High Up

You'd think after five weeks that we'd be acclimatized by now. But no. Quito is 2500 feet higher than Otavalo and I'm having waves of dizzyness. We're both tired for no good reason and we pulled ourselves up on handrails to the top floor of the Equadorean cultural museum today. We'd like to take a teleferiqo that goes 1000 metres up the side of the Pichincha Volcano, stopping at a lookout. But the altitude is13,287 feet and I suppose I'd pass out. We'll see.

 

Otavalo this morning.

Quito this afternoon.

We'll miss outdoor flower displays like this and are bracing ourselves for that first blast of cold air at Pearson Thursday evening.

The Cultural museum.

The chart shows Equador's geographical sculpting. The red part on the left is the coastal area, the blue centre, the Andean region and the green on the right, the Amazon jungle. It' a world of contrasts. There are two sea currents, the El Nino and the Hubolt that collide causing severe droughts, and rain storms. Seismic activity adds more drama.

This mummy of a 15 year old Incan girl was found at the top of a mountain. She lived about a thousand years ago. The material she was found in is made of alpaca and llama.

She still has dark hair -- although it's lost its lustre. The green marks are from copper jewellry she was wearing.

This is the replica a cave dating back 11 000 years or  more where skeletons of hunter gatherers and tools were found. People lived here before they lived in Canada because of our ice age.

A grater.

This fellow is in a meditating position.

Peoples in Andean cultures chewed Erythroxylon coco, a narcotic that relieved their hunger and pain. Coca was also used in Shamanic rituals. This fellow represents a coca user.

An Incan vessel showing sophisticated decoration. In the late 15th century, the Incans invaded Ecuador from Peru. The battles were fierce and bloody. But very quickly they established a sophisticated government. Ecuador's 8000 year history is divided into five eras: Pre-Columbian (before Columbus), the Conquest, the Colonial Period, the War of Indepence, and the Republican Era (now).

Solid gold death mask. The spiritual and natural worlds were infused. Much more time and material wealth was spent on tombs than in people's earthly homes. 

We're in awe of the beauty and intricacy of the pottery and metal work of people who lived so long ago. Tomorrow we're going to the president's residence. Sometimes people visitors even meet Correa.

Hasta manana.