Churches, Plazas, and a Tank with a Water Canon

Today we play full-fledged tourists sin the mega camera with awesome zoom lens, which according to the constant warnings about thieves who will snatch your camera from your hands may actually be a good thing. I find myself constantly looking over my shoulder, trying to remain aware of my surroundings.  It forces quick photo taking, then stash the camera in my inner coat pocket.

But as we head to the Plaza de Independencia aka the Grand Plaza to start our walking tour of the Old Town of Quito we hear lots of cheering and as we enter to the square to take pictures of the park and the surrounding buildings,  we become aware that what at first we thought might be a festival is in fact some sort of demonstration.  One side of the square is occupied by the Palacio del Gobierna (or government building).

While John has started videoing the activities in the park, I take note of the growing number of policemen (and women) in full riot gear, some with gas masks, tear gas and protective gear.  Of course they are all carrying rifles and the plexiglass shields to  push the crowd back.

As I turn to cross the street I am staring straight on with a tank, with what appears to be a high powered water canon on the top, as it rolls up the street and stops not to far from where John is standing.   We seem to have timed our visit to the parque as the demonstration is gearing up.  Yeah, we know … its not wise to hang around demonstrations in third world countries where anything could happen, but nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd and we stick around awhile to see what develops.  It remains fairly controlled, a portion of the group carrying UNE banners (a teachers group) start a procession down the street, this first group is older and doesn’t look like they are intending to start trouble   The next group to head down the street looks like a student group, although a bit rowdier they also seem in control.  That leaves a large group of younger folks just hanging around starring down the police.  The chanting  has stopped and it seems that the crowd is now just itching for trouble.  The police seem to be a little more anxious and are really watching the crowd now, gone are the idle conversations that were taking place during the rally.  But in time things dissipate, party is over and we decide to head onto the next site. Later we find out the demonstration is by the teachers who do not like the governments new proposal of standardized testing of the teachers skills.  In the days to come more protests will be stages, streets closed, etc.  No one likes to have their qualifications questioned - although from what we understand currently there is no standard measurement of what qualifies the teaches in Ecuador.

Next stop - Plaza and  Monastery of San Francisco  We had visited this plaza our first night in town.  It is a huge square surrounded by colonial buildings  The Monastery is the city’s largest colonial building and the oldest.  On the first level of the Monastery there are a bunch of artisan shops, actually its one shop showcasing different artists work through a  maze of small rooms and narrow passage-ways. As we walked through we felt a bit like we were in a dungeon - a massive deathtrap should a terremoto (earthquake) hit.
Next we visited the Monasterio de Carmen Alto - another fully functioning convent where the nuns sell a variety of products, like lotions, rose water and homemade wine.  You don’t actually see the nuns.  There was a small rolling window that products could be handing through - if what you wanted wasn’t in the small display.  I bought a small bottle of lotion - but must admit - it didn’t smell so good.

7 tons of gold!  That’s how much  gold was used to guild the ceilings, walls and alter of La Compania de Jesus Church. The glow was blinding.  Construction of this church started in 1605 and took 163 years. (This pic is one of a postcard as they don't let you take photos inside.) One wonders how so much money can be spent on decorating a church when the majority of people are struggling to find food and shelter.

Final stop - the gothic Basilica del Voto National. This was the furthest out of the center of  the Old Town and of course it had started to rain but we decided to still head that way.   Our guidebook called the climb up the basilica’s tower the “deadliest view” of the city.

We started up the stairs and then saw the wood bridge across the main roof of the church.  It wasn’t really the rickety planks the books spoke of, but it was spooky enough as the walkway teetered over the arches of the ceiling.  At the end of the walkway there was a ladder straight up.

From that landing you went around part of the tower to 2 more sets of stairs.  My heart was pounding.  Thankfully the rain had stopped.  Again, I am reminded that I am afraid of heights - and I really like my rope and equipment when climbing.  Just anticipating the way down  my palms start to sweat.

But once at the top - the view is spectacular.  On the way down I make John go first so if I look behind me I don’t see the empty space down to the ground.  As he points out, if I fall I will take him down with me.  All for one and one for all!

 Final view on the way back down.  That's the tower we went up.

