This weekend I was not sure what to do. My last weekend in Ecuador and there is still so many places to see. I might return to Ecuador and I decided to spend this weekend staying in Quito and exploring. In school we went to a great museum - my teacher, another teacher, her student and I. After school I tried to find a shop that sold batteries for my camera. I entered an internet cafe which sold some electronics and the lady working there told me to go upstairs and ask if they had the batteri. Upstairs two men were sitting behind each their computer. I asked one of them and he told me they didn´t sell the batteri. Then he asked me to sit down and we ended up talking for 10minutes about many different things. In the end he looked through a lot of papers and found a shop for me that sold the batteri and he drew me a map on how to get there :)
In the evening I went to "la ronda" which is a long street with a lot of restaurants and entertainment in the weekends. I found a cafe called "buen gusto de Joel" and I decided that I had to go in and try their speciality which was a "grande" empanada. I was expecting a empanada a bit bigger than normal, that´s not what I got. I got a empanada that was huge! Impossible to finish it all. Afterwards I walked around and saw some different entertainers on the street. I returned tired to the house around 10pm. Here I was met by Bianca, Louisa (two of the american girls that lives in the appartment) and their ecuadorian friend. They were going to a housewarming and invited me.
The housewarming was great! Both a lot of gringos and a lot of ecuadorians and argentinians. I got some contacts in case I would return to Ecuador. One of them was offering me to come work at his organic farm and stay for free for some time, this I have to do if I return! I socialized and danced all night. At some point the stereo was shut of and then people started playing instruments instead. A guy on the drumset in the livingroom, two guitars and another kind of drum, while I was breaking a bit :) Around 3:30 we were 10 people left, drinking argentinian herb tea in the kitchen, talking and listening to music.
The housewarming was in a very quiet and beautiful neighbourhood, which was great - but it also meant that I had to walk with two other guys for at least half an hour uphill to find a cab (we tried calling on several numbers, but no one answered). It was a nice walk though and we had a good conversation.
Saturday I met up with Stefanie (one of the girls I met at the bar my first weekend) and her friend. We went to the basilica - a huge Roman Catholic church in the center of Quito. We climbed all the towers in the church and had some great views. Afterwards Stefanie´s friend went home, but we continued and went a bit north to an outdoor event hosted by the french alliance in Quito. The event was called "antes de que se acabe el mundo" which means "before the world ends". It had a market, different food stands and a big scene with bands playing from 5-10pm. We went for some food and returned to enjoy a great concert!
Sunday I decided to go to the big statue "Virgen de Quito" which is located on the top of the hill El Panecillo. Some different tourists/travelers have told me that walking to the statue is very dangerous, even during daytime. I have been told about many scams and dangers in Quito and I thought that they were exaggerating. I took the trollebus to the historical center of Quito and started walking up. When I crossed the last big street and came to all the small streets and stairs, I met some local people who told me that it was not safe to walk up. The minimum that could happen was that I would get robbed. They adviced me to go back down and take a cab - and so I did. My cab driver was so nice! Sergio Acosta, a man trying to find the city in Ecuador where he want to live for the rest of his days. Quito was just temporary to earn some money. When we reached the top he asked me to stay in the cab for a second. He went to the trunk, got a pack of chewinggum and gave me two pieces, one for now and one for later. What a nice guy :) Talk to your cab drivers, it makes the trip a lot nicer!
The statue was even more beautiful when I got closer to it and the view over the city was amazing! I layed in the grass, enjoyed the fresh air and the view over the south of Quito. I took a bus back down which was a lot cheaper!
Bianca and Louisa is in Quito to become certified english teachers. They are studying with 8 other americans. This sunday they had invited them over to celebrate thanksgiving and I was invited to join as well :) After visiting the statue, I returned just before the guests arrived. Everybody brought a homecooked dish and we spend most of the afternoon and evening talking and drinking beer. If this is how every thanksgiving is, I should start celebrating it :)
In the evening I went to "la ronda" which is a long street with a lot of restaurants and entertainment in the weekends. I found a cafe called "buen gusto de Joel" and I decided that I had to go in and try their speciality which was a "grande" empanada. I was expecting a empanada a bit bigger than normal, that´s not what I got. I got a empanada that was huge! Impossible to finish it all. Afterwards I walked around and saw some different entertainers on the street. I returned tired to the house around 10pm. Here I was met by Bianca, Louisa (two of the american girls that lives in the appartment) and their ecuadorian friend. They were going to a housewarming and invited me.
The housewarming was great! Both a lot of gringos and a lot of ecuadorians and argentinians. I got some contacts in case I would return to Ecuador. One of them was offering me to come work at his organic farm and stay for free for some time, this I have to do if I return! I socialized and danced all night. At some point the stereo was shut of and then people started playing instruments instead. A guy on the drumset in the livingroom, two guitars and another kind of drum, while I was breaking a bit :) Around 3:30 we were 10 people left, drinking argentinian herb tea in the kitchen, talking and listening to music.
The housewarming was in a very quiet and beautiful neighbourhood, which was great - but it also meant that I had to walk with two other guys for at least half an hour uphill to find a cab (we tried calling on several numbers, but no one answered). It was a nice walk though and we had a good conversation.
Saturday I met up with Stefanie (one of the girls I met at the bar my first weekend) and her friend. We went to the basilica - a huge Roman Catholic church in the center of Quito. We climbed all the towers in the church and had some great views. Afterwards Stefanie´s friend went home, but we continued and went a bit north to an outdoor event hosted by the french alliance in Quito. The event was called "antes de que se acabe el mundo" which means "before the world ends". It had a market, different food stands and a big scene with bands playing from 5-10pm. We went for some food and returned to enjoy a great concert!
Sunday I decided to go to the big statue "Virgen de Quito" which is located on the top of the hill El Panecillo. Some different tourists/travelers have told me that walking to the statue is very dangerous, even during daytime. I have been told about many scams and dangers in Quito and I thought that they were exaggerating. I took the trollebus to the historical center of Quito and started walking up. When I crossed the last big street and came to all the small streets and stairs, I met some local people who told me that it was not safe to walk up. The minimum that could happen was that I would get robbed. They adviced me to go back down and take a cab - and so I did. My cab driver was so nice! Sergio Acosta, a man trying to find the city in Ecuador where he want to live for the rest of his days. Quito was just temporary to earn some money. When we reached the top he asked me to stay in the cab for a second. He went to the trunk, got a pack of chewinggum and gave me two pieces, one for now and one for later. What a nice guy :) Talk to your cab drivers, it makes the trip a lot nicer!
The statue was even more beautiful when I got closer to it and the view over the city was amazing! I layed in the grass, enjoyed the fresh air and the view over the south of Quito. I took a bus back down which was a lot cheaper!
Bianca and Louisa is in Quito to become certified english teachers. They are studying with 8 other americans. This sunday they had invited them over to celebrate thanksgiving and I was invited to join as well :) After visiting the statue, I returned just before the guests arrived. Everybody brought a homecooked dish and we spend most of the afternoon and evening talking and drinking beer. If this is how every thanksgiving is, I should start celebrating it :)
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