Dia Tres en Ecuador--Quito

Awoke to the usual coccophony of sounds--the telephone ringing at the front desk downstairs, the dog barking at everything that passes by, the traffic sounds of the city. My but I do appreciate the quiet of my little Bellingham. Today, however, new noises were added to the familiar ones. A grupo of American high school and college aged estudiantes were up and having breakfast. They were a loud group, having a good time, getting to know others of their own age, having come to Ecuador for some unknown common purpose. Still, couldn't someone teach them to be quieter? They have such difficulty with their self-awareness, talking at the top of their lungs in public places, laughing aloud drowning out the conversation you are attempting with your table mate.

Another addition to the sounds of the dia was the arrival of the members of the Quito Symphony at their rehearsal space right next door to our hotel in a beautiful classical style building somewhat resembling our White House in miniature. Suddenly, the sounds of individual instrumentalists warming up, playing scales and passages of music wafted in through our windows.

At breakfast, as I mentioned, we were surrounded by a large group of young people visiting loudly. We were served croissants, scrambled eggs and coffee con leche. Our waitress had a difficult time giving us the milk and coffee in the combinations we wanted. She poured the hot milk from one pot so that it nearly filled the cup, then topped it with a tiny bit of coffee!! We had to ask for a refill and this time asked for media y media, leche y cafe. She didn't seem to understand, pouring the milk until we told her to stop, then she wanted to pour only a few drops of coffee in. We kept insisting on more and she poured a tiny bit more before stopping again and we'd make a sign to keep filling, back and forth it went until we finally got what we were asking for.

Back upstairs we showered and dressed for the day. We thought we had asked to be picked up at 10 am, but by 11, still no one had arrived. Hmmmmm?

It is another beautiful day. The weather is about like Bellingham. Highs in the 60's or 70's and lows in the 50's. If I could only breathe! The altitude plays tricks on you. At nearly 10,000 feet above sea level, headaches, difficulty breathing, even flu-like symptoms are not uncommon here. So far I have only suffered from the occasional need to stop and take in a few deep breathes in retaliation for my lungs inability to capture enough oxygen. It feels like I am suddenly drowning and can't quite reach the surface for air. Ever had that feeling? It's a bit scary, but then the oxygen begins to reach your blood and spread to your brain. The fear goes away finally and your desperate need for seemingly non-existent air subsides. Whew, I'm still in the land of the living!

Finally, at about 11, our ride showed up and we were off to the Central de Convencion. An old hospital, the campus of buildings are connected by covered walkways. The capilla or chapel is a simple but beautiful building with faux marble pillars, a floor with pale yellow tiles accented in each corner with a green triangle that overlapped with adjacent tiles creating a larger triangle. The ceiling is of wood lathing painted sky blue and dotted with gold stars and three painted rose window looking decorations. The alter of wood had touches of gold leaf here and there. A large cross above is surrounded by a gold leaf sun burst. Above the alter is a dome of the same wood and decorations as with the ceiling. The acoustics are very live making it difficult to hear rushed speech. It is a lovely space that would be fun to sing certain genres of music in. Jorge, the morning presenter, was from Mexico. When we walked into the capilla he was running the participants through scales insisting they sing in tune. He was having each section do it, having to stop sometimes several times and restart them until he got what he wanted. The participants all seemed to be working at a pretty basic level which is definitely driving his instruction and causing Leslie to do some serious, quick rethinking of her approach for the afternoon.

Lunch was a walk down the hill to the Fruitaria Monserrat, a cafeteria style place that specializes in fruits of all kinds, many of which are native to Equador or the surrounding countries. We ordered a beautiful, big bowl of layered fruits topped with whipped cream. Peaches, apples, pineapple, watermelon, papaya, grapes and strawberries filled the bowl. Deliciosamente!

Eugenio walked us back up the hill to the capilla in the convention center where we found it locked and Matteo, his son, was sent to look for the keeper of the keys who appeared after a while.

When we got in we started setting up for Leslie's session. The session began with her introducing herself (and me, us, our family and our life in Bellingham) and then she got them on their feet and moving. I won't go into any details about how it went (it went great!). Ask Leslie for all the details. Her session ended, we were whisked immediately off to the opening concert of the festival. It was held in a theater that looked on the outside like an ancient stone temple. Nine grupos were to perform starting at 7pm. We got home by 10:30 and immediately headed for bed.

Another buen dia!