The Old Man

You should click to enlarge this photograph as it's kind of funny. : ) Today is a big day here in Quito as people traditionally "burn the old man" to commemorate the end of the year. "Burn away the old" you might say. Festivities began in earnest on Friday afternoon as many work places celebrated together and burned men all over the city. Tonight there will be many smoke clouds in the sky, firecrackers going off (if you pay a little more your old man can come loaded with fireworks - big and small!) and all around mass celebration alllllllllllllll niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight loooooooooooooooong. Have a wonderful New Years Eve celebration and be safe!

This is the last beach vacation photo that I will show. I was going to crop out the front lawn to make it prettier, but then it doesn't show the truth. Much of the costal area where we traveled is extremely poor and I believe this photo sort of captures well the scene.

Down by the boardwalk...

Here is a shot of where we actually spent our vacation. Our building is the one you see there on the right so you can see that it is a literal hop, skip and a jump to the ocean. The crashing of the waves all day long is spectacular!

Need a snack?

Also along the way to the beach there are many little "tiendas", or mini marts of sorts...though they're no 7-Eleven you can find water to drink and something crunchy to eat. ;)

Need a ride?

This is a verrrrrrrrrry common site on the way to the beach.

Need a ride? Sure! There's always room for one more!

Presenting...

...the Pacific Ocean, this portion in the beach town of Tonsupa. Allow me to give you a small beach area tour over the next few days. :)

Merry Christmas from Quito!

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.” ~ John 1:14 (TNIV)

Beach Refreshments

Edited to say: "See you the 26th!"

Off to the beach!

The time has come for us to head to the beach, where we will celebrate Christmas. That being said, I hope to remember to post tomorrow before we go! I have posted a beach town picture today to give you a glimpse of the town we are headed to. This is a local taxi, and based on what is costs for an average taxi ride here in Quito ($1), I'm guessing you can go places for $.10, $.25 or so. Coastal life is very different than here in the city...I shall be thinking of you all while I'm there and will do my best to capture daily life.

Markets galore...

Well, as Alice said in yesterdays comment, markets are a bonanza for DP bloggers, and I agree. It is fun to see all the markets from where people live around the world. This one again is in Otavalo and is a literal color feast for the eyes. The man with the cart is selling fresh squeezed juice, a common availability.

Pots, anyone?

Another street vendor selling their wares - this one seems to have everything needed to set up a kitchen. This one was not taken in Quito, rather, in a little artisan town called Otavalo.

The expanse of Quito

There are many places to rest ones head here in Quito...hostals (hostels) are found all around the city and vary in price, quality of accommodations, food, etc. This one is located near the U.S. Embassy and is probably a pretty nice one.

Today at the mall there were several different sweet carts around - this one had chocolates for sale.

A corny photo...

This is one of my favorite pictures, though taken on the fly in the car. As you can tell, this woman has a very large amount of corn on her back...this is not a common site here, though depending on where you are in the city you might see it more than in other places.

The night sky

Fireworks are quite common here in the evening, though if they do occur you have to run to your window fast as they only last about a minute. It gets dark at 6:30 every night (we are at the equator - thus the country of Ecuador) so there are long evenings available for sky fiestas. A couple nights ago we were dead asleep, only to be awakened at midnight by fireworks that seemed to go on and on. Thinking of my DP friends, I bolted out of bed to catch a shot. ;)

Los Tres Grandes de España

This weekend we went to an art exhibit entitled "Tres Grandes de España" featuring, Goya, Picasso y Miró. It was our first time in the Cultural Center of the Catholic University so it was interesting to be there. There were a LOT of pencil drawings done by Picasso, but very few paintings and works that the common world is familiar with. Miró was our favorite as there were many paintings/colored lithographs...plus a lot of his work is just plain silly. :) We, the art critics at hand, determined that by the end of Goya's life, he must have been going a little bit coo coo as his works got more and more out there and his subjects began to take on a look of death and freakishness.

Well, that's the art show review, brought to you by one non-artisan in Quito. ;)

The cost of a rose...

There are many, many street floral "shops" in Quito where you can buy amazing amounts of flowers for practically nothing. Twenty five roses here typically cost $2, and with that bargain price here and the outrageous prices we see in the United States, there are of course, issues (clicking that link will lead you to a recent NPR radio story on this very topic). As one of the leading exporters of roses, this is big business in Ecuador for many people, and life support for others.

Here is an article that is now four years old (I posted it this spring on my other blog)...and yet it seems that nothing has changed. People are still worked to the bone, paid little, suffer health issues because of their work environment, etc., etc.. Too often purchases are made without knowing or even caring how these items came to be available to them in the first place. Perhaps we as consumers need to become more aware...if nothing else, let today's post be an educational piece.

And to your left, and on another street...this is most certainly the door to someones home. Notice the glass shards for protection on top of the wall.

To your right is a close up of one of the lovely homes featured below.

Our loss is your find!

Yesterday much to my delight (and my husbands horror) we took a wrong turn on the way home. As is easy to do here because there are so many one way streets and "no u-turn" signs, we found ourselves lost and deeply woven into the south side of the city. A person will get thrown in jail for making u-turns if the police are present so we were good law abiding citizens. Fortunately I had my camera with me and so while they are "on the go" photos", allow me to give you a quick tour of another side of my city over the next couple of days. I love this part of old historical Quito. The colonial buildings are beautiful and rich with history.

Rain, rain, rain...

Lately, because of the rainy season here, we see these fabulously huge, puffy clouds that make you want to run over and try to wrap yourself in them. On this particular day, they were lying so low, just enveloping part of the city. The sun is peeking out above and I think it makes for a lovely photo.

