In Transit

(Guayaquil, Ecuador)- I'm sitting in the airport at Quayquil, between flights to the Galapagos, and enjoying the best internet connection I've had in two weeks. 

The flight from Quito to Guayaquil was great viewing- Quito as the city between the mountains, and the terrible flooding in Guayaquil. The latter scene was awful, but something to observe from the air.

Fun In The Park

(Quito, Ecuador)- We were lucky to have a neighborhood park just one block away from our host family's home in Quito. We didn't visit as much as we would have liked, thanks to the rain, but we did make it this morning, prior to heading out to the Equator.

LOVED the mountains in the background, as always. Isabel loved the jungle gym.
KFC is everywhere in Quito, including the park. I read somewhere that KFC has more worldwide outlets than McDonald's. I found that unbelievable until I travelled internationally. In Ecuador, I saw at least eight different KFC locations, and not even one McDonald's.

Isabel enjoyed the flowers, almost as much as splashing in puddles.

This is how you do it, Daddy!

You don't say!

Lesson in Traditional Ecuadorian Food Preparation

(Quito, Ecuador)- I took a great interest in the food that our hostess, Sonia Martinez, was making for us each night, so on Friday, she invited me into the kitchen to observe and take part in the preparation of the family meal.

My Professora slices pork for pan roasting.

The food is actually very, very simple. The meats will be roasted or fried in salt, garlic, and cumin. The latter is the key to the Ecuadorian flavors for meats.

The salads might be as simple as a lettuce and tomato item, or onions and tomatoes, but Sonia's homemade seasonings were great. She would rub sugar into the onion and then let them soak for about a half hour. She would rinse them and then dress any of her salads in vinegar, olive oil, salt, the juice of a small lime, and cilantro.

Rubbing sugar into the onions.

Plantains frying in oil.

Each meal would have at least two starches- almost always rice and then potatoes or plantains. On this night, the rice went by the wayside in favor of corn. The plantains were my favorite variety- the semi-sweet ones. Here is the table presentation of the full meal.

A traditional, special Ecuadorian meal: roast pork, corn, plantains, potatoes, and salad.

The food looks a little different here than in the US. The corn is not in perfect straight rows. The potatoes bought at smaller food kiosks come with soil still attached to them.

It was all very delicious, night after night. I especially appreciated the special invite to take part in the preparation. Sonia appeared to appreciate the enthusiasm. She told me that Ecuadorian men don't usually take an interest in the kitchen, unless they are chefs by trade. It may not be muy macho by local standards, but I enjoyed the lesson, and am looking forward to making a similar dish once back home.

Convento San Agustin

(Quito, Ecuador)- One of the highlights of the guided tour of Old Town was an old colonial church, convent, and monastery called El Convento San Agustin. 

It houses some of Ecuador's treasures- its' documents of independence, and restored paintings from the prolific Miguel de Santiago.

The paintings were a marvel to me, especially because they are stored outdoors. These are national treasures, but they can be stored outside because the weather is rarely very humid. My kind of place.

Quito's Declaration of Independence from Spain.

One of Miguel de Santiago's numerous restored paintings. The ornate nature of the church and convent reminded me a great deal of The Alhambra, in Grenada, Spain. There are connections, of course, thanks to the colonial ties of Ecuador to Spain. I especially noticed Moorish details in the stonework on the walkways, although the golden pineapples on the ceiling is also reminiscent. And yes, it is real gold on the frame of the painting, and on the pineapples.

School Days Begin

(Quito, Ecuador)- The main focus of the first two weeks of the trip is the immersion into the Spanish language. Ame & I are students at La Academia Latinoamericana de Espanol, in Quito's New Town.

For our first day, we actually did not have instruction. Instead, there was a guided tour of Quito's Old Town, which was a bit repetitious given our activity Sunday. But it was also an opportunity to get to know our fellow newbies.

Newbies: Mike, Ella (?), (?), Ame, Richard (South Africa), Hanna (Portland, OR), Lindsey (Portland), Joelle (Switzerland), Maura (Brooklyn NY), and Rod (England). Unfortunately, June (China) and Bas (Holland) did not make the photo.

Bas, after clowning at the side of a Presidential Guard, at Ecuador's Presidential Palace.

El Panecillo

(Quito, Ecuador)- After eating at Cafe Mosaico, we decided to take a cab to El Panecillo- The Virgin of Quito- for a closer look. 

Of course, being atop a high hill lent itself to more excellent views, but here's a look at the monument itself, plus some of the stained glass windows in the base of the monument.

Link to more info on El Panecillo, via wikipedia.

Quito Streets

(Quito, Ecuador)- I love the views away from the central city, where you can see mountains behind the colonial buildings. The first photo really shows it well.

Ame chases after Isabel down Calle Sucre, in Old Town.

One of the streets leading up to the restaurant.

Sky High Restaurant

We walked across the Old Town to the east, getting away from the crowded commercial center into a more residential area towards a perfect lunch spot with a view. The guide book highly recommended this restaurant, Cafe Mosaico for the view, if not the food.

El Panecillo- the Virgin of Quito- looms in the background. Mike catches his breath.

The guide book did not disappoint. The many, many stairs up the steep hill were well worth the crash course in adjusting to high altitudes. The view was awesome! The balcony is enclosed, because you really don't want to fall from this height. The food was good, too. Mostly a Greek menu, which was surprising.

Isabel walked all of the stairs, too- at her insistence!

Exploring Quito's "Old Town"

There are two major town square areas in the Old Town is the Plaza de Santo Domingo, anchored by the Church & Convent of Santo Domingo.

Ame carried Isabel in a backpack for a while.

It was a perfect, sunny day- and again, the mountains in the background are always spectacular.

First Day Pics

We arrived late Friday evening, but wasted no time on Saturday, getting into Quito's "New Town". This is north of the "Old Town", where the Spaniards initially constructed their city after the conquest of the Incas. A portion of New Town is very touristy, prompting locals to derisively call it, "Gringolandia".

The Andes Mountains are in view everywhere in Quito. Coming from a flat place like Indiana, even common views are exhilerating!

Update: I figured out the trick with Blogger and the upload speeds. For whatever reason, the pictures have to be uploaded before the text is added, and two pictures is all it will allow. Don't ask me to explain, but at least I can finally get pictures here!

More From Quito's "New Town"

Top: Ame chats with our fellow students, while Isabel enjoys her first of many fresh fruit juices.

Bottom: From left- Phillipe, Isabel, Ame, and Meredith.

Welcome!

Ame has wanted to do a Spanish immersion abroad for some time, to augment her language skills with her work as a midwife, where many of her mommas speak Spanish exclusively. While I am pretty open-minded about travel, I had two criteria: no overwhelming humidity, and no mosquitos. That ruled out Costa Rica, which was the first choice. Actually, it ruled out many locations and pointed us to Ecuador.

Quito is situated in the Andean highlands, between two ranges of the Andes Mountains. The altitude is a great factor in negating the humidity. When we started researching and discovered that the Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador, and that Quito is the springboard for travel to Quito, our minds were made up pretty quickly.

So, the purpose of this blog is to share pictures and observations from our travels.

Depending on our access to internet (and speeds), I may be posting all of the pictures to our page on www.myphotoalbum.com. In any case, I will be online almost daily, and will try to post frequently.