Paseo de la semana. “Walk o’ the week, or, the 400 steps.” This morning, the 13^th of March, I headed off to Parque Itchimbia, home to a beautiful glass cultural center / exhibition space way up in the clouds. The route I took included a staircase of more than 400 steps built into the mountain – about 25 stories. In a perverse way it was fun going; I’m finally acclimated to the thin air and it’s time to head back down to sea level…

The center itself is a beautiful, modern, glass-walled structure that is currently housing a good exhibit of black & white photos from the 1970’s: Quito ‘back when,’ some shots of impoverished indigenous families in the outlands, and a few shots of cities like Cuenca and the suburbs of Guayaquil. There were also some shots of the right-wing parades that were happening in the late 70’s here in ECU. Viva la Revolucion!, but it didn’t really take hold here as it did elsewhere in Latin America.

Lonely Planet review for Parque Itchimbia

High on a hill east of the old town, the newly resurrected green space of Parque Itchimbia boasts magnificent views of the city. It's the perfect spot to spread out a picnic lunch, soak up the sun and take in the unobstructed 360-degree views. The park's centerpiece is the Centro Cultural Itchimbia.
Buses signed 'Pintado' go here from the Centro Histórico, or you can walk up (east) Elizalde, from where signed stairways lead to the park.

       http://www.centrocultural-quito.com/itchimbia.php?c=1467

El trabajo real. The mission. Finally, the rubber hits the road: we all began practice teaching this week, and it was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Yes, we are teaching adults – the same population I’ll be teaching in Guayaquil – but we’re teaching basic beginners, and it’s a challenge. I had the good fortune of ‘going first,’ and so I’m done with lesson planning and etcetera ‘til next time, and that’ll be in GUY. A group of 3 taught on Monday and then I taught the next two days. The Ecuadorian educational system plods along with a horrible infrastructure: SECAP Quito North looks very much like a prison camp. I ain’t lyin’!

Oink! Sunday with the famila: 5½ personas in a VW Bug…the old version…and a trip south to the town of Sangolqui, famous for a roast pig plate that’ll stop your heart. It would give Melvin’s BBQ a run for the money. It was a cross-cultural experience, and worth the effort as it turns out. Afterwards, we got to wander thru an upscale mall.

Saldos. “Small change,” The literal meaning is payment, but here it’s the word that’s used to describe the credits you buy to load up your pay-to-use cell phone. The entire cell phone business here in ECU is confusing, and half a rip-off, but it gets better as one figures it out a bit. Anyway, my minutes were about to expire, but I was able to save them by adding $6.00 to my account. I now realize that if I add $6.00 every month I’ll be OK.

With appologies to Delbert McClinton...

 

"Once you had me dancin' at the end of your chain
Begging for some small change love
I was jumpin' through hoops, doing loop-de-loops
But, girl, I've finally had enough

So when you see me out rocking in my little red hat
Going ape all over town
You made a man into a monkey
That monkey's gonna monkey around. "

Carnival. “No translation needed!” Ecuador doesn’t have nearly the Carnival tradition that Brazil or Trinidad do, but there are a few towns that do it up a bit. Many of the volunteers are taking bus rides and spending the weekend away, but I’ve been to Carnival before. Especially since I will not be posted in Quito for the year, I’ll be spending my long weekend riding the Teleferico cable car and maybe hiking up a volcano.

Saturday the 5^th of March. I spent several hours this morning riding the Teleferico, the highest cable car in the world, so they say. The weather didn’t cooperate: clouds everywhere and not a single volcano in sight. Rats! There is, however, a nice old chapel to visit.

Otherwise, I had a good, totally non-gringo day, and it’s about time. I blew off a crook of a taxi driver and then negotiated the ½ price local rate on the Teleferico, in Spanish, using my WorldTeach ID. When I got back down I walked 2 hours through a myriad of neighborhoods toward Plaza Grande, and the older part of town. Things were hectic, but not crazy, as many Quitanos travel away during Carnival. I heard nary a word of English all day, and that was nice, too, as it’s time for me to shift gears. Lunch was the almerzo at The Colonial Restaurant on Calle Guayaquil. $1.75 with a nice soup and a glass of exotic fruit juice; gotta love it!

In the evening the family & I drove to La Ronda, a Bohemian area, and wandered thru a crowd of revelers. Whatever authentic atmosphere the street might once have possessed is gone, replaced by some nice, small restaurants, clubs and bars. The big entertainment here during Carnival is spraying aerosol foam / snow on the crowd as it passes by.

From Wiki: Calle de la Ronda. This street in the Old Town was restored by Municipality and FONSAL in 2007. It was transformed with the help and cooperation of the local residents. It's a romantic cobbled street just off the Plaza Santo Domingo. There are shops, patios, art galleries and modest cafe restaurants now, all run by residents. Cultural events are common at the weekends.

Papallacta. “A hot bath, the hard way! On 26 February 2011 the group took a 2 hour bus ride up, up, up [to 3300 meters / 14,00 feet] into the Oriente [East], towards the border with Colombia and the beginning of Amazonian Ecuador. Our destination: Papallacta, home to a volcanic hot-springs park. It was a good day all around; the weather was bright & sunny & warm although our WT field director sez that she has been up there with other groups while it was sleeting. After soaking we went to a hole-in-the-wall, Paul’s, where we enjoyed a great lunch of farm-raised trout, fried potatoes, rice, onion and  [my first] bottle of Ecuadorian Pilsner brand beer. There's trout farming in the region I can report that my own trout did not die in vain. It was delicious.

El Museo Guayasamin. The Guayasamin Museum [but you knew that; see: you’re learning Spanish already!] Guayasamin is probably the most famous Ecuadorian artist – certainly the most famous of the 20^th Century - yet I don’t recall ever hearing his name. My bad. The museum is located on a hilltop adjacent to his last home, and it features a great display of his art, which is often monumental in size and which is always ‘political’ in its inspiration. Many of the shapes and images are reminiscent of Picasso and Miro, Guayasimin’s contemporaries, but some of his constructs are his alone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswaldo_Guayasam%C3%ADn

 Caza del tesoro. “Treasure hunt.” On Tuesday morning, 22 February 2011, we were divided into groups and sent on a 3 hour treasure hunt up and down the length of the city. It was my first time on a bus here, and it wasn’t bad at all. Of course, it wasn’t rush hour. We got to see the Plaza del Toros [they fight here only in Deciembre], a sports palace [the favorite football team here is Lega Quito…go figure], an artisan’s market in the Old City, Parque Carolina, and a few other places along the way. It was clear & sunny & a great morning to be away from the classroom.