Unesco World Heritage Site - Quito, Ecuador

Quito, Ecuador with a population of 1,400,000 sits in a Andean valley at a lofty height of 2850m (9,350 feet) which makes it the second highest capital city in the world.  And without a doubt - you feel it! Stairs feel like an unbelievable task, with or without the backpack. We decided to spend the first couple of nights in the Old Town area as it was said to be a bit safer than the more heavily touristed Mariscal Sucre area. 

Our hotel - Hotel San Francisco de Quito - was over our budget but we wanted to get our bearings with a little more comfort before heading to our normal hostel digs.  The place was located in an old colonial building with a great internal courtyard set with lush greenery and water fountains.  Right outside our room was the electric bus line which would hum past, loudly, on a regular interval.  Then, I guess to test fate right off the bat, we head out after dark in search of eats. 

The streets are relatively quiet and just seem to have been set by a Hollywood crew with backlights in just the right places for stunning photography.  Quito gained recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.  Extensive renovation took place and was completed in 2006.  Its dark, so the details are uncertain - but the colonial buildings are just spectacular, intricate, ornate at times, but amazing pieces of architures.  John ushers me along - dinner was the goal. We roam aimlessly - luckily the area is well-lit, the entire area is also well patroled by security and we don't feel a threatened even though we know its best not to linger in the streets after dark.  Finding dinner in Old Town is harder than you might think.  The area is pretty dead at night but eventually we find a little restaurant right before it closes. 

Here's another shot of Quito at night.

Pasto, Colombia and Border Crossing to Ecuador

Several days ago we started evaluating how much time to spend in Colombia and how we would move south.  Although we have really enjoyed Colombia and would have like to spend more time here we decided we needed to keep moving or else we would run into issues with the weather when we hit Peru and the mountains.  So, rather than taking a 23 hour bus south to the border - which sounded like hell on wheels - we booked a flight to Pasto a town about 2 hours from the Colombian-Ecuador border. We opted against going straight to Quito in order to avoid various international airport taxes  Our flight was uneventful other than a bumpy landing with a lead foot pilot supplying a few jolts of braking rather then a gradual stop.

From the airport we took a collectivo taxi to the Koala Inn in the center of town. As we traveled the 30 + kilometers to Pasto we figured we could have just taken a collectivo to the frontier town of Ipales. Oh well, we'll be heading there in the morning. The Koala Inn resides in a very old building with an interior atrium. The hotel starts on the second floor and goes up several more floors. Our room is huge, with big windows facing the street - downside - they are thin, thin, thin and the traffic continues until about 11, takes a short break before the morning buses start up - honking every block or so as a way of finding out if anyone on the streets is looking for a bus or taxi. again at the crack of dawn.

That evening we roam the town for a couple hours. There is an interesting town center with the obligatory church, actually there are several churches in town. The square is surrounded by shops and there is a very large fairly flat area with what appears to us to be perfect skateboard ramps artistically placed at all four corners. Not sure why that came to mind as neither of us are skateboarders, but visually you could just see the jibs and ramps waiting for boarder to roll up. After a fairly expensive dinner (11,000 peso each which is really only about 6 dollars but considering our hotel cost 14 dollars this seemed disproportionately high) we head back to our room where we were surprised to discover that the little tv actually picked up about 100 cable channels.  Sucked in by the evil black box, we watched 2 1/2 movies before going cold turkey and hitting the power button -calling it a night..

In the morning we get a quick breakfast at the local panderia (bakery) and then we start with the sequence of public transport needed to cross the border to Ecuador. First its the collectivo bus from town center to the bus terminal (1000pesos cada persona). Then another collectivo to Ipales (7000 pesos cp) We thought this might be a bus as it could take 2 hours but we find ourselves climbing into the back seat of a minivan crammed with people (kids ride free - but that means they sit on laps.  If you are lucky its not your lap!). The driver drops us off at the Colombia immigration office where we get in line to get stamped out. Unfortunately we end up behind 2 nationals having problems with their documents. Apparently people who cross the border regularly seem to have a more difficult time with the formalities.  When we get to the window it is a simple process for us.  Stamp in hand we simply walk across the street and across the bridge to the Ecuador immigration. Both of these stops are gratis - no exit tax, no visa. Nice.

Then its back into another shuttle van - crammed to the gills to the bus terminal in Tulcan (1600 pessos cp - interesting as the Ecuadorian currency is actually  US Dollars - its own controversial topic). We aren't even out of the van and people are grabbing for our bags. "Perdon, es mio, no necesito ayudar, es mio ....". They only slightly back off as a handful of guys are yelling out "Quito Quito". They are all anxious for your business. We decide not to jump on the first one leaving as we need some food.

