A Few Thoughts

Hallye and I were able to enjoy the better part of today outdoors in the peace that nature brings. We escaped the bustling city and climbed up to Parque Itchimbia which is one of the highest rising hills surrounding metropolitan Quito. Itchimbia is a wonderful example of a well-kept city park. Besides its generous size, it has so much to offer as a public park. Not only is there an entire grade school campus, the park also contains a full sized soccer field, a practice field, volleyball and basketball courts, playgrounds, a lagoon, a bike path, a walking path, plenty of open green space, an ampitheater, and a welcome center where concerts are held. And this is right outside the city, completely open to the public!! After our breakfast this morning of fresh baked croissant from the corner bakery and cafe con leche, we began our hike up the 200 or so stairs and spent the morning in the park. Afterwards, we treated ourself to icecream and enjoyed it in Parque la Alameda which is a smaller park within the city. It was at this time, as we were resting in the grass beneath the trees that we began to reflect and comment on a few things.

1. Public bathrooms in Ecuador are clutch. You may be thinking...public bathrooms? ewwww! But who knew what 10 cents could do for a public bathroom. Here, you pay ten cents to the employed lady sitting by the bathroom. She hands you a few sheets of toilet paper and you enter. Since there is a lady always by the potty, and she is employed by the city, it is also her job to clean. Therefore, 10 cents = clean bathroom whenever and wherever you want it.

2. Hostals are breeding grounds for interesting people. Last night, we decided to spend the evening in the hostal hanging out in the common room reading books we bought yesterday. We didn´t get very far reading, however, when our hostal friend Derivol from Haiti came in to entertain us. He began playing guitar and then played music from the cd player of songs that helped him learn english..hits from Toni Braxton and Phil Collins. Then he started teaching us Karate..because not only is he going back to school for civic engineering and is an avid soccer fan, he is also a Karate master. Soon, an interloper from Cali came in and interrupted the lesson and his friend Carson from Texas joined in on a conversation about the places to go and not to go in Ecuador. After those two guys left to grab dinner, a Portuguese hostal patron came in and started watching Bionic Woman in spanish subtitles. This morning we ran into Daniel, our friend from France who is bicycling around South America working on a project for his job which requires him to photograph gardens.

3. We are lucky. After speaking with people who have been travelling all over this country for months, we conclude that our hostal is a paradise among hostals. Not only are we only paying six bucks a night, but that includes internet, laundry service, kitchen, terrace view, close proximity to downtown, hot water and CLEAN rooms. Not to mention, the family that owns the place es muy buena gente. Lucia is soo nice and works her tail off to keep his place clean and her husband will help us out with anything. Jonathan appears to be about six and is adorable. With more luck, we will have it this nice wherever we go. Ecuador is making us feel right at home, though.