Two Miles High

Hola de Quito, Ecuador!

After a week in the sun on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, I arrived in Quito which is about 11,000 ft ASL (above seal level). And what a change in climate and terrain it is!

But let´s start with Costa Rica.

After Santa Barbara, I spent a week at a high-end all inclusive resort on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The resort was on the Gulf of Papagayo, which is located at the top of the Nicoya Peninsula, and at bottom of Guanacaste Province. My particular stretch of beach had black sand. All the Costa Ricans talked about how white the sand was, so the black sand was a little shocking at first. But, black sand is kinda cool. It´s much softer than white sand. And the seashells look beautiful against the black. The resort also had a white sand beach about 30 minutes North by boat.

The resort itself was okay. You could tell it was an older hotel complex that had been rennovated. And like most resorts, the huge pool is the center piece. The people who worked there were very nice. The food was good, however, there was more meat than seafood. Fortunately they always had rice and black beans. And I could nave my gallo pinto (rice mixed with beans) with eggs and a tamale every morning.

The temperature was brutally hot: 95 degrees during the day, and 80 degrees during the night. And humid. The sun was bitingly strong, probably due to the close proximity to the equator.

My days were full of reading, sleeping, eating, drinking. I refused to leave the property because to do so would cost me a minimum of $60! And that´s just to take a taxi to the next beach! The prices for excursions from this hotel were outrageous. So I stayed on the property. Next time, I will stay a beach further south on the Nicoya Peninsula. One that is closer other beaches and shops and restaurants.

On Saturday, January 6, I flew to Quito. It took over 12 hours to get there because I had to fly through Miami! But other than the duration, the flight was wonderfully uneventful.

Since my plane arrived at night, I didn´t seen Quito until the next morning. And what a beautiful place it is! City is long and narrow, and is surrounded by even higher mountains (13,000 to 14,000 ft hight mountains). The city itself is not bad. It has lots of hills, which seem like mountains when you are walking up that at 11,000 ft ASL. The altitude hasn´t been a problem so far. The days are really hot, and the nights are light sweater weather. The Ecuadorians wear winter coats!

I am staying in the home of an older woman who´s husband passed away about two years ago. Her name is Mercedes. And she´s an amiable lady. She speaks only Spanish, which is fine by me. We´ve had some great conversations. Her house is smaller than the house of the Costa Rican family. However, it seems that she lives in one of three houses that are grouped together. Her sister and her mother live in the other two houses. And they share a common entrance from the street. My room is in the attic, and given the slant of the roof, I can stand upright in only 1/3 of the room.

Tomorrow I have an interview with the director of the school where I will be teaching English. Then my assignment will start on Wednesday. I learn more about my students tomorrow.

On Saturday I went to the center of the world. Quito is a 30 minute bus ride from the Equator. The thought of being able to stand on both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at the same time was a little exciting.

Today I was given an orientation, but I don´t think it stuck. I know where certain areas are, but I don´t recall how to get to them. This mainly because I have to take the bus. And the bus system is confusing. As the bus comes speeding down the street, I have about 2 seconds to read the three signs in the window to figure out if the bus is one I want. If it is, then I have to flag it down. They don´t have bus stops. You can catch a bus ANYWHERE, and they drop you off ANYWHERE you ask them. To get off the bus, you yell to the driver that you want to get off HERE. And if you are a woman, the bus stops so you can get off. If you are a man, the bus slows down and you have to jump off a moving bus! Taking the bus to work the first few time should be interesting.... Thank goodness taxis are so cheap!

Well, that´s all I have to say for now.

cheers,
Stacey