Moving2Ecuador

How is it that in a new city even the most mundane tasks transform into adventures? I had to get some bloodwork done, and Erika convinced me that I need not go to a doctor, that with a form she has from her grandmother's medical file, I could simply go to a laboratory and order and interpret my own lab reports. So that is what I did. Erika drove me to the lab which was located near the Plaza de Toros. The lab was tiny with a small foyer and an attached medical suite. There was no wait, in fact, the laboratory assistant took me before others waiting ahead of me, perhaps because I was a paying customer. All was routine, except that when I tried to pay with a credit card, I was told that although there was a sign proudly informing me that Amex was accepted, because I had an 'international' card (are there any other Amex cards?) I would have to pay cash. This is an issue because we are very tight for 'effectivo' since Eric's robbery experience. He has spoken to his ...

I have wanted to return to the Centro Historico for some time, to walk the cobbled streets, to visit the churches again, to enter the museums and buildings I have not had time to see, to get to know this most charming part of the city. Because it is so well preserved in the traditional colonial style, Quito was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978. Quito was a capital long before the Spaniards came, but the Incan monuments were razed to the ground by general Ruminahui, rather than allow the city to fall into the hands of the Spanish conquistadors. The Spaniards built their new capital on top of the ruins, so walking through the historical centre brings one back to the time of the Spanish empire. However, it was the local indigenous population that built the churches and painted the interiors and sculpted the magnificent altars, and the result was very much a synthesis of cultures, of the old and new world, of European and indigenous or mestizo. The street of the seven crosse...

Maya and I had the day to ourselves without an agenda. Her school took the day off to celebrate Yom Kippur, but for the rest of Quito, it was a regular school and work day, so it felt like we were skipping classes. No alarm to wake up to, no commitments, ( I took three days off from Spanish class because I felt overwhelmed with information, but now it feels as if I am missing too much and will forget what I learned!), and a gorgeous sunny day to explore our neighbourhood. I had my morning coffee at 'Boncaffe' next door and read 'El Comercio', wanting to know more about the demonstrations that are shutting down the roads to and from Quito. Indigenous people are protesting about water rights and other government programs. The US Embassy website offers warnings about the potential danger of these events, and tells us to stay away. According to the paper, discussions were being held and nothing untoward has happened yet. Maya and I visited the local grocery store and bough...

The alarm 'boinged' at 5 AM this morning. Eric and Tom went to the bamboo forest to record the plain-tailed wrens. Maya and I stayed under our layers of blankets for a few more hours. It was too cold during the night to venture to the bathrooms (down the hall, down the stairs, along the next building), but once the sun rose, everything warmed up beautifully. Breakfast was pineapple and crepes (choice of nutella, banana and nutella, pineapple, jam or sugar, made to order) and French toast. Eric had all his equipment sprawled out on every surface, and once back from the bird expedition, focused his energies on trying to find a way to overcome some interference he was getting in his bat recordings, so Pamela, Amber, Maya and I decided to take a walk in the forest and try out our macro lenses. I now must purchase a good macro lens, or at least that is what I learned during our walk. Each of us had a different camera, and we took our time photographing whatever appealed to us. I fi...

We are in the cloud forest at Yanayacu again. Eric built a bat detector, and has brought a student from Catolica with him. Her name is Pamela, but she is called 'Guabita'. It comes from Guagua (which is Quichua for baby and the g is pronounced as a w), and because her little cousins could not pronounce the 'wawa' they called her 'Wabita' and thus her nickname evolved. She is doing her thesis on bats. Tom drove us in the 'camionetta' and I invited Amber, a student at Guayasamin Language school, who is trying to arrange a job guiding in an ecolodge. I thought she could make some contacts at Yanayacu, and may enjoy participating in the research, but the station turned out to be empty. All the volunteers and students and researchers were away for the weekend in Guayaquil. Harold is in the United States finishing up some work. Drew, his second in command is gone, and Jose, the next on the totem pole left for guiding work this evening ( although he did take us...