You Can Never Have Too Much Tango…Day 4 Continued

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Day 4 continued………

After driving back to Quito, we all go our separate ways to get ready for a big group Tango lesson    followed by a Milonga tonight. We still have plenty of time, so Njål and I head down to the  Indian Market in the Mariscal area to buy some souvenirs. We get out of the cab and I look    up at the giant black clouds that have rolled across the sky. ¨You know¨, I said, ¨this might be a great time to go have a coffee and let this storm pass before we wander  through     the open air market!¨ He agrees and we head for the Hilton Hotel that happens to be there  on the corner. We settle into a much-too-nice restaurant next to a window and order coffee as the rain starts to pour and lightning begins to flash across the sky. Talk about    good timing!!! We talk and laugh and exchange stories about violin making. The conversation   goes from serious to hysterical and back again, neither of us bothered by the fact that this is probably the worst coffee either of us have ever had. J By the time the coffee pot     is empty and the rain has stopped, it is time for Njål to head to his private Tango lesson.   The shopping will have to wait for another day.
I head home to get things organized and within the hour am in another cab headed      for Cafe Libro. This is a beautiful, small restaurant with a dance floor that hosts all  kind of events, including visiting famous Tango teachers. When I get there, class is about     to begin and the floor is covered with dancers. I chicken out of the lesson, knowing that Njål will teach me later, and settle back to watch. Our group of friends has bunch   of small tables and chairs on the side of the dance floor and I am joined by different   people that I met the first evening I was in town. I later told Njål that it was like being part of the     ‘cool crowd’ in high school!
As the lesson turns into the Milonga itself, I talk to different people, sipping hot      red wine, ( vino caliente) out of a mug with a sugared rim. The energy in the place is electric, but grounded and comfortable as more and more people stream in.     There is a group of very stern, frowning women in their 60´s gathered around a table  across the dance floor and I have fun watching them make a considerable dent    in a bottle of rum. I watch all evening and only once did I see one of them smile. 🙂
At times, I find myself sandwiched closely between new Tango friends, all of whom  treat me like I have been there forever. I am having a good time, but all of the sudden,      the Tango music stops and Salsa music starts blaring through the speakers. I do believe     that the Milonga is finished!!! The other women at the table jump up and start    dancing like crazy, motioning that I should join them. Again, when in Rome, right?!

I dance away while the die-hard Tango people slip out quietly. Noticing Njål standing on the side quietly, I went to ask him if he was ready to go home. Tiredly, he says ‘yes’.    Unfortunately, though, the DJ picked that very moment to play “I Will Survive”!     I begged and cajoled and Njål reluctantly followed me out onto the dance floor.  I enjoyed myself to pieces for the next few songs which consisted of American greats,     such as “YMCA” and “Thriller”. Njål was a great sport and kept me company on the dance     floor til I ran out of energy. It is close to 2 am and it is time to go home.   Tomorrow is my last day of playing tourist and Njål and I have been invited to visit a music    festival outside of Quito. I figure I should save some energy for that……. J

Buenas Noches…………

Anna

The Middle of All things- Day 4


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Day 4…………

So, my brother and I have a game….it goes something like this.
He says, ¨I have canoed the boundary waters of Michigan!!¨

I say, ¨Yes, but I have sat on the hillside of a Masai village talking to warriors!!”
He says, ¨Yes, but I have bicycled across the South of France…twice!!”
at which point I say, ¨Yes, but I have ridden a sled across a frozen lake at midnight under the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle!¨.

It is a totally obnoxious, self indulgent game, but we enjoy it.  However, today I am thinking that, I win!!! Today, I will Tango on the Equator!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
(I know, I know…how obnoxious can I be!?!?!) 🙂
Njål and I have been invited to join our new Tango friends, John, Cathy and David, to go to La Mitad del Mundo. It means, the middle of the Earth and the equator literally runs straight through this little town giving everyone a chance to dance, stand and kiss on the equator itself. David used to work as a tour guide at the museum that straddles the line, so he has agreed to take us all there and show us the sights. Njål and I meet David at his apartment this morning and we take a bus to the main terminal, where we transfer to the bus that travels the half hour to La Mital Del Mundo. The entire trip costs 40 cents, and it passes quickly in conversation. David is the nicest guy!! Of course, like everyone here, he is very handsome. 🙂 And he does dance a mean Tango!! 🙂 But he is also kind and accommodating and is constantly making sure that I know what everyone is saying and doing. He lived in Chicago for three years and his English is perfect. I don’t mind everyone speaking Spanish around me….I figure if it is something that I really need to know, Njål will fill me in. But I am truly touched by his kindness.

