After our side trip to the beach, we spent a while in Quito, which felt like going home.
Knowing the bus systems and city layout made navigating much less stressful. We found a great hostel near the city center which made getting around easy.
I visited ACLAS, my school I studied at, and had a wonderful lunch with Fernando the director.
We chatted about what I've been up to for the last two years and in Peru. How the school is doing, the protests in Ecuador right now (more on that later), vocab I've had questions about since Peru. It was fantastic to catch up and see him again.
I also had lunch with my host family. It was amazing to see my Ecuadorian mom and dad again. I saw pictures of their new granddaughter, saw photos and some video from my host sister's wedding earlier this year. I also got to eat Margoth's cooking again. There really isn't any way to describe it but as coming home after 2 years away.
One of the first friends I made during my study abroad just happened to be a dance instructor. Visiting him again was extra fun because I got to see the dance academy he was planning 2 years ago. I found the text message in my old SIM card from when he decided on a name, and now he's had a successful school for 2 years.
We went out salsa dancing again and happened to be in Quito for the 6th Annual Ecuador Salsa Congress so we went to watch the competition finals at the Teatro Nacional.
It was a 5 hour spectacle of bachata, tango, ans salsa in pairs, teams, and same gender pairs. There was more fringe in one place than I've ever seen before in my life, and they had to sweep the stage periodically to remove fallen sequins and glitter which I thought was hilarious. Plus, the dancing was amazing.
And back to the protests I mentioned earlier, they were a little crazy. City-wide protests against the government and for workers rights were planned for the 13th of August and there were smaller ones scattered in the preceding and following days. I had multiple friends warn me about traveling around then as marches were affecting bus travel in and out of Quito as well.
In the city the police were our in force. Corners around important buildings had groups of 10-50 men and women in flack vests and full riot gear with helmets and plexiglas shields, and sections of fence for roadblocks at the ready. It never seemed right to stop and take a photo of them, but it was an impressive sight. We saw a couple guys who looked like Batman, all in black plate armor.
They did seem to be there just as a precaution and a show of force. We walked past and through the blockade lines as we went around town, they were letting pedestrians through no problem.
When the marches started the streets were filled with people, flags and banners and a cacophony of horns and drums. It wreaked havoc on the busses and traffic, and we had trouble getting around a couple times. They stayed peaceful and the worst we say was some fires set in the streets that seemed contained, though we didn't really get close enough to see.
Since the line between protest and riot can be a fine one, especially when police in riot gear are involved we kept our distance. I had a slightly higher anxiety level for a little while, but it was interesting to see political activism in another country.
All in all we had a lovely time in the capital, and it will continue to have a special place in my heart.
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| Quito at sunset |
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