Adventures of a Sun Seeker: Day 9: Quito Charm and Closed Roads

(For those of you wondering where Days 7 and 8 are, they were spent variously walking, bussing, writing about the Amazon, and walking some more)

Hola from 10,000 feet and the capital city of Ecuador, Quito. The city is shaped like a hot dog, a long tightly-stuffed situation in between two buns of mountains, as it were. We stayed in the historical and architecture-eye-candy district of Santo Domingo. Our hotel was a maze of hallways and stairways (with potted vines!) and if you found your way up to the top floor you were granted an open terrace and a million dollar view of a gorgeous cathedral and square. It felt so timeless and luxurious to see the cobbled streets, the church spires, the wraught iron balconies at windows, and the busy bustle of all the people selling all the things.

That the historical city was so satisfying was good, because getting in and out of Quito is a task indeed. A bus from out of town will arrive at one of the many large terminals. Then you need to transfer to the city "metro" system, which is a bus-trolley like thing, incredibly crowded (many of the locals wear their bags on their front for pickpockets), and makes multiple stops per block. Painfully slow. But it was worth it!

And the best part, Sundays in Quito are "Ciclovia Day", which means that multiple main roads are shut to vehicles and cyclists and runners can take over for the morning. I borrowed a bicycle from the hotel and grinned and pedaled and relished. Biking emptied streets was such a great way to see the city, much clearer view than a bus window, and offering a much wider menu than walking.

I loved being a part of the diverse humanity--hundreds if not thousands of people out--enjoying the streets. There were fancy Trek and Specialized bikes with their riders all in branded jerseys, there were little kids on kick-bikes, bikes that desperately needed their seats raised, bikes incredulously too big for their person. A group of hip people cruised past on fixed-gears, teenagers roller-bladed, some folks dismounted for the small hills. An entire family rode one BMX bike, the young dad pedaling, young mom standing on the rear axle, and little daughter balanced on the handlebars. A woman on a pink bike pedaled onward, her backpack yawning open with a curly dog assessing the world from within.

Old city, fancy new city with tall buildings, unattractive car dealership area, graffiti neighborhood: we poured through these areas under our own power. Finally there was a yellow tape across the road. The end! People congregated, eating bananas and drinking free cups of water. Then we turned around and cruised the other way. I think I bicycled 17 miles today.

At one point I heard music from one of the many expansive city parks, complete with soccer matches, children eating candy, and trinket-sellers, and found a big outdoor Zumba party. I laid the bike down and joined them. Dancing Zumba in an authentic area made me no less awkward, but I didn't care. I was surrounded by Quito people of all ages and both genders, some with organized dancing bodies and others, like me, very disorganized. I felt so happy dancing to spirited Latin pop music in the sun.

I was waiting for the effects of high altitude to beset me, but so far nothing much interesting has happened. I've been concentrating on staying very hydrated with fruit juices and tea, and I've also heard that garlic and cloves can help the blood, so I've been having lots of those. I've had barely a momentary headache here and there, but didn't feel insurmountably winded on the bike.