A Quito Spa

This is about as close as I get to the spa these days.

One must make due. ;)

This past weekend the organization Extreme Response threw a Christmas party for the families of those people who work and live at the Zámbiza dump, obviously living in extreme poverty. It is an annual huge event.

I am sorry that there is a street sign in the way of this restaurant shot (I was in the car afterall), but I just had to snap it anyway to show what international characters Sponge Bob and his boss Mr. Krabs are.

And now I can post a picture! Here's the Chiva holding still. ;) The front bumber says "La Chiva Bonita" - or - The Pretty Chiva. Isn't it gorgeous? HA!

Chiva anyone?

Well, for some reason I cannot get a picture to upload today (anyone else having this problem or is it just me?), so instead I'll include a video from yesterday. This is another common site during Quito Days - Chivas. They drive around the city filled to overflowing with people, a band on top, and just generally having a lot of fun making noise! This is a very tame, under-filled one as it's at a high school. The ones that you see after dark are always stuffed with people...they have been known to tip now and then...



P.S. - Adding this at bedtime...We live near a fairly busy street and since putting the kids to bed tonight and so having a bit of silence/availability of ears to listen outside of my home, I have heard about ten Chivas go by! I wish I could capture them all on film for you (but it is pitch black out)- they are so festive!

Here is another photo from the bull fights of the 29th. I forgot to provide this link in case anyone wants to read a bit more about them. Obviously in Spanish there is a lot more information available, but this is the English version. Also, as a point of interest - all of the matadors come from Spain - they are not locals.

Fiestas de Quito 2006

It is a festive time of year here in Quito, as locals (and we non locals as well) take part in celebrating the founding of Quito by the Spanish in 1534. It's called "Quito Days" and the main festivities between November 28 and December 6 are centered around the Jesús del Gran Poder bullfighting events. This is the only time of year that there is bullfighting in the arena and as you can see by the picture above, it is a huge event - the stadium is full.

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This is not an event I would be able to sit through but my husband received an invitation to attend, and since the tickets were for seats that were practically in the rink (3rd row), how could he say no? He had never been before and he said it was very interesting to be a part of. It's very theatrical, dramatic, etc. It is a production, a huge event! Ah, but so sad for Mr. Bull. That is why I would not be able to go.

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There are more pictures of course, so I will post another one or two in the next couple of days if there is interest. Most of them are close up shots, but I wanted to begin with this one to show the size of the arena, the amount of people involved and just the general grand scheme of things.

Life on the street

Since we're only supposed to post one photo here, I have put two together to give you another glimpse into daily life. Pictured between the two vehicles is a young mother selling fruit. Typically one of these vendors is on the street selling for a good 6-8 hours I would say.

I point that out to then draw your attention to the young child sitting in the bottom left hand corner - picture 2 - he spends his day sitting on the embankment surrounded by six lanes of heavy traffic. When we first moved here I was always so nervous for these little, tiny children, but now I see that they know that this is their day - they spend the day playing with little sticks, bits of trash, running around or just sitting. I try not to let it break my heart...they don't know any better at this stage of their young life...it is all they know.

This is the way we do the wash...

If you step outside and make a full 360 degree turn, you will most certainly see that someone, somewhere has laundry hanging out to dry. I like this shot too because you will notice on the store front that Coca Cola is sold there. "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony..." (anybody remember that commercial?)

A beautifully common finding - women sitting together visiting whilst working on their craft that will then be sold at market or on the street. These women are most likely Quichua Indian, and the woman on the right is wearing the common everyday dress of this group of prevalent people in Quito. Each day they come in from rural parts of the country to sell their crafts or produce on the street.

Vintage...or not

This is one of my favorite "everyday" scenes as it could have been taken anywhere in Ecuador. I confess, it is not in Quito but rather at a HUGE fruit market on the way to the beach (aka: the Pacific Ocean) near Esmeraldas, Ecuador. As mentioned in an earlier post though, fruit markets are everywhere! This is the time of year when people leave for the beaches in droves as there are various holidays celebrated during this season.

I like this picture because it could have been taken years and years ago, or just recently - it seems timeless. But...for the record, I took it this spring. :)

Some more floral life - can you tell what my eye is drawn towards?

Did you know that these grow everywhere in Quito? Many people have them growing in their yards. For some reason it was shocking for me to see them "with roots" the first time, as I had only ever seen them in floral shops! Who knew they came from the ground! HA!

We are heavily into the rainy season here in Quito, but a couple days ago when the sun came out again I was struck by the beauty of the view from our home.

The best part of the rain, in my opinion, is to awaken after a full night of showers and smell that the air is full of eucalyptus. It's a wonderful scent to begin the day with.

Happy Thanksgiving in the U.S.A. today! Gobble gobble!

I believe this sign speaks for itself...location and all. While it is the Quito zoo, it is located in Guayllabamba, which is about 30 minutes outside of Quito. Honestly, I was not expecting a lot of it, but it pleasantly surprised me and my family. A lovely outing. :)

One of the two clock towers that are a part of the National Basilica. This was an amazingly scary shot for me to get as I had to climb up a teeny iron ladder with no protection from falling on either side. My legs were literally shaking upon my decent, but the view of Quito captured here, as well as the tower itself was worth the fear! (and if you want to see the panoramic 360 degree video click here...)

Here is one of the outdoor fruit and vegetable shops found in and around Quito. You can easily fill a grocery bag with a huge variety of produce for under a dollar.

A sampling of the many beautiful flowers we encounter.

Here is one of the more common feathered friends that we see strolling around the countryside. I am sorry to report that since this photo was taken he has since become someone's dinner. Alas for Mr. Rooster...perhaps he was just too pretty.