Our free day in Quito was educational. We hired Roual and he took us to the old quarter and as Nancy said I was looking for history, culture and coffee. He treated us to a round of individual tours by some of his friends through a number of churchs. Some more than four centuries old.
First saint, a woman from Ecuador. The presidental palace is actually occupied by the President. Nancy thought I should have a picture with the palace guard. The less formal guards all had automatic weapons. So I put off my request to talk to the President. Next trip.
One big surprise was that the people really use their parks. I saw a real cross section of folks. The market stalls were also a trip. Everything is for sale.
I had one heart stopping moment. I was trying out my barter skills with one vendor. I wanted to buy a neckless for Nancy. I got mixed up with the Spanish words for ¨Buy¨ and ¨Sell¨. The old man´s eyes lit up. Come to find out I had sold Nancy. The mistake was corrected, but it cost me a 20% premium to get her back.
Rich, more later...
But Nancy, are you petting alpaca yet? Or hiding them in your suitcase to bring them home?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, your email must be full, because Ann at a4A is trying to reach you ... :-)