Jonathan:
Somewhere in between the studying, volunteering and an amazing jaunt to the Galapagos, we did end up with a little bit of time to explore Quito, and get to know this town a little better.
One of the highlights was a stunningly beautiful day hike up to the top of Mount Pichincha--a 15,600ft peak that towers over downtown Quito. Accompanied by our Dutch friend Angelique, we set out on the trail from the top of a sightseeing gondola that connects the town center with a breathtaking mirador overlooking the sprawling city. We spent the day basking in the high-altitude sun, and trying to get our lungs to remember how to work at that elevation. Aside from a few exotic plants and some crazy volcanic rock formations, the trek felt just like home.
No time in Quito would be complete without a trip to the "Mitad del Mundo" (middle of the world) complex where the line of the equator streaks through the visitors center as a highlighted row of yellow bricks. There aren't too many metropolitan areas in the world where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere, so we were glad to have checked that off our list. Evidently the complex was built before modern GPS was available, and the line is about 200 meters south of where it should be. Fortunately there's another museum with the "real" line next door, so we made a point to visit both. The smaller museum had several experiments set up to exhibit the affects of the strange gravitational pull at the equator—a tub of water with a drain to demonstrate how the water spins clockwise on the southern side of the line, and counterclockwise just a few steps away; a place to practice balancing an egg, which I guess is supposed to be easy there (Megan did it but I didn't have the patience); and a few other tidbits of gravity trivia. A quick trip to Snopes.com and we found out that most of the experiments were fixed, but it made for a fun afternoon anyway.
Another highlight of our time here has been basking in the warmth and good company of our host family, la familia Enriquez Pazmiño, whom we have grown increasingly fond of throughout our extended time in this town. Their thoughtfulness and generosity have provided us with the sense of home that felt like it was sorely missing from so much of our transient time in Central America. Our evenings and meals with our family have been spent sharing stories, our thoughts about the world, and our hearts. The connection that we've made with these wonderful people is one that will surely last for years to come. We feel extremely fortunate and grateful to have gotten to know them, and we will look forward to staying in touch in the future.
After spending more time in Quito than anywhere else on our trip, I think we're both feeling ready to move on. We'll be departing tonight for Cuenca, a smaller town in southern Ecuador, where we are looking forward to some hiking in the nearby Parque National de Las Cajas.
No comments:
Post a Comment