To back up a little, I spent the last weekend of my program on the beach in SW Costa Rica, which is where our professors took us for a final relaxing week. I had a great time in the warm, wavy Pacific and exploring the caves that surround the beaches. It was really nice to spend the weekend with my group and to relax in the hot, humid tropics one last time.
We returned to San Jose on Monday, for one last night in the big city. We visited Mercado Central, where I bought some raw sugar and other essentials before meeting our professors for a farewell dinner. At dinner, we all shared our favorite memories and after dinner, most of my group members and our professor Jorge went out to a club. I normally shy away from dancing, but I got right to it and was the first one on the dance floor. I was at it for about 4 hours, and finally went to sleep after some really sad goodbyes at 1:15.
But not for long! I was up again at 3 to get to the airport for my flight to Quito. I made it here without a hitch and Gabe's friends Mia and Jane met me at the airport. Weirdest thing: as I walked up the gangway from the plane, I was panting like an obese dog and finally realized that the altitude in Quito is over 9000ft! No wonder I couldn't breath!
Once I caught my breath, we hopped in a taxi and headed toward Gabe's internship. We were paying the taxista when I spotted Gabe walking in front of us! We jumped out and pursued him down the street until he turned into his building. Jane went to knock on the door while I hid behind a car, but Gabe looked out the window and saw me. He came running out of the building like it was on fire. It was a pretty exciting moment, but you'll have to take my word for it because there was no time to grab my camera.
Gabe left his internship early and we found a hostel, then met up with some of his friends for a trivia night at an Irish bar. We had a great time, but I was absolutely exhausted. On Wednesday, we wandered around the historic part of the city (with a camera, but no battery) between classes and ran into some beautiful old buildings, plus lots of strange little markets where you can buy more used printer cartridges than you could possibly need. We had dinner with his host family and went to another trivia night as I continued to try to adjust to the lack of oxygen.
On Thursday, we went to a few classes and wandered through Parque Caronlina, which is near Gabe's homestay. That night, we went to see a play in the national theater - La Casa de Bernarda Alba. The play was Federico Garcia Lorca's last work before he was killed by Franco in the Spanish Civil War and is about an overbearing mother and her daughters and the drama that results when love is in the air. I think we managed to follow most of the story, but it's trickier to follow a play when it's in another language. A quick glimpse of the theater following the play:
On Friday, Gabe worked for a few hours in the morning and I took the time to explore the area and, subsequently, to get some exercise. Around midday, we took a bus to Mitad del Mundo, a little town located on the equator! I'd been in Quito (south of the equator) for about 3 days, but I made the leap across the line back to the Northern hemisphere. We looked around the museum about the discovery of the location of the equator and enjoyed being in two hemispheres at once.
After we had thoroughly explored the middle of the earth, we went back to Parque Carolina to try out the paddle boats. Steering was illogical, but we figured it out.
After an hour or so, we went home to change into nicer clothes for Shabbat services! The synagogue was the first real synagogue I've ever been in, and it was amazing! It was a huge, ornate, gorgeous building, once you reached beyond the armed guards and thick walls. Services were fun, though they weren't very familiar. I only recognized one or two tunes and the transliteration was even different. The oneg afterward was incredible though. While everyone was chatting, Gabe insisted on talking with a woman who had mentioned that she lives in India. Believe it or not, she regularly attends a synagogue Gabe visited in India and she remembered a group from Tufts. She and Gabe had attended services together in India! It was an incredible coincidence that had us smiling for the rest of the night.
We woke up early Saturday morning, but not early enough to catch a bus to Mindo, about 3 hours east of Quito. We arrived at the bus stop at 10, but the bus had left at 9, so we reconfigured our plans. We spent some time wandering through an incredible fruit and vegetable market, where we bought our weight in exciting fruit before heading back into Quito Central. This is called rambutan (or mamon chino- Chinese sucker- in Costa Rica).
Back in Quito, we decided to explore the city's only permanent amusement park, which was a great way to spend the day. Unfortunately, Gabe has all those photos, but I can assure you that I was brave enough to go on a real, upside-down roller coaster.
That afternoon, we finally caught the bus to Mindo, a touristy town with lots of adventure activities. We checked into an adorable hostel and went to dinner with a couple we'd met on the bus. We had an early start Sunday morning with a series of 12 ziplines through the canopy! We got to try some really exciting stunts like going upside down and on our stomachs like superman, but I liked being able to go with Gabe and see the incredible view from an upright, seated position.
After ziplining, we took the tarabita, or cable-car, across a huge ravine. The kid here was our guide/driver/person responsible for my life. Once we reached the jungle, we hiked to several beautiful waterfalls and saw lots of bugs along the way. We returned home to Quito Sunday evening and went to bed early, exhausted after our day of adventure.
This morning, we went to class and spent the middle of the day climbing the basilica in Quito. It was a lot of steps, but the view was phenomenal. Quito is skinny E-W, but stretches as far as the eye can see from North to South. It was a beautiful day, and I'm so glad I got an aerial view of Quito and that I could explore the gorgeous basilica.
Now it's time to go home to and make kugel for his Ecuadorian family. After dinner, I think we'll try to see a movie, then I have one more day in Quito before I'm Ancramdale bound (with stops in 5 countries). I've had an incredible week with Gabe, and saying goodbye won't be nearly as bad because of all the family and pets I'll see when I get home!
