Vistas and Virgins

I cannot believe that it is already February! This past Saturday marked one month of my stay in Ecuador and I am slowly beginning to realize that it is going to fly by. While you all are in classes, at work, or perhaps enjoying a quiet morning, I am sitting on my bed listening to the Latina music my host mom is playing as well as the noisy construction outside my window…which occasionally starts at 7am (but today luckily started around 9). It is a very sunny day and it’s times like these where I really appreciate my wall length window with sheer curtains (I can’t say I appreciate them as much early in the morning!). In about an hour I will head to the USFQ (my university) for lunch with friends and my two classes (Andean Anthropology and Ecology & Conservation of the Galapagos).

The fact that two days ago I was very sick with food poisoning makes me INCREDIBLY thankful to be feeling almost completely better and able to continue with my normal daily activities today. I will spare you the unpleasant details and just say that it is not the same to be sick in someone else’s home without your real family to care for you.

I am continuing to enjoy not having Friday classes and this past Friday my friends and I took advantage by further exploring the Historic Center of Quito (El Centro Historico). The highlights of the adventure were ascending to the top of the hill to see the famous El Panecillo (the Virgin statue) and later ascending to the top of La Basilica (an incredible church built in the late 1800s).

As it would be a very long walk up the hill to El Panecillo, we flagged two taxis to accommodate our group of six and were intrigued that the two taxi drivers together set an equal price so that both groups of three would pay an equal amount. Here is a view of El Panecillo (41 meters tall) on the drive up:

And here are some pictures of the view standing in the top of El Panecillo (first of the view looking at North Quito and then looking towards South Quito):

After a delicious pizza lunch (culprit of my sickness…?), we spent some time walking around until we had climbed a few hills to arrive at La Basilica. My friend and I climbed several flights of stairs, crossed an iffy bridge, climbed a very narrow ladder and then two more flights of stairs and ended up in the top of one of the church’s towers. We had a perfect 360 degree view of the city and found it interesting that we could look directly at El Panecillo, where we had been just a few hours prior. Here are a few pictures from La Basilica:

A trip to El Centro Historico always reminds me of what a beautiful city I live in -- I live in the newer part of the city so I don't often see the beautiful buildings, churches, plazas, and hilly streets of El Centro.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the Super Bowl – I was sufficiently able to keep track of what was happening through the many Facebook statuses in my News Feed!