guapuloguapuloguapulo

I want to get a job as one of those guys who stand in the bus entrances and yell ¨guapuloguapuloguapulo¨ when they zoom by you and ¨subesubesuberapidorapidorapido¨when you´re running to get on the usually still-moving bus.

My throat hurts from all the pollution and I have a tubercolosis-like cough from all the nasty air. I wasn´t expecting the altitude to affect me that much, but there you go.

The Mycotour starts on July 12th and everything seems pretty much set: all the arrangements and flights set up and the like. Brian and Corey are making big plans for building an autoclave or maybe just a pressure cooker to do some happy jolly mushroom activities. It´s been really great seeing Corey in this environment, where he just has so much knowledge about the stuff that´s being done... he´s really going to be a great help on the tour, I think. And mi! mi hablo el espanglish muy nice!

Corey and I may be leaving tomorrow, either for Riobamba or Baños. We´re trying to couchsurf--hopefully it´ll work out! I think minus my jugos naturales and bon yogurt naranjillo-flavored addiction, we´ve been taking care of our money pretty well. Set lunches and the grumpy ladies who serve them have definitely been our bestest friends in Quito. The winding confusing streets of Guapulo (especially at night when the entire neighborhood becomes enveloped in a foggy haze and finding our way home becomes even more difficult) and the grumpy dogs snapping at our heels before getting drop-kicked in the face by Corey have definitely been our enemies.

Today again I woke at about six am to crow of the roosters in Guapulo. We trucked it across town back into Quito proper to a forest park in Quito in search of local mushroom species. We found 3. The park is all ecualyptus and I think this inhibits the growth of our fugal friends...Tomorrow we head for the cloud forest near Nano to get an idea of what´s poppig up there.Tonight a pub crawl through Guapulo, with my remaining 8 dollars for the day.

quito landia

We are in Quito. Our flight was Portland-L.A.-Panama City-Quito. We got accosted in the PDX airport by a high-maintenance lady. ¨I´m going to have to have you buy a return ticket,¨ she told us, frowning in disaproval. We told her we would deal with it in L.A. Outside of PDX, no one seems to care whether we have a return ticket or not. We flew out of L.A. at 2am. This was for fun, not because the ticket was cheap (not). We ate a lot of candy in L.A. and it was good. Sweedish fish and gummy cola. Yum, yum, yum.

Then we tried to sleep in a small tuna fish can sized space. At least, I slept in my best curled up fetus impersonation, while Corey kind of grumbled and drank whiskey and watched the classic in-flight film ¨College Road Trip.¨

But then we arrived in Quito and it was all good! Brian´s beautiful bald head and Jess were waiting to meet us. They took us to their lovely little house in Guapulo, a suburban neighborhood on the edge of Quito. Guapulo is apparently the Hawthorne equivalent in Quito, lots of bohemians and hippies and young folks and the like. Apparently these Reedies are staying in a orange hostel nearby... damn Reedies, it really is true, you can´t get away from them. Brian and Jess rent the bottom floor of a house with their two roommates and entertain frequent visits from Bingo, the pet dog of the family living upstairs. Their house has an absolutely amazing view of the surrounding mountains and the gorge. Corey watched the sun rise this morning through the bathroom window while listening to the roosters.


Sorry, I can´t figure out how to put these photos in order and I can´t be bothered to fuss with it.
Then today we walked to the Santa Clara market for groceries only to find that it was closed, since all the market sellers have gone on strike for reasons unclear to me. We bought yummy stuff from vendors nearby: some corn I am really excited about eating for dinner, some cacao chocolate cookie thing I am excited about eating as soon as I finish this blog post. I am basically really excited about eating everything and anything in Quito, period. We had a really good lunch yesterday with Brian and Jess in the Mariscal, which is the touristy gringo neighborhood. We ate some fried snapper which Corey professed as one of the best fish he´d ever eaten. I had some ceviche which I put too much aji into. Live and learn (and eat, preferably without burning one´s tongue out of one´s skull). For dinner Jess cooked this amazing beet thing with quinoa, and for breakfast Corey made some potatoes and eggs, and we ate the rest of the qunioa with oatmeal. I´m surprised quinoa hasn´t caught on more with the yuppie crowd in P-land, maybe it has and I´m just unware. We had lunch in a park with all the various goodies we acquired from our meandering: sandwiches with tomato and avocado and onion, really good nuts, and some squishy orange fruit whose name I can´t remember despite asking Jess four times. Four organic avocados for a dollar is a pretty good deal. I can kind of understand Brian and Jess´s reluctance to return to the Estados Unidos, what with the amazing view from their $180 a month house and good cheap food.

El Bingo

La casa (I think?)

View from the bathoom. Makes pooping good.

View from the plane.

Sorry, I can´t figure out how to put these photos in order and I can´t be bothered to fuss with it.

Then today we walked to the Santa Clara market for groceries only to find that it was closed, since all the market sellers have gone on strike for reasons unclear to me. We bought yummy stuff from vendors nearby: some corn I am really excited about eating for dinner, some cacao chocolate cookie thing I am excited about eating as soon as I finish this blog post. I am basically really excited about eating everything and anything in Quito, period. We had a really good lunch yesterday with Brian and Jess in the Mariscal, which is the touristy gringo neighborhood. We ate some fried snapper which Corey professed as one of the best fish he´d ever eaten. I had some ceviche which I put too much aji into. Live and learn (and eat, preferably without burning one´s tongue out of one´s skull). For dinner Jess cooked this amazing beet thing with quinoa, and for breakfast Corey made some potatoes and eggs, and we ate the rest of the qunioa with oatmeal. I´m surprised quinoa hasn´t caught on more with the yuppie crowd in P-land, maybe it has and I´m just unware. We had lunch in a park with all the various goodies we acquired from our meandering: sandwiches with tomato and avocado and onion, really good nuts, and some squishy orange fruit whose name I can´t remember despite asking Jess four times. Four organic avocados for a dollar is a pretty good deal. I can kind of understand Brian and Jess´s reluctance to return to the Estados Unidos, what with the amazing view from their $180 a month house and good cheap food.

ecuador