Fifteen minutes later we are in a big bus con bano (with a bathroom) and back on the road for the 5 hour ride to Quito. The bus is fairly empty. Its amazing they can make any money this way. Its a directivo bus, but directivo does not really translate to direct. They stop often, at bus stations and just about anywhere if flagged down by someone heading to Quito. Of course they also stop at roadside tiendas (stores) where people board the bus selling all kinds of things to eat.  Our favorite was this guy selling hambergesas -- they looked pretty good but who knows how long they have been on that tray or how many bus aisles they have been down. 
Our first impressions of Ecuador is that it is definitely a poorer country than Colombia at least comparing border towns. Colombia's countryside was stunning - lush forests, then undulating hillsides, with a backdrop of looming volcanoes, and three Andean mountain ranges - the Cordillera Occidental, Cordillera Central and cordillera Oriental. Ecuador on the hand, based on this first glance is more barren and dry. We'll see how the topography changes as we head south.

Plaza Bolivar and American Icons in Bogota

In true J+L fashion we had planned a full morning knowing full well that it was unlikely we could achieve it all before heading to the airport for our flight south early this afternoon.  But yesterday it dawned on us that we had not yet visited the main plaza - Plaza Bolivar or the surrounding area.  So bright and early we are packed and check out of our hostel the Crazy Croc.  A couple days ago we moved from Hostal Fatima - friendly staff but we started in the midget room and moved to the spray-paint fumes room facing the vast interior courtyard aka party central with booming acoustics from the all night party -- too much for us, so we moved into the Crazy Croc which is great.  Only negative is they ripped us off when we were leaving by asking for an outrageous fee for using the wifi.  With the fee charged we could have been on their computer for over 5 hours a day! Anyway, first stop - Juan Valdez coffee.  The spitting image of a Starbucks except the color scheme is cranberry rather than green.  They even had a "no-photo" policy (which we violated) just like Starbucks. Possibly afraid someone might steal their iimage...

Plaza Bolivar is really the heart of the historic part of town and we were glad we had not missed it. The plaza is bordered by a collection of different architectural styles - massive stone buildings in Greek style are the Placio de Justicia, and the Capitolio Nacional is where Congress is located.  Then there is the French styled Alcaldia and the neo-classical Catedral Primada - which is also Bogota's largest church.  The only colonial building is Capilla del Sagrario next door to the Catedral.  Just to the east of the Plaza is the La Candelaria area which is where we have been staying. The biggest audience here however are the millions of pigeons.  Most everyone, tourists and locals alike, seem to love to feed these creatures. Thereby attracting more of them.

Gotta admit it is pretty entertaining to watch the small kids try to feed them -  they stretch out their hands full of seeds and the pack comes in and instantly they are surrounded.  Then if they make a quick move (or some playful puppy comes running through) - the flock is up, scattering in a flurry - little kid giddy at the commotion. 

With less than 2 hours to spare, we head back down through La Candelaria to see if we can catch an art exhibit.  Across the street from the Iglesia de Candelariais, the Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango not only has a Juan Valdez coffeeshop on the bottom floor but also houses the Museo de Arte's current exhibit of Andy Warhohl pieces.  A collection of iconic American symbols - Campbell Soup, Hollywood stars, and self-portraits of Andy himself.  It was a unique experience to see the exhibit in Colombia where North American values are not always so admired.  But everyone loves Hollywood, right?

With a few minutes to spare we head back to the hostal for our bags and catch a cab to the airport.  Next stop - Pasto, Columbia border town with Ecuador.

An Average Sunday in Bogota - La Ciclovia!

Every Sunday the main boulevard through the historic part of Bogota is closed off to cars and buses and until 2 or 3 in the afternoon the city runs a Ciclovia - or bike ride.   Yesterday we found Bike Bogota and talked to the owner, Mike, about renting bikes and going on a tour of the city.  We decided the better day for the tour was during the Ciclovia so here we are Sunday in Bogota.

