So far Quito is definitely the nicest big city I have found myself in during the last month. It´s not too dirty (like Belize City), not too sketchy (Guatemala City) and surprisingly enjoyable to walk around. We are staying in ¨New Town¨ Quito where most of the hostels, internet cafes and restaurants are located. It feels and looks like most cities except for the fact that it is nestled in a high Andean valley 2,850 meters above sea level. I´m happy we are staying in New Town as everything is at our fingertips however after visiting the Old Town today to view the colonial architecture I almost wish we were staying there. But the lack of vegetarian options in the Old Town restaurantes reassures us that we chose correctly. Hey, I ate fake meat last night at an organic veggie restaurant two blocks from our hostel. A travelling vegetarian´s dream come true!
Old Town is block after block of marvelous colonial buildings, plazas, slow-moving locals and narrow, congested cobble stone streets. We expected a peaceful stroll through Old Town but found ourselves in a sea of Quito residents out in packs at the voting polls. We were unaware that we arrived right in the midst of the local elections. Trish and I kept looking at each other saying, ¨Wow, lots of folks out today. ¿Que paso?¨ Shortly after asking each other this we passed the Palacio del Gobierno (Presidential Palace) and saw a stream of people lining the sides of the road. I thought they just enjoyed standing on the side of the street but then the gates opened and sure enough, the President´s car emerged! He rolled down his window and waved to his adoring fans. (No exaggeration there, I saw girls turn pink and squeal.) I have to admit...he´s one good looking President. Wiki him: Rafael Correa. Not too bad, eh?
In addition to seeing the President I had my first Spanish lesson today. Well, it wasn´t so much a lesson as it was a four hour Spanish conversation with my profesora, Kathy. I quickly learned that we are the same age and she spoke slowly enough for me to understand 90% of what she said so we talked politics, movies, music, gay rights, domestic violence and more. She mostly did the talking while I added a ¨muy bien¨or ¨por supesto¨ when necessary. My homework for the evening is to create a few sentences with the verbs we went over. Tomorrow she expects me to contribute a little more to the conversation. I guess she feels that if I can understand her I should be able to respond in español. Let´s hope I can deliver.
