Misty Mountains and Malls

Tom cartwheeled down the stairs this morning, belting out "I Feel Pretty" in his rich baritone, and when he came to a stop at our breakfast table, he pulled out the iron bar supporting its parasol and bent it into the shape of a heart for us. Well, perhaps not quite that big an improvement, but he is definitely back. Sara was still droopy this morning, and stayed in and rested rather than join the rest of us on our Quest for Pichincha.

We took the Trole out to its maximum northern extension, and then got a taxi cab to take us to the Teleférico, the cable car that runs to the top of Pichincha. We payed $7 a head instead of $4, which allowed us to jump right to the front of the line and step aboard - and this was a line of easily a hundred people. All of whom would rather spend over an hour in line than spend $3 more. The relative importance of $3 was extremely well illustrated for us at that moment. The gondola ride itself is a spectacular experience; this was really the first thing we have doen where there have been considerable numbers of Gringos around us, apart from staying at the hotel. the views from the top are breathtaking, even if it wasnt a perfectly clear day and we couldnt see the snowcaps to the north and south. (I know they´re there, Ive seen them all before.) Took some pictures, had lunch at a VERY reasonable and well-run Ecuadorian restaurant, hiked (Brendan, Tom and I did, anyway) a ways up the very cold and damp - hailing, actually - mountaintop, before descending in a very swing-prone gondola, probably due the wind. There is no way to get out of the complex without walking through their gigantic video game parlor, where Quinn, predictably, asked to play a few. The students obliged, and actually played some themselves. Chloe didn´t actually play anyting, but rather fell in love with a new kind of candybar. We´ll have to find it at the supermarket before we go so she can bring some home.

Back to the hotel around 2:45 - though Chloe asked permission to stay behind in the Plaza Grande and read her book, which was granted. The rest of us rested until 4:00, when we all met up to head into the tourist section, which circumstances of the Day That Shall Not Be Named had prevented us from really exploring. But when we got there, the entire district was shuttered - 4:45 on a Saturday. It was puzzling to all of us. Tourists don´t care if it´s Saturday or Tuesday - they´re on vacation. But the Ecuadorian shopkeepers do, apparently, because all that was missing on Amazonas, the big strip, were tumbleweeds. We hit the ATM and then decided to head north to a mall where a Latin American movie was going to be showing - and where Quinn would also be able to see "Las tortugas ninja". We split up for mall exploration and meals (remember the Ecuadorian woman who told Sara on the plane ride down here that Ecuadorian malls were better than American ones? I think I would have to agree...), then met at 6:30 to discuss strategy. "Las tortugas ninja" starts at 7:25, and their movie is at 8:25, so I told them Quinn and I would be upstairs at the Internet cafe (where we are now) until our showtime, and that we would meet them at the door to the theater when their movie lets out at 10:00. It will be a late night, but thats appropriate for our last night in Quito.

The mall has been a good experience for them, I think - we are again the ONLY gringos for a kilometer in any direction. And the place is just as snappy and bright and economically active as anywhere in the US. That´s Latin America for you - just read Márquez. The fifteenth century is three blocks away from the 21st.

Thank goodness for Cyberchase.com. $1.00 an hour for the use of the computer, and Quinn doesn´t mind waiting for me to write the blog at all.

UPDATE: Quinn and I got out of the movie to find our 4 intrepid students yawning on the bench in front of the movie theater - their movie had been sold out. Qué pena, because that would have been a great experience, but they seemed pleased anyway with the evening. (By the way: Las tortugas ninja get a big thumbs up from both of us.) Took taxis home, and Tom, who shared a ride with me and Quinn and listened in on my conversation with the drive about Correa, the vote, and Ecuador´s political history, said after we got out: "EVERYBODY here is so SMART!" And it is true, we have had a very, very well-informed sample of taxi drivers in Quito. Smart, savvy bunch of people.

Good night!