We wanted to get some extra miles in so we meet with a different guide in the morning who took us for a short tour in the La Candelaria area.  We first stopped at a local "place" to get some home brewed chi - a brewed beverage made from corn that is said to be like a red bull. It was a strange yellow concoction served in re-used plastic bottles but we tried it anyway.  The flavor matched the color - strange and we decided it didn't really go so well with our bananas for breakfast.  We went by the Quinta de Bolivar, a house and museum where Simon Bolivar lived  - but we were too early and the gates were still closed.  Within an hour we met up with the rest of our group and made our way down to the main road and the Ciclovia.

What a fantastic idea!  Everyone is out in the streets, riding bicycles, tricycles, rollerblades, skateboards, and walking.  Its like they saved up all their energy from the week and now they are out in droves.  Its quite an amazing sight and we instantly are wondering how we could initiate a similar type of ride in Los Angeles.  Could you imagine -- closing off a major thoroughfare for the better part of a day, every week. We would have a riot on our hands!  Of course everyone would be all for it, so long as the street closed did not effect them personally. 

We quickly see that it is not just the streets that are full of people, the parks and green space are also packed.  We stop at the park to see the huge aerobics-dance class which is spilling into the street.  People of all ages, sizes and shapes are shaking their bootie.

Every bit of space is being utilized, kids playing ball, families snacking from the food carts, and of course the young couples hand in hand, smooching on the park benches.  Check out this rollerhockey rink - looks like ice, but really is concrete.

We continue to the Plaza de Toros, or bull ring.  Its an amazing stadium whose entry is adorned with bronze statutes of famous matadores in their tight paints, arms outstretched, red capes in hand. I can't quite get my head around the shear brutality of the event, taunt an animal while waving a cape at it, stab it in the neck so it starts bleeding and getting week, all so a young man can show his grace and bravery by waiving a little red cape and thrusting a sword into the bull resulting in his death - with the winner taking home an ear.  Did you know that bulls are colorblind and the red cape could be purple, pink or yellow and it would make no difference?  Anyway, controversy aside, the stadium is impressive.  Interestingly there are two massive towers of condos built behind the stadium with bird's eye view of the events.  The better your view, the more expenisve the condo.  Guess you could hold bull fight bbq's on your deck, charge all your friends a small admission fee...

Next stop, the university. The college students of Bogota are very politically active as is evident by all the grafitti type slogans on the buildings.  A large rendition of Che Guevara, the Argentinian Marxist revolutionary, a major player in the Cuban Revolution and now a counter-culture symbol of revolution is prominently displaced in the main square inside university grounds where many demonstrations are held. 

After visiting a few more sights and sampling some of the local fruits we start our way back.  As we re-join the ciclovia we make a final stop at the flea market.  Amazingly, its just like any other flea market in any part of the world, one man's junk is another man's treasure.  One  unique stall was the coca stall - there are many things you can make out of the coca plant besides cocaine.  Soap, te, and cookies which we tried - no stimulant effect but a little like cardboard.

Bogota - The Constant Dilemma: Where to Eat?

We have encountered a growing dilemma in Bogota which plagues us each night after the sun goes down:  Where to eat?  We are pretty comfortable out after dark so long as we stay within our neighborhood of La Candelaria.  Chicken is always the standard fallback and we did find one decent rotisserie.  One night we stumbled upon this great little middle eastern place with fantastic hummus and falafel.  Of course when we went to go back there a few days later, it was the night they were closed.  Quite random.  So where else?  One night we couldn't find food even if we paid double for it.  Everything was closed.  After our tempers had risen due to starvation (ok a bit dramatic) we found a little local place that was serving chinese food. The young waiters were deep in conversation, with each other and their friends who came in and out, and customers were not really on their radar.  Lucky for us, there were only 2 dishes to pick from - fried rice or fried noodles - so it was a quick order. 
In our search for food and beverage we did happen upon a unique spot -- I only wish I had had my camera so I could have documented it.  It was essentially a no name place that only opened at night.  You walked into a small bar like area - with a full bar, then through another door and you were in another room, no chairs, just green outdoor carpet on the floor, small little tables, and a chiminea in the corner.  If you walked a few more steps there was another similar room, although this one had a passionate latin american couple making out in one corner.  At the suggestion of the waiter we took a space on the floor near the chiminea diagonally from the "hot" couple.  Toasty warm by the fire, we tried a few of their speciality drinks and tried our best not to watch the romance in the corner.  After a short time some others joined our room and the area became a lot more lively.  Forgetting dinner, we ordered some dessert and sipped our drinks - happy at last.  What a great way to keep your overhead low - no furniture!

