Dormio (Slept, with apoligies for the missing accent mark) well except these beds are muy mal. We had agreed last night to meet Jorge this morning and go to an art museum we all wanted to see. We had breakfast and planned our day while we waited for him. Sadly, found out that the museum was closed today and Jorge really needed to get over to Eugenio's house by noon so our plan fell through. We said our final good byes to our new amigo and headed off on our own.
We had decided to take the Old Town walking tour found in the Lonely Planet guide book. Our first, since our hotel was closer to the end of the tour than the beginning was at the Museo Nacional, only a block from our hotel, which housed a wonderful collection of Ecuadorian antiquities from pre-Incan through the Spanish period. There was a gold room filled with stunning gold jewelry as well as practical objects like bowls and articles used for rituals. Within the same building were other exhibits of musical instruments as well as modern art. Check out the link above since photos in the museum were not allowed.
Entonces (Then), we walked across the street to Parque El Ejido, a large city park where familias played, old men played a game which resembled bocce b
all and where a great many artisans were set up in tents selling blankets, art, jewelry, toys and food. These colorful pedal cars (the blue one in this photo I thought was particularly cool!) were driven around the park on little two lane highways at breakneck speeds by their drivers.
Leslie found some ear rings and a pendant for herself and Kate. She dickered with the seller and was able to get the price down a bit.
Further along we came across an artist selling his and his father's paintings. We were especially taken by his primitives, scenes of everyday life in Ecuador. They were all very colorful and detailed. The artist e
xplained the meaning of the inhabitants of each painting. We finally settled on a piece by his father and Leslie negotiated a price the two of them seemed happy with. Leslie figured he wouldn't sell it if he couldn't make some money on it. Entonces, we 
headed in what we thought was the direction of more artisan stores and a cebiche restaurant highly recommended by Lonely Planet. We walked clear across the park, checked the street signs only to discover we had walked in the opposite direction we needed to go in. My sense of direction really failed me. Leslie saved the day when she sat down with our map of Quito and discovered our mistake. We got headed in the right direction and soon got ourselves back where we wanted to be.
It turns out where we wanted to go was about two blocks from our hotel. How did I get so mixed up? A few blocks and we were in the artisan area we had been looking for. It turns out the artisans were really in an area called Gringo Town because it is where so many tourists go to buy their souvenirs and where apparently a lot of petty crime like pick pocketing occurs. It was a lot of cheap looking stuff and some nice things as well, pero no one seemed interested in dickering. Every other person appeared like they were from the U.S. We decided to leave.
We walked right around the next corner to have a late lunch at Isla del Mar, the cebiche joint I mentioned earlier. A real hole in the wall, it was cheap and the food was wonderful. I ordered a combination plate that included a bowl of Encebollo, a fish and potato stew, and a side of arroz y un limonada. Only $2.50. Leslie went for the cebiche, a frio dish which looks a lot like a salsa with camerones. The contents are literally cooked by the lime juice which is a key ingredient. It is full of chopped tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, thinly sliced red onion and lots of camarones (shrimp)! Es muy fantastico! She also bought a local brand beer that was a light pilsner and called Pilsner. The bottle was enough for both of us to enjoy. Total cost of the meal--$8.
My knees were giving me fits by the time we walked the 2 blocks back to our hotel, so I opted to take a few ibuprofen and lie down while. We figured our walk through Old Town could wait for when we would be staying there after our trip out to the Galapagos.
Leslie decided to head off on a walk looking for a market and discovered the SuperMaxi a few blocks away. She also discovered a bakery nearby. After about an hour, like a true hunter gatherer, she walked in with a gallon of water she proudly announced she'd bought for only a $1 After buying four 16 ounce water bottles a day from the hotel desk for 75 cents a pop, her 5 liter bottle for a $1 was quite a bargain. She'd also picked up some gifts for family and friends and a few treats she couldn't resist at the bakery. It is dark right now at about 6 pm.
The day and night hours, being so close to the equator, are almost exactly equal. No summer
daylight hours until 10 pm here. I do miss my Bellingham summer nights! We had plans to walk over to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner but decided not to after the heavy lunch! Ate a few bites of the bakery goodies Leslie brought back. Exhausting day. Ready for bed.
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