More Rain

It rains every day in Quito.

It's sunny in the morning, until about noon. Clouds start rolling in over the mountains, and by 2:30 p.m., you're looking at a downpour. Carrying an umbrella is already a regularity for me -- $2.25 from a corner tienda.

If you get caught in the rain, don't expect your clothes to dry out quickly. It took nearly a week for my pair of tennis shoes to go from soaked to damp. My jacket doesn't dry out if I don't wear it in the morning. Last week after three days of frustrated waiting I just broke down and threw it in the dryer. The fact is you pretty much have to get used to walking around town with wet pant cuffs. But, hey, at least I'm not in Bolivia.

I tried finding my way to the Teleferico this morning with L. It's a cable car that climbs the volcano Pichincha and gives you one hell of a view of the region. You can even see Cotopaxi from the summit! After twenty minutes or so of wandering we just hailed a taxi nstead. As it goes, we were walking in the opposite direction! Apparently I don't know Quito as well as I thought. All you really need to know though is where the Avenida diez de agosto is though. It's the avenue that the trolley bus runs on, and essentially bisects the city (as far as I'm concerned).

Because of a power outage, the Teleferico was closed so we walked the mile back to our home base in La Gasca. While following the highway, L noticed two young guys dash across a flurry of traffic. Since last week both our guards are up. Additionally, I'm a little wary of any group of guys not wearing backpacks. If they're already carrying backpacks how can they rip ours off?

These two guys asked L the time, and then started grabbing my arm and asking me for a dollar (as a gift, mind you). L took off while I was ripping the guy's arm off of me and shooting them a dirty look. Either they didn't have knives or I have one hell of a stare. I'd rather it be the latter, but they just aren't serious criminals I guess.

At 12.30 p.m. we went to the Academia de Español, because Jacqueline (another student) was throwing a going away party of sorts. Additionally, she is a "holistic healer" who performs curacions and helps focus energy, and is holding a seminar at the school this weekend. She's similar to a woman I once knew in my life, except Jacqueline stylizes herself as more of a shaman. To celebrate, she made fresh salad, and bought wine (like any good French woman) and fresh bread. We all hung out on a seventh story patio for two hours, watching a storm move in.

L and I also visited the museum of Oswaldo Guayasamin, a huge painter in Quito. His family runs a museum that features pre-Colombian, colonial, and contemporary art. Some blocks away lies la Parilla del Hombre, which looks like this massive monolith, and is capped with a covered cone. The place closed down at five o'clock, so we only got some shots of the exterior. If I have time, I'll return. Probably not though.

I'm going to watch Liga play with Manolo. It's in Ambato, but don't worry... we've got cable.