Up in the Andes

It was a multi-vehicle trip. Taxi to the ferry to the bus to the plane. All went without mishap, remarkably, and we arrived at our lovely hotel/apartment in plenty of time to have delicious empanadas for lunch and then to the most beautiful and important church in Ecuador, the Church of the Companions of Jesus, a 17th century Jesuit structure in the extreme Baroque style in the Old Town. Every inch covered in gold leaf. Quite excessive.

Then we rested and went to dinner. Phil was all about eating the guinea pig, so we found a restaurant that offered it. It was roasted but not served whole, thank god, and was actually tasty -- flavored, as all the best things are, with guilt. The other dishes were also excellent, even without the guilt.

In the morning we slept late. I suffered a major altitude headache, and also had gone half-deaf four days earlier from an excess of wax (sorry, delicate reader!). So the hotel sent a doctor ON A HOUSE CALL OMG and he fixed me. I was quite unable to pay him, see a little later in the blog. 

Then we set out for Casa Museo Maria Augusta Urrutia. This was a house built in the 16th century, but purchased in the 19th century by the wealthiest woman in Ecuador. She was so rich, in fact, that her husband had to be imported from Colombia, because I think in Ecuador at that time one had to marry in one's class, which was determined by wealth. She was a benefactor to the poor, especially children, of the town and owned about half of it. Our guide was giving his first tour in English, and though there was quite a bit of it we didn't entirely follow, it was enjoyable. He said something odd as we entered Maria’s bedroom; it turned out that the ghost of Maria hangs out there, and once slapped a visitor who tried to steal her ivory mirror. Now the guides all announce their entrance and assure her they mean no harm.

We had a lovely lunch afterward and then visited the Franciscan monastery, where we saw several beautiful cloisters and the painting of the patroness of the city, the Virgin of Quito, from 1734, on which the statue that towers over the city was modeled. And finally we stopped off in the Metropolitan Cathedral, where we missed the Last Supper with guinea pigs painting because it was on the ceiling. But we will see it later.

Another rest, another truly delicious dinner, and we finally found an ATM that would accept our cards. For those of you planning to visit Ecuador: it is a cash-forward economy, but they make it nearly impossible actually to get cash. Most ATMs are affiliated with small banks that will not accept foreign cards, though they claim they will.

Big trips for the next 2 days!