Msafiri Kyrea - The Blog: Quito - Chuchaki Achachai

The weekends didnt put an end to the "Chuchaki", oh no. My "local" was "El Aguijon" (the Scorpion), a discotheque/bar in the bario "El Mariscal" or otherwise known as "Gringolandia" (because most of the hostels, hotels, bars and upmarket restaurants are here and hence Gringos a-plenty!). El Aguijon has a cool vibe to it. Resident DJs with funky dreadlocks spinning a mix of reggae, ska, funk, salsa, rock, cumbia and the occasional Snoop Dogg track drops in out of nowhere. And it gets crazy when the ska is on coz people start mashin' it up, bouncing around the club like billiard balls. There is a cool and robust table footy set complete without the glass lid. That means that if you strike the ball, which by the way is a marble, too hard it flies off the table and pobably knocks an eye out. The little football players look like deformed zombies because the plastic was fused to the twisting pole in a crude manner. One cool feature is the big screen above the podium showing cool music videos . The podium itself has tables and chairs from which you can watch your friends do the salsa or just dance like morons.

This turkey was quite excited to see us.....kept following us....a disturbing moment

A serene moment at a nearby lodge that we visited in San Pablo...

Otavalo is one of Ecuadors largest market towns, just north of Quito, so it was a must see. One Saturday I went to Otavalo with a couple of friends for the day. One of them is from a small town a couple of kilometres before Otavalo, called San Pablo so we popped by her parents place for some good old S. American hospitality. They have an enormous house with a centred courtyard (Arab style) and it is also located just next to the church. It was hilarious to find out that in the kitchen it is possible to hear the sermon so you don't need to attend mass and you certainly got a good excuse for "Padre" if he notes that he hasn't seen you in church for a while!

In San Pablo

The San Pablo house next to church!

Otavalo was very busy on Saturday market day. Most of us arrived without plans to buy anything in particular but either the seller or a captivating piece of art or garment convinces one what to buy. I ended up buying a couple of embroidered cotton trousers and a cool leather wallet (it was the real deal unlike the fake so-called leather wallets you get in most places, with fake tags boasting how genuine they are).

Very busy market day in Otavalo

The afternoon excursions continued and sometimes I would choose where to go and sometimes the teacher would select a personal favourite, sometimes bizarre, sometimes stunning. We visited the Santa Catalina Convent and I'd have sworn I saw Mother Superior at the entrance with the chunkiest nun outfit I've ever seen and she looked meaner than the sister in 'Blue s Brothers' for real! Photography was not allowed in the inner sanctum and even though we didnt have access to the main residential areas we had a glimpse of a corridor so immaculate and clean (like the conception...haha). There were some interesting religious relics and artwork including some spooky remains of saints. I only managed to get a snap of the grand chapel.

The "Museo de Banco Central de Ecuador" was a treat. It has a large collection of pre-Columbian artefacts from prehistoric periods upto the Inca Empire. I went there with my teacher and also with another teacher and her student. The deep and varied culture that produced these items of art stirred so much debate between the 2 teachers that our 2 groups proceeded a couple of exhibits between each other to prevent intellectual tension (Marlien and I just stared at each other with puzzled looks as our teachers argued about the delicate matters of the social organisation of the Guaya river valley tribes). You gotta love Latin passion!

Colourful ropes to leash the cute creatures up for sale in Sakisili market

The "Virgen del Panecillo" is unavoidable from most parts of Quito. The aluminium monolith of the Virgin Mary subduing a demon stands on the Panecillo hill that separates the North and South of Quito. The climb up by taxi is interesting as the road sweeps around the hill in a spiral, so you see Quito from all angles. By the way, walking up is not recommended as one of the roughest parts of Quito are at the foot of the hill. In fact I heard a friend mention that some tourists did it but not without residents warning (or is it taunting from would be muggers?) them that it is too dangerous. We survived the climb in the battered old gasoline stinkin' taxi. Not only was the taxi old school, so was the driver. I asked him to take a photo shot of my teacher and I with the statue in the background but he couldnt even hold the camera properly let alone push the shutter at the same time. So we got another taxi driver to do it, with the old man grunting away about bloody technology of the 21st century (I didn't bother telling him that cameras are 19th century technologies)!

Virgen del Panecillo

In the spirit of quirkiness Juan, my teacher, suggested visiting the San Diego cemetery near the Panecillo. It is located right next to a Franciscan monastery and the courtyard facing both cemetery and monastery sold all sorts of paraphanelia relating to Death. So that set the scene for walking into the walled and security guarded (the tombstones in there are worth a lot!) complex. I had instant deja vu as I had been to 2 other cities for the dead in Buenos Aires. Even though this one was tinier, it was truly grand and spooky at the same time. I thought that the manner of burial in drawers was a southern European thing but I learnt that even the Andean folk caught on to this style. On All Saints Day, "El Dia de los Muertos", people (whole families!) converge into cemeteries to clean, redecorate and commune with the tombs of the dead. Andean culture goes as far as setting up a picnic to dine with the dearly departed loved one. To the delight of the families, the dead tend to eat slow and the plate is empty the following day (with the assistance of a couple of crows and rodents). See link below for more (on the Panecillo and cemetery, not the dead eating food!):

http://www.flickr.com/gp/15198453@N00/UnebWG

Cimeterio de San Diego....those lovely windows are tombs

Juan is superkeen on culture, in fact I heard he is writing a book on a social matter. The day after the Panecillo and San Diego visits we did a full day excursion class in Sakisili, another market town 2 hours by bus South of Quito. It is overlooked by the majestic Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It was cloudy all day so I hardly saw the peak. Even though the Otavalo market is much larger, Sakisili offered a larger variety of goods from Llamas and chickens to arts and crafts to hardware and lingerie. It was far more interesting. See link below for the Ecuador markets photo gallery.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/15198453@N00/XLX7d3

Cotopaxi volcano....as I would've seen it on a clear day!

My experience of the animal market was mixed. Much as I marvelled at the trading skills of the villagers and numbers of plump and healthy pigs, cattle, sheep, llamas and alpacas, I was shocked at the way alpacas and sheep were bundled in the back of the same van and upto 6 piglets were tied to the same peg, all scattering about until they get tangled up and can't move until the owner takes notice and untangles them. I ain't one to complain about animal cruelty. I was proud to bargain down the price of an Alpaca jumper by half!

It took 3 guys to get the poor alpaca in...

To the surprise of my teacher I insisted on eating at the market open air stalls so we selected the stall with the most piping hot food and the most customers where we ordered chicken soup (complete with chicken leg and breast) and beer. I don't think I spent more than $2 on those two items! It was really cool chatting with local folk and they marvelled at how far Ive travelled (with relation to where I was born.....Kenya, an African country that existed just in their imagination from TV docs and tales from European tourists) and whatever I had to say. Now a gloating moment. They were impressed that I even dared to eat there (courtesy of my iron clad African tummy) and get my Spanish on (well, I had my teacher there in case I commit a linguistic blunder!). Most so-called Gringos don't do it unless they are anthropologists or missionaries (and it was not me who said this!). Oh, and if you look hard enough you can buy live snails. Mmmmm.