WanderingWhy…

Quito is great I’m sure but I have been mostly bed-ridden for the last few days. When we checked into our hostel with a private bathroom (it’s a big deal to have our own bathroom on this trip) I wondered why we had 4 extra rolls of papel hygenico. Let’s just say I will not ask that question again. Hey, it was bound to happen.

During my downtime, I got to ponder the supreme intelligence of airport security. A great travel tip I learned is to pack all of your bathroom stuff into ziploc bags. This makes packing and finding things much easier by compartmentalizing and being able to see all your accumulated crap. However, as you can see in this photo, this is a huge challenge for airline security:

Can you see what is inside the clear plastic bag? Does it look like a bomb? Maybe it smells like Colombia’s finest export? To smell it you would have to open the bag, no? Would you do just that or make the extra effort to tear it open like you see above?

I imagine the top-secret conversation in airport security went something like this:

Agent 1: What’s this? Do we have something here?

Agent 2: I don’t know. It’s in a clear plastic bag so I can’t see what is inside it.

Agent 1: Well, open it!

Agent 2: Are you loco? I can’t open it! Look, it says right here on the side: Zip”LOC”–it’s locked.

Agent 1: Your momma must have chewed to many coca leaves when she was pregnant with you. Give me that bag! I’ll get into it. <perplexed by the highly complex double zipper seal, he tears the bag open with his super human strength>

Agent 2: Wow, what do you think it is? Should we sell it?

Agent 1: I have no idea but it’s full of gringo hair. No, it’s worthless. Inspection passed. Put it back, I’m going to wash my hands.

I mean really, the whole airport security system seems like an elaborate show created to give the fearful some faith in flying. They add new “security checks” after someone has already exposed the weakness (shoe bomber anyone?), and then harass all the wrong people. I realize this when they make my 87 year old grandfather, a WWII veteran covered in semper fi and USMC patches and everything but the flag, take off his shoes. Or do the same to my father-in-law who has Alzheimer’s and cannot drive let alone find the airport. The whole show is a joke, they know who and what to look for so give it up already.

Anyhow, coming back from my tangent, Quito is a great city for wandering. It is not the safest place though, so poor Dawn has been a bit stuck here in the hostel bouncing around and asking if I’m ready to go to the Galapagos and can she book the trip yet. Answer: NO!

Feeling like I could manage stumbling around a museum for a few hours, and not being able to stand Dawn’s cabin fever any longer, I decided to leave the ceiling I had been staring at for to long and visit the “Banco Central Del Ecuador” or Ecuador’s national museum. At only $2 for gringos (yes, it’s even cheaper for locals) it was an unbelievable deal. The collection ranges from artifacts of pre-incan tribes, Incan relics, Conquistadors, and right up paintings from modern artists. South America really has some amazing history worth reading about. The Conquistadorsbrought wonderful things to the continent like smallpox, and massive greed justified by religion. I guess some things don’t change.

I was not feeling as good as I thought and came close to passing out in the museum a few times. I decided to take it a bit easier today, so Dawn signed us up for some humiliation in Spanish class. They have a good school right here in the hostal, so we just walked downstairs and had some private instruction. The instruction is very good and my Spanish is very bad. We have two hours everyday for the next few days so Dawn will get to laugh at me some more.

After class, we decided to cab over to the TeleferiQo. The view from the top is truly incredible. I don’t think a panoramic camera could do justice to the view of Quito from up there. Walking around at 12,000 ft. is probably not “taking it easy” but thankfully I did okay.

(Proof we are traveling together!)

After taking in the view we headed down into the Mariscal area in the heart of new town Quito. Most of my friends know my appetite as a bit legendary and I apologize for not posting more about the food. Trust me though–I have been eating damn well until I got here. Normally I eat my way across cities (God I miss NY sometimes) and would definitely be doing that here if my stomach wasn’t rolling every time I walked past a restaurant or street vendor. However, we opted for an Indian restaurant for a break from Latin cuisine–a damn good choice. I ate my first full meal in 4 days:

I think I’m feeling better.

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