🇪🇨 Soft Landing in Quito, Ecuador
Crash landed in Quito, Ecuador yesterday after a long day of travel. An overnight flight to Miami and I slept on the plane the entire time. Leaving the Denver airport at midnight is relaxing because it’s empty… but everything is closed and the vending machine becomes dinner snacks. Miami airport is a zoo but such a mixed bag of humans that ‘people watching’ is totally entertaining.
It was more like a soft landing in Quito. It’s a brand new airport and immigration is easy and quick. I hit up a solo American traveler, a Revenue Consultant from Raleigh, NC in the immigration line to split a cab to Centro Histórico. We explored the center of town and took some pictures and chatted about past adventures before going our separate ways.
I had found a cheap room share in Centro Histórico. Ecuador is not that cheap and I was concerned about the ‘cheap’ means rough equation. It was supposed to be a room separate from the household of a professional couple. It was not… it was an entire wing of their compound. I get 3 rooms (bedroom, dining area and library/sitting room) with 2 courtyards, a fountain and magnificent shared kitchen. It’s in a series of updated historical buildings and just gorgeous. For $12 a night which is about 1/5 of the average in the area. Twelve American dollars!
The couple sat with me when I arrived for a meet and greet. The conversation was lovely and rich. As we chatted I learned they are more than just professionals, they are highly educated intellectuals… dynamic, charismatic and pleasant. The husband is a well known novelist/writer/lecturer in Ecuador. I looked him up… Adolfo Macías Huerta is noted to be one of the most intelligent writers in Ecuador. Coolio. And how lucky am I? I was just looking for an inexpensive place to store my gear as I cause trouble throughout the lands of South America.
Turns out… I’m their first guest. Their kids are off living their lives in Europe and they decided to rent the space. That’s why the price is so low… they’re new to this. The wife, Verónica, is super passionate, attractive and has been excitingly showing me around the place… her plants, the kitchen space, her vermiculture box, “look at that bee!,” “there’s the trash,” “here’s the tea,” “you must stay warm… blankets there!”… her and Adolfo showed me the TV and claimed they have no idea how to work it (they’re intellectuals, of course they don’t)
Anywho, she’s an extremely sweet human being and I feel quite cared for in this far off place and I’m sure I will have difficulty tearing myself away from here when it’s time to leave.
Today, I meet up with my language exchange friend, Verónica de Cotacachi for some language exchange. And sometimes… it’s all about people.
“The only people for me are the mad ones: the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who... burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles.”
- Jack Kerouac