Big Bad Bogota

Colombia has quite a reputation, especially in the US where we are spoon fed fear of the world outside our borders.  Riddled with drug runners high on cocaine and brandishing machine guns to protect their crops and don't forget all those rebels at every street corner, in every town waiting to kidnap every tourist. Ok,  yes there is cocaine and the country's economy may in fact be dependent on it. (Colombia currently controls 80% of the worlds' cocaine market - but who do you think consumes most of this ....) And yes the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) still exists - BUT, and its a very big BUT - these situations are not rampant in every part of the country.  So far we have had no concerns about either the drug lords or rebels.  In fact, just as other travelers had talked about, we found the people of Colombia to be very friendly and truly hopeful that we were enjoying our visit to their country.  Of course, you need to stay on your toes, be aware of your surroundings, and have a bit of suspicion of even the police (who in some areas have allegedly planted cocaine on tourists to get a bribe).  But this sounds fairly routine for most third world countries.  And don't get me wrong, its not like we are about to go strolling around in the jungles, or even in some of the more remote national parks which now may be the "farm" for cocaine growing since in the late 1990s, funded by the US, the Colombian government started spraying poison on known fields of coca (a practice that is sure to have other environmental and social ramifications, like the adverse effects on the health of the inhabitants - but what to do ... a topic for another day.) National parks are exempt and thus many "farmers" moved their crops within the park boundaries.

We have been pleasantly surprised with our travels in Colombia, the people are warm and friendly and the areas we have visited have been fantastic.  Now, however we are arriving in the Big Bad Bogota.  The reports are varied for this capital city.  Some people still seem to find it crime ridden and very unsafe.  After the long bus ride we catch a taxi from the bus terminal.  A taxidriver approached us in the terminal and was directing us to his car when I noticed a line of official taxis outside the door.  When I asked him why his car was not in the line, he was non-responsive.  After asking another security guard where to get the taxi, who pointed to the booth to buy a ticket, we ditched this soliciting driver and headed for the line of official cars.  Who knows what the other driver was up to, maybe just trying to get a little extra fare, maybe something more sinister, but better safe than sorry - we'll wait in line.  The taxi booth was actually the most organized we have seen  They put in your destination and tell you what the far will be. You give it to the cab, and your on your way.  As we drive through the city it looks like most major latin american cities.  Although it is a sprawling and big city, we head for the old downtown area.  After a bit of circular driving and backing down a one-way street we arrive at Hostel Fatima.  Notwithstanding the official invoice from the terminal, our cab driver asks for more money - pointing to the meter.  As the meter is a bit higher we succumb knowing fully that the fare should have only been what was on the invoice.  But it just wasn't worth the discussion.

We check in to what is the smallest, and shortest, room we have had to date.  I can't  even stand up straight!  Unfortunately this is the last room so we need to get use to sitting on the floor or bed, but no standing up.  I feel like I am Alice in Wonderland and have fallen down the rabbit hole!

La Candelaria is a 470 year old historic city center full of the standard fare of amazing churches, cafes, hostels, historic sites and a museum of two. For added spice you have the amazing graffitti walls that adorn parts of the city and a bordering mountain range.  Bogota is at 2600 meters (sorry but I have started adjusting to this metric thing as it seems to be everywhere but  the US - roughly that's 3.25 times 2600) In other words, we are higher up and my puffy has finally been able to come out of the bottom of my backpack  When we made our pit stop in Los Angeles back in April I bought a Patagonia down sweater.  Even though it was on sale it was a splurge, which I justified by letting John cut my hair rather than getting it done professionally.  I love my down sweater!

 We roam the streets of our area in search of a good coffee.  We end up in Parque Santander at a huge Cafe - which only serves beer and coffee - no snacks.  Ok, we grab a coffee and people watch for a while.  The parque is jammed with people mulling about.  Interestingly, there is a wide mix of business people, college students, a few tourists and the random police officer.  Later we find out that this park is also the Emerald Market.  We saw what seemed like some shady transactions occurring, someone pulling something out of his pocket in a piece of paper, the other examining it closely, money changes hands... we of course had no idea that this was the place to go for a good deal on Emeralds -- that is if you knew what you were looking  for; otherwise it was also a good place to get scammed.