When we get there, we are joined by John and Cathy. John is the visiting Tango teacher and once again greets me with a warm smile and a hug and a kiss. I still find him a bit intimidating because he is just so amazing!!! But he is so friendly and down to earth that I find myself relaxed and laughing with him. Cathy is a stunningly beautiful woman that, really, if she weren’t so darn cool, I would have to hate!! 🙂 She also Tango’s like a beast and looks like a model, but is, too, very smart and down to earth. It turns out that she is studying medicine in college and is going to become a psychologist. Everyone is talking like they have known each other forever and even I am laughing and understanding everything that is going on. The sun has come out and the sky is a brilliant blue. The museum is actually a series of outdoor displays that weave through huge cacti and blossoming flowers. The colors are riotous and every few steps there is a different smell.
We join a tour in Spanish, because I am the only person there that doesn’t speak it and as we wind our way around, David whispers in my ear, telling me all about the displays. Since this was his actual job for several years, he knows everything and is a fantastic guide. A lot of this is about the different Ecuadorian tribes, including those of the Amazon. We see actual shrunken heads, (yuck) and gigantic spiders and snakes. We learn about the tribe that, when the chief dies, they bury the chiefs’ wife and children with him. Alive. All I am saying is that that is a good reason to never marry the chief!!

The best part of the tour comes when we get to the actual equator. I just thought it was cool place, but the weirdest, strangest things happen here!!! They have all kinds of neat experiments that they show you that demonstrate just how powerful it is to be at 0 degrees latitude. For instance, they have a sink of water that when you set it on the line and let the stopper out, it does not circle around the drain….it falls straight out. But when you move it three feet off of the equator, in either direction, the water swirls down. On one side it swirls clock wise, and on the other, counter clock wise! This is all within three feet!! AND, if you close your thumb and forefinger together, and have someone test your strength by trying to pry them apart, you will find that you are much weaker standing on the actual equator!! I am not making this up!!
The best part, though, is that it is darn near impossible to close your eyes and walk a straight line down the equator. You will be pulled to one side or another. This got really funny when the dancers got involved!!! John grinned and lined his feet up on the equator, closing his eyes. He took three steps forward and fell off to one side! With an exasperated sound he tried again, and again!. We were all laughing hysterically!! When all way said and done, I looked at Njål and said, ¨Will you Tango on the equator with me?¨ With a smile, he said, Of course!¨ I now have a video of me tangoing on the equator and then, of course, doing the Dance of the Real Woman. It is not quite the same without the hiking poles, but my heart was totally in it all the same!! 🙂 And the best part is that when you see me almost fall over tangoing on the video, I can totally blame it on that whole ´no balance on the equator´ thing!!!

As we finished up our equator fun, it started to rain and we all make a dash for Cathy’s car. The next thing I know, five of us are crammed into her 1974 Volkswagen Beetle and we are weaving down the road, laughing and teasing each other. The next stop is lunch and David knows a wonderful place with great food. Cathy introduces me to Chicha, a fermented corn drink that is fantastic!! (For my friends in the know, this is NOT the one that is chewed up my men and then spit into a bucket to age!!) We all sit around enjoying lunch and everyone is talking and laughing in Spanish. I do not feel left out in the slightest. I pick up every third or fourth words and let the rest of them fall around me like music. All I know at this point is that I am sitting in a cafe in the countryside of Ecuador with new friends, drinking Chicha and laughing.
I am so glad that I said yes when Njål asked if I wanted to go Tango….
(to be continued…..)

Anna aka Mud Butt

Oh….my………….

 

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Day 3……….
This morning, I got up early and went to the school with Njål. Eudoxia, the woman in charge of the office, has arranged for a friend of hers to take me on a private tour of Quito. Omar shows up and is a handsome young man who is nice, nice, nice. He immediately starts chatting with me and regardless of his own ability to speak a little English, insists that I speak in only Spanish. This makes me laugh and laugh because no matter how often, how loudly, or how slowly he says, ¨dónde están usted de?¨I still have absolutely NO idea what he is saying! Turns out he is asking where I am from. 🙂
For fifteen minutes we wind our way through the streets of Quito and he peppers me with friendly questions…..in Spanish, of course. I am just starting to realize that this might make for a very long tour when, BAM! We are rear ended by a young man driving an SUV. No worries….we are totally fine!!! But, unfortunately, the cars are not. I get out of the car and step onto the sidewalk, leaning against the wall. I listen for ten minutes while the young man apologizes profusely and Omar looks sadly at the crumpled rear of his car. It doesn’t look like there will be a tour today. 🙁 I feel so badly for Omar….I know he needs his car to make a living and he looks so dejected..

As I lean against the wall, I look up and read the street sign. Mariscal Ave.

Great.

All of the books I have read have said that Mariscal has some of the more, shall we say, unseemly areas of Quito and that it is not all that safe. I look at Omar and tell him that I am going to get a cab back to the school and that I am so sorry for him. He nods sadly and throws out his arm. In matter of 2 seconds a taxi has slid to a stop in front of me and I am on my way back to the school. So, what to do in a situation like this? Call my new friend Patricio!! Within another 15 minutes, I am safely ensconced in his cab, headed for the Cathedral. I am so excited about this cathedral!! Here they call it the Basilica, and it is not even the most famous church in town, but it is huge and gorgeous and I crane my neck out of the window to get a glimpse of it as we maneuver through the curvy, narrow stone streets.
The thing about cathedrals is that, they don’t ever seem to match their surroundings. We are in the midst of cobblestone roads and buildings of pastel colors stretching, literally, as far as you can see. And towering above it all is this immense, dark grey stone structure that truly reaches for the heavens. You see it peeking up and through the neighborhoods, or ´barrios´ as they are known here but it is not until you actually pull up to it that you can see how incredible it really is. Now, someone told me that this is actually neo Gothic, but it looks exactly like every Gothic cathedral I have ever been in. Except….all of the gargoyles are animals!! They have tortoises, alligators, and even armadillos sticking out of the side of the building! It is cool!!
I climb the steps to enter the cathedral and an elderly nun comes out and starts talking away to me. She chatters and chatters! I offer her my hand and help her down the steep steps, all the while she is talking animatedly the entire time!! When we get to the bottom she nods and smiles, saying ´Gracias¨ and gets into a cab. I guess I will never know what she was actually saying to me!! 🙂
I enjoy the Cathedral and luckily enough, they allow photos without flash, so I click away. I understand that you can climb 300 steps and a series of ladders to the very top of the cathedral, but the altitude is still playing havoc with my lungs, so I decide to leave that for another time. Afterwards, I sit and enjoy a coffee while watching the people come and go from the church. This really is my favorite part!!

I finally abandoned my ´cafe with a view´ and make my way back to the very patient Patricio. It is time to go see the church that Quito is most famous for. I am really not sure how it can compare with what I have just enjoyed, but I am happy to go see what all of the fuss is about. We make our way through the heart of the Colonial downtown of Quito and I crick my neck trying to see everything!! The traffic is terrible, but we finally make our way to a parking space and as I get out, I look up to see that Patricio is also getting out. He motions that he will walk with me.

Oh this is SO not what I had in mind!!

Don’t get me wrong….he is very, very nice! But I want to enjoy the heart of Quito for a few hours alone, not feeling like I have a body guard!! I momentarily contemplate giving him the slip, but of course, I would never do that. It was a fun idea, though! We weave our way through the crowds of people….almost all locals. There are not many tourists around, as far as I can tell. Old men are sitting on benches feeding pigeons, children are chasing each other in circles and women are weaving through it all selling bags of fruit that I do not recognize. It is a pretty cool scene.
We make our way up to a church that looks…well, nice and all that, but….no big deal. Patricio waits outside while I pay my 2 dollars and walk through the door.

Oh………my………………goodness…………..

This church is called La Companea. And the inside is plated in over 7 tons of gold. Did you hear that?!?!?!? That would be 14,000 pounds of gold. Imagine every single surface covered with the most ornate patterns imaginable…all gold. I am so sorry because there are no words that I can say that can really make you see what this looks like! It is known as the most beautiful church in all of Latin America and I have to say, I cannot imagine anything on earth being more spectacular than this. Of course, here they do not allow photos, but later I will put some images up on the blog so that you can all enjoy it. All I can say is that I am terribly glad that I came to see it.
Afterwards, we walked down to another church, this one less ornate, but gorgeous in it’s own right. It had beautiful paintings washed over the stone walls and looked old and revered. It was a great church to follow the opulence of La Campanea. Quito has 87 churches and the city is really famous because of that. I wish that I had time to see them all. There is something about old churches that truly moves me. It is not the religion….that is fine, but does not move my soul the way the buildings themselves do. I am just so profoundly touched by the centuries of work and honor that go into each of them. It is something really special.

The day is getting on and I still need to buy shoes, (Njål has insisted that I have tango shoes) 🙂 go to the bank and grab a quick bite before the Tango lesson tonight. This one is for the pros, and I will just be watching. But I am really honored to be included.
After running all of my errands and saying goodbye to Patricio, Njål and I head across town to the University. We walk into a recital hall and I settle onto the floor to watch. Several of the dancers from last night run over and hug and kiss me, while John, the teacher waves and grins at me. These people sure know how to make a girl from Georgia feel welcome and included!!!
The lesson was really fun to watch and I enjoyed chatting with one of the dancers while she waited to join in. When all way said and done, they all decided to go to another Milonga (dance) and invited me to join in. It is after ten o’clock and first they are going to someones home for a private lesson and then to a restaurant for hours of Tango. I know that you will all be terribly disappointed, but I was completely exhausted! Did I mention that our new Tango friends had invited us to go out of town tomorrow sight seeing? I have to get some sleep!!! So, with kisses all around, I made my good-byes and grabbed a taxi back to the house. Another day is done………….

Day 2 in Ecuador Continued…

Day 2 continued……….
So, you know the old adage about the best laid plans, right? I head back to the house and go across the street for some food. The restaurant has five small tables inside and no menu. What they have cooked for the day IS the menu! I¨ should take a moment to say that very, very few people here speak English. I kind of love that!! I hate it when people assume that other countries should speak our language and I try to be very cognizant of the idea that I am a guest in their country, so I nod and smile and go with the flow. 🙂 This, of course, gets extra interesting when you are ordering food! I ask for food and drink and sit down looking out of the window. The elderly woman brings me a hot soup with spinich and avocado and I am happy. THEN she brings me a huge plate of food , rice, beans, salad and a seriously unidentifiable piece of meat that has a huge bone in it! Well, I know better than to eat the salad…..that whole ¨no eating raw fruits, veggies or street food in a strange country¨thing. And I knew that I was not going to get along with that piece of meat. So, I enjoyed the rice and beans and moved the rest of it around so that I would not hurt her feelings. She finished by bringing me a grilled piece of pineapple.
Full to the brim, I head off to enjoy a nice long nap. I am out like a light when, at 8:00 there is a knock on my door. It is Njål and he says, “I am going to Tango…want to come?¨
Sigh…….
I have a serious problem here. First of all, I have a stead fast rule, especially when traveling in foreign countries. Never, ever say no to a new experience. But face it folks, I have serious body issues!! And I do NOT know how to dance! And the Tango, for crying out loud! I don’t know much about South America, but I am pretty sure that I will not be allowed to sit quietly and watch. No good could come of this. You see my problem.
Sigh………
Yes, of course I want to go.
We jump in a cab and he explains that a very famous Tango dancer from Colombia is visiting and is giving lessons at a persons house. We pull up to an apartment and pick up a fun, older couple that Njål met on the internet and start winding our way up to the very North part of the city. We arrive at a building and the man explains that we enter on street level and then take an elevator down 8 flights. We descend through a modern, gorgeous building in a wire cage of an elevator, and step out into a gorgeous apartment that has a wall of windows looking out over the city. Wow.
There are about 15 people there, all friendly and attractive, mingling and chatting. Every person introduces themselves to me, kissing me on the cheek. I feel welcome already. And it looks like I will be able to sit and watch. Yay me!!! 🙂 Everyone begins changing their shoes and the instructor, John, calls them together. The lights are lowered, impossibly rich music starts playing, and couples start dancing. I sit completely mesmerized. The Tango community here is actually quite small and these people all know each other. Njål was lucky to get an invitation to this and I feel really lucky to be along. The passion these people have for this dance is evident in every single step. A young man with long, dark hair walks over to my chair and with a smile, hands me a glass of hot, spiced wine. I sit back and Iet the music wash over me for the better part of an hour. Wow…..just, wow.
Later in the evening, everyone takes a break for food and wine and I take out money to pay the instructor. The dancers are all paying $20 apiece to learn from him, and even though I am not dancing, I felt like it was the very least I could do. The gift of this evening was worth so much more. As everyone began to dance again, I settled back in my chair for more. I looked up, however, and Njål was standing in front of me with his hand stretched out. He said, ¨Please¨.

Sigh………..
My stomach knotted up and I told him again that I was a terrible dancer. He just pulled me in and off we went. So this is what people mean when they say that it is so much easier to dance with a good leader. For some reason, I trust him. So I do my best to not embarrass him and we Tango away. All is good until the teacher steps in and re-starts class. I thought we were on to the ‘anyone can dance’ portion of the evening!! Now I am involved and no one will let me sit down. This is bad!! This is the equivalent of a first-time violin student being asked to sit in an ASO rehearsal. I swallow the butterflies in my stomach as Njål translates the teachers instructions. We are all to free-style our way through the group dancing with each other. Oy Vay.
I should mention that this is Argentinean Tango, not ballroom Tango. It is much more subtle and refined than ballroom. Also, in Argentinean Tango, everyone dances with everyone. Men with women, women with women, men with men. It does not matter and everyone puts all of their hearts into it, regardless of who they are dancing with. Men all learn from the beginning to lead as well as follow, so they are comfortable doing both. As we begin dancing, I have my first truly funny moment. Have you seen Dirty Dancing? Remember the very first party Baby goes to where out of the blue Patrick Swayze dances up to her, grabs her and dances for a while before just dancing off, leaving her alone in the middle of the floor? I had a true Dirty Dancing moment when the instructor came up and grabbed me, giving me a few swirls around the room. When he danced off, I was so relieved!! He is beautiful, and amazing and nice as can be and all of that….but he scares the MESS out of me!!! 🙂
The next few exercises involve taking turns with your partner, one of you leading the other around the dance while the other has their eyes closed. I looked at Njål and said, “soooooo not going to happen!¨. He just simply said ¨Please¨.

Oh man oh man oh man…..

You know that whole ´trust game´ thing you do where you let people lead you around? Not me. EVER. Between my fear of falling, lack of grace, and, in this particular situation, complete lack of know how, there is just no way I am doing this.

There is also no way I can say no to that ´please´.

So we Tango on. When it comes to closing my eyes, I just do it. I trust him. Don’t ask me why. We swirl around and from time to time I feel the breeze of another couple passing, or the hair of another woman brushing against my arm. I know that I am coming so close to colliding with these people but Njål never lets me.
As they move to the final, and truly too advanced for me, dances of the night, I sit back down. Midnight has long come and gone. The clouds have obscured the lights of the city and rain is softly falling against the window. The music has become achingly soft and the fire in the corner has burned down to embers.

I sip my wine and choke back tears.

Really, one person shouldn’t be this lucky.
Buenos Noches.
Anna

Tooth Fairies, Altitude and True Beauty

 

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Mud Butt in Ecuador

Day 2………..

This morning, I woke up early to meet Lizbeth and her family for breakfast. For two dollars a day, she will provide it for me. All I really want is coffee, but I cannot pass up the chance to visit with her and her family, which includes a cute, cute six year old son named Emilio. I ply him with Jolly Ranchers and he grins with a smile missing no less than four teeth. When I ask about the tooth fairy, Lizbeth says that here they have a mouse…..but that the mouse also takes the tooth from under the pillow and leaves a little bit of money. Isn’t it interesting how the same custom could have evolved, but with the small difference of a fairy verses a mouse? 🙂

I asked her about going around town to sight see and am met with a worried glance. She asks me to please not go anywhere by myself. Hmmm….that could be difficult, seeing as how I am traveling alone! I assure her that I will speak to the FOSJE people about it and that I will be very careful. By 9:00, I am waiting outside with Njål to go to the school. Njål is the other luthier and he is wonderful! He is originally from Denmark, but studied at the violin making school in the UK. He is quiet, but very funny and I pepper him with questions about the program as our taxi takes us there. He explains that everything changes daily and that he is trying to make tools with the students, but that they have no steel, blow torch, or any of the other things that one really needs to make tools. He also is wondering if I will really need all five days to teach bow rehairing, because he is slightly panicked about teaching them all of the set up he is supposed to. He is here for three weeks, but is losing a lot of time due to the lack of tools. I assure him that he can have any time that I do not need, but that my first priority is that the students can rehair bows. I think we will work it out all right.
We pull up outside of the school and pass an armed guard as we enter. Come to think of it, there seems to be a lot of armed guards around. Interesting…..
As we walk in, I am surrounded by sounds of a woodwind group playing Shostakovich 6, a string bass master class playing etudes and a cello class working on Beethoven 5. These people are not messing around!! The students play really, really well and I think of the El Systema Program in Venezuela. These students might come from less wealthy backgrounds, but that is not stopping the teachers from demanding the very most out of them! The program here is called FOSJE, which stands basically for the Orchestra System for Young Ecuador. I have not lifted a finger, but I am already so proud to be here!!
Njål takes me up to introduce me to the staff where Eudoxia, the woman in charge of the office, is immediately concerned about my playing tourist for the next few days. I am starting to think that Quito might not be as safe as my five-year old book says that it is. She arranges for a cab to spend the day with me. Patricio, for 10 dollars an hour, will take me wherever I want to go and wait for me as long as I like. I am feeling a bit frustrated at the idea of having a pseudo`-body guard with me all of the time, but I decide that I should trust the people that actually live here. They probably know a bit more about the town than I do!! 🙂 As I am leaving, she also warns me about the altitude. We are at 9,000 feet here and she is worried about me. ¨Today, you rest¨. ¨Today you drink much water¨. ¨Today you do not eat too much food¨. And…..¨Today, you do not sleep with another person¨. Njål and I laugh and laugh and assure her that I will follow all of her advice. 🙂 As we leave, Njål says, ¨Funny…no one seems worried about my safety or health!!

I walk outside to meet my new friend and as I get into the cab, I tell Patricio that I want to visit two museums. Off we go. The traffic here is fierce!! Stop signs are a merest suggestion, and pedestrians definitely do NOT have the right of way. I actually suck in as Patricio manages to fit the cab between a bus and a huge garbage truck. I am sure that there is not enough room, but some how, he does it! I love taxis in foreign countries!! They are utterly fearless! 🙂 And I place a great deal of trust in them… I mean, after-all….the cab is their livelihood and they do not want it damaged!
We make our way through the crowded North part of the city, headed towards Old Town. We pass tons of fast food, some of which I recognize and some of which have great names like ´´Chicky Hut¨. There are pharmacies on every single corner, one of which is called the Colon Pharmacy. I didn´t ask. 🙂
As the streets become narrower and steeper, the cab pulls up in front of a non-descript door in the wall. He says that he will wait and I step through the entry to find myself in the Museo de la Cuidat. This is the neatest place!! It was built in the 1500´s and was originally a hospital. Except, they didn’t just use it as a hospital. It was a place for anyone to go that was in need. Widows, orphans, etc. So in reality, it was an outlet for any social need. I just think that is the coolest idea! The museum weaves in and out of old rooms and is made up of displays of daily life throughout the history of Quito. Think of it as a smaller version of the Museum of Natural Science and History in New York…..without the dinosaur. There is a small, but beautiful church attached to the building and I spend some time in there soaking in the gorgeous art. Quito is famous for it’s churches and I can’t wait to see some more.

I head outside to find a patient Patricio waiting for me in the cab. Off we go to the Foundation de la Guayasamin. Guayasamin was the most famous artist Ecuador has and Eudoxia has assured me that I want to see his museum. When in Rome, right? Well, I pay my 4$ and walk into a huge room, where the breath is sucked completely out of my body. Giant paintings of the most vivid, moving images I have ever seen surround me. Many are ten feet tall and they are spectacular. My eyes fill with tears and I truly cannot move. I have been to art museums all over the world, but have never been so viscerally affected by what I see. I slowly wander though the rooms, repeatedly sighing soft ´´wow’s´´, and wonder why this man is not more well known.
I finally land in front of a self-portrait and give in to the tears. I have never seen such sadness in a painting. His eyes are full of such grief that I cannot help but be personally drawn in. This was worth the whole trip.

Later, I go to buy a print at the small gift shop and inquire about the self portrait. The young man shakes his head knowingly….there is not a print made of that one. I was allowed to take a picture, and later I will post it on the Trail Dames blog. But something tells me that you would have to see it in person. I wander up to the small cafe on top of the hill and find myself overlooking the city. A quiet cup of cafe con leche is just what I need…..this museum kind of rocked me. But in a really good way. I sit in the cool breeze and take some time to be grateful that my family offered up these extra days to experience Quito. I would have hated to miss this.
It is time to go find my very, very patient driver and head back to the house. It is only three in the afternoon, but I am spent. I am going to find a quiet lunch-dinner somewhere and head to bed early…..
Or at least, that is the idea……………..
(to be continued……)