak French and at nine, they believe it is too late to start. There was a huge bazaar/fund raiser going on, and Rebecca and I came to listen to the group play. The audience was not too attentive, not at all like a concert hall, and I think the previous acapella group singing 'Billy Jean' from Michael Jackson was more accessible for them. The school was on 'Japon' and 'Naciones Unidas', which is walking distance to the house. I had no idea it was so close, so we took a cab to get there, but were able to walk home. There was alot of activity on Shyris near the park (Carolina) where the 'Festival of Machismo' was being celebrated along with a 'counter-fiesta' for women fighting violence against women, the banners claiming that 'Machismo IS Violence Toward Women'. There were dozens of policemen patrolling the area, but very few spectators or interested participants.

Rebecca has expressed interest in pre-Columbian art and culture, so I took her to the Museo of the Banco Central to show her the archeological finds. The museum always interests and intrigues me and I found myself acting out the role of tour guide, which appears to suit me quite well. The Artesanal Market is just a few blocks away, so that was our next destination. Maya, Rebecca and I found ourselves quite delighted with shopping and bargaining and purchasing souvenirs. It was apt that we went directly from the museo to the market, having seen so many of the motifs and styles common to both places. Maya likes to shop, and wants to buy everything she sees, but her most prized purchase was an alabaster turtle from Galapagos, which I could easily have bought just a few days ago in the Galapagos! When we got home, Maya dutifully built a lego home for her turtle, with pool and eating areas!

Artesanal Musicians

Helados in the Mercado

Eric met us in time for dinner at 'Mosaico', a restaurant near Itchimbia, with an expansive view of the city from its upstairs balcony. We were able to find a table with a great view and watched the city turn pink as the sun set. The food was not great, but the views amazing and the company a delight.

Centro Historico From Mosaico

Night Falling

Rebecca and Maya

Nightfall