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 5th 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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment