Galapagos, here I come

Heading to the Galapagos in several hours. I am bringing very little with me. Some cleanish clothes, a heavy smile, and a great attitude. If my camera could take more than 5 pictures on a battery charge, I would take more photos. We come back on Thursday. We will visit several of the islands pictured on the map. I will definitely meet one of those tortoises.
Not much rhymes with Galapagos.

Dogs

Dogs do not speak Spanish. Except for very intelligent dogs. I have always been curious if dogs from other countries have accents when they bark. Maybe?
In Ecuador, dogs are everywhere, they run rampant. In a given day, I see several dogs that just seem to be enjoying their lives of freedom.
In the seminary, there is one dog that I have grown to know. His name is Caramelo. This translates as "candy" or "Sweet". If anyone offers me a candy, all that I can think of is this huge dog and all of his hair. Caramelo has two real strengths. One is barking... at me, and the other is drooling. Always, he has a thick rope of saliva, barely clinging on to his gums, threatening to liberate itself at anytime. As pictured, Caramelos favorite spot to be, is on his back legs with his front paws and overlarge head hanging over the walkway below. On more than one occasion, I have unknowingly walked beneath him and seen a drop or two and think to myself, "I didn't know it was raining". It was not raining.
I have had many conversations with Caramelo about his excessive barking. He normally responds in typical Caramelo fashion, by barking. As a matter of a fact, the only time that he does not bark, is when I am heading back to my room late at night, under cover of darkness. The only time that it is reasonable that a thief or robber may be infiltrating the seminary, Caramelo can't be bothered. He lazily opens one eye, flops his ear over, and continues sleeping. That is my kind of dog.

Strange

I have really grown to appreciate Ecuador. As a matter of a fact, I have developed somewhat of a tradition. If there is a column, I will climb on it. There are a couple of pictures that show this tradition. I leave on Sunday for the Galapagos islands! I hope to find somethings in the Galapagos to climb. Like a giant tortoise. Turtles are slow, I can probably catch one.

Basilica

Today we went to a huge cathedral in Quito Colonial. It is called the basilica. It was built by one of the previous presidents with the purpose of reaching the heavens. Isn't there a biblical precedent for this?
The building itself is incredible and I greatly enjoyed the views as I slowly climbed higher and higher. I kept expecting to see Quazi Modo. I did not. But, I did climb onto a small ledge that was completely caked with bird poop. It is the little things in life, isn't it? I have some great pictures and even better mental ones.
You may notice the very large clock. I touched the inside of that clock. Part of me wanted to reach out and change the time. I am curious if I can convince the entire country of Ecuador that they are late. Probably not. Then again, they are hispanics and as such, usually late.
I now feel compelled to explain that previous statement because it sounded like a generality and racist. Hispanics are event oriented, where as most North Americans are time oriented. The time that something starts is less important here. There is simply a magic number of people that show up, and when that number is present the event can start. Or maybe, it is the specific people that show up. If this is true, then I am never that specific person that we were waiting for.
Enjoy the basilica!

Bothersome

I will not whine or complain. I have gotten a little annoyed with the food lately. It used to be different and cool, but now I have been longing for American food. A couple of weeks ago, we went to a food court at a large mall. I scoffed at the American chain restaurants and shook at my head at those American's waiting in line. "What a shame to come all the way down here just to order a cheesy Gordita". Last week, my mouth watered as I sniffed the colonels, chicken. I will obviously avoid any and all connection with the Golden arches. That is simply a slap in the face. But I have been eating out a little more often and frequenting those things that are nearer to home. In this picture, I was sorely mistaken as to what I was ordering. That sandwich left much to be desired, namely a whole other meal.

Wadoni

Sometimes You just have to sidehug an indigenous man!

Just got back into Quito from nearby Otavalo! One of the largest outdoor markets in South America. The majority of my companions took around $200 and a great attitude. I thought I would blow all of my $40 in Leathertown, but still had the same amount when we landed in nearby woodtown. Very creative with the names huh? Do you know why they call it leather town? I have never seen such a selection of brightly colored chaps.
When we arrived at our accommodations for the weekend, I was pleasantly surprised. A lovely hostel complete with hammocks, outdoor courtyard, and hippies. I promptly utilized the public restroom for a steaming hot shower. Then after a charming dinner, myself and several other American students joined some other travelers to chat for a few minutes. We spoke with Germans, French, Colombians and one gentleman that confused me greatly. It was pleasant conversation, and good company. So when a bottle of coke came my way, I grimaced because it was Diet, but offered it to the 13 year old son of our director. He shook his head no and I brought it to my lips. As I opened my mouth to take a drink a sudden smell of liquor tickled my nostrils. Oops! Now I had a real problem. How to bring this bottle down without taking a drink, and appearing completely obvious. I pretended to laugh at something that someone had said, and handed the bottle to the next gentleman. It was getting late and after so much excitement it was almost time to just chill anyway. we excused ourselves and retired to Reese Witherspoon's, "Sweet Home Alabama".
Movie stores here are far and wide and cheap. I can find almost any movie here including Robin Hood, Iron Man 2, and Toy Story 3 all for the price of $1.25. You might see some guy in the front row get up and go get more popcorn, but it is cheap!
I bought a fake Rolex, fake Ray-Ban sunglasses, a couple of gifts and bartered like a pro! It was much more enjoyable than normal shopping in the U.S. I was called, "amigito" or little friend by more than one vendor as I passed them. I hope they still considered me a friend when I left!