Closer to Heaven via "TelefériQo" (Quito's Teleférico)

    On Monday morning I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and got up to study Spanish. Deb had opened the windows during the night, because we have a south facing bedroom and it gets quite warm in the morning; but within an hour or two my eyes were burning and my throat began to get sore. Quito lies in a trough between two mountain ranges, and I thought there must be some kind of temperature inversion that trapped the smog, although I was puzzled that could have built to such a level so early in the day. Buses are diesel and filter replacement is not enforced, and the whole city is under the flight path of arriving jetliners, but that wasn't the explanation.  Deb got an email from the Canadian Consulate later today that solved the mystery: the region we're going to is under an "orange" volcano alert because Tungurahua has blown its top, with ash falls in places we'll pass through, and smoke and ash plumes 2 to 3 kilometres high. Tungurahua is only 143 kilometres from Quito.

    We had a fairly lazy start to the day, and then decided the smog had cleared enough on the surrounding mountains to make it possible to see back into the city, so we took a taxi over to the Teleferico, the cable car. We rode up to 13,300 feet, then hiked up another 200, with frequent stops, gasping for air like fish out of water. The view was great, and in spite of being thin, the air felt lovely, with a slight refreshing chill to counter the bright sunshine. The staff wore scarves and full snowsuits, which seemed a little overdressed to us, but they were stationed in shade all day, I suppose. Our photos are here, including a handful for the horsey set among us.

    Except for those very few who want to get their fingers into your pockets, Ecuadorians are very gracious, charming, helpful people with old world manners and conservative dress. One must be sure to greet properly with a "Buenos días" or a "Buenas tardes" before launching into a question or conversation, and to start the day with a hearty greeting as well, which might include, between close friends and family, a hug and a cheek kiss, or a handshake. And the same when saying goodnight, but then you would say "Buenas Noches".

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