Hello from Quito

Wow! What a beginning. So much to recount. The flight was long and by the time we got to the hotel in Ecuador it was already midnight. And the wake up call was at 5:30 am! It reminded me of our overnighters traveling to Europe. By 8am we were back at the airport and off to Quito. I learned that we saved $300 per student by taking the indirect route to Quito instead of flying directly there from Miami. I had a blast on the flight as I sat next to a woman from Columbia who spoke little English. We chatted for the full hour using my broken Spanish and her sparce English. That is the best way to learn the language...and a bit about Columbia. I resisted the urge to ask her about crime in Columbia but I learned that she doesn´t like living in Ecuador because she thinks the people are not as smart or as friendly. Interesting to get an outsider´s perspective.

After landing in Quito we were whisked off to Mitad del Mundo...the line of the equator. Naturally photos abounded as we took turns standing on both sides of the equator. Then it was back on the bus and off to Otavalo. This is a quite a tourist desination now and has the largest market in Ecuador. That would be artesan market, mostly for indigenous people to sell their products. Fortunately for Jeff, I was invited to join the group advisors for lunch and could only spend one hour at the market. I was so overwhelmed I didn´t buy a thing. The most beautiful jewelry, blankets, handbags, shawls, etc. They are so crafty. While I didn´t buy anything, I did take photos. They fascinate me, all dressed in their indigenous garb. I tried to follow Anne´s lead and take a lot of photos of the children. Fortunately my camera has a wonderful zoom so that I could take photos without really being obnoxious about it.

Later in the afternoon we took a bus ride out of town to a neighborhood more typical of where the indigenous live. We visited one man who demonstrated how they cord the llama wool and weave the blankets. Anne, Ï´m sure this is where you purchased the wall hanging in our living room. Such quality! I bought another from him to hand in my office unless I can find a better place to hang it at home. After that we went to another home and a man demonstrated how they make musical instruments from something that looks like bamboo. Apparently he is quite famous and there was a poster on the wall advertising his band´s trip to Japan. It was a bit of a contrast to see their picture with the Japaneese writing. After he played a while his family joined him and the girls danced and sang. I couldn´t resist taking a short movie and then donating some money to purchase a CD. Don´t have a clue what is on it but it was a donation for such cute little girls. Think they will put it in the college fund? I¨m quite curious to learn more about the education system. It is quite apparent that there is a bit of a class system here.

Our hotel in Otavalo was fabulous with all the charm of old world Ecuador. It was decorated with indigenous crafts and we had the breads for breakfast that I so well remember from my last visit to Ecuador. Naturally I was in breakfast heaven.

I feel a bit guilty to be traveling in the footsteps of Anne but be having such a different experience. OUr hotels are lovely and the food is delicious!! I had spinach, cheese, and mushroom crepes for lunch with strawberry crepe for dessert. And last nigth I had lasagna. Sorry Anne.... The lasagna was organic with homemade sauce. The noodle was the most intersting part. It was in layers as expected but each noodle was about 4 inches by 4 inches. So there were only 3 noodles in all but since it was freshly made and cooked in the same kiln as the pizza´s it was awesome....

We keep reminding the students that we are not on vacation...that this is an academic experience. I´ll get to that part in a subsequent post.... Chow...