Worst part of culture shock

OUCH!

The hardest part of living in another country is missing the ones you love. Even those who bite you!

Graffiti

JUDE el Artista

On the street down to Guapulo

Jude there is a lot of graffiti here. Some of it is not so good but some of it is excellent!  It reminds of when we went to the Graffiti Park at Castle Hills in Austin.

Centro Historico

Quito, Ecuador

It really looks like this

So this is a picture of a painting I saw in a restaurant in Centro Historico (Historic Center) Quito, Ecuador. The statue at the top of the painting is on El Panecillo, a 200 meter high hill of volcanic rock, 3016 meters above sea level. The statue of the "Virgin de Quito" is made of 7000 pieces of aluminum. It is said that the Incas once worshiped the sun on the same hill. I plan to make the trek up the hill soon. My photographs do not do justice to the charm and beauty found here but it is irresistible to take them.

Playa Same Ecuador

Warm Pacific Ocean beach with good waves 

There are many holidays to celebrate here. We arrived at Playa Same on a Sunday of Independence Day weekend (diez de octubre). There were lots of families here swimming and having fun. The next day everyone was gone and we had the beach to ourselves. This is a picture from "Restaurant Tarazas". Pepo the proprietor was very gracious and the food was excellent. In the middle of the picture is a young man at a booth mixing delicious drinks of all kinds. He is very entertaining and affable.

Bus Ride to Banos Ecuador from Quito

notice what side of the road he is on

This was on the way south from Quito to Banos.What made this even more exciting is that much of the ride is along mountainous passes where you can see down into the valley. Traveling by bus is extremely inexpensive. I believe this trip cost less than $4.00. By the way they use U.S. currency in Ecuador so their is no conversion. Just brush up on your Spanish numbers and you will be fine.  There is a rhythm to driving down here much like the music. It is aggressive and straight ahead. You cannot hesitate and the horns are used less for anger and more to let people know you are coming, ready or not. You can ride anywhere in the city on a bus for a quarter. I talk about the taxis later.

On my way to Pailon del Diablo near Banos Ecuador

I wasn't scared

This was part of the excitement of getting to the falls. Honestly I felt safe and the view of the gorge was breathtaking from this angle. The bridge swayed a little bit which added to the fun.

Under Pailon del Diablo with mi novia Laura

Con mi novia Laura

Cold, wet, excited, happy….

Pailon del Diablo (The Devil's Cauldron)

I took this with my iPhone. The picture does not do it justice and there are no words to describe it.

Hola Jude

This is your "Popop" writing to you on a 

"blog" from the city named Quito in the country of Ecuador. 

 I have decided to write to you because I 

miss you very much.

In this blog I will tell you what is going on with me here in

South America. You can send messages to me on my e-mail 

coopermj1984@gmail.com. I will post your messages on the 

blog if you want.

This morning I wanted to post some pictures I have taken here since I last saw you on your mother's birthday October 3rd, 2015. You and I had fun the day before riding our bikes all the way around White Rock Lake. It was kind of scary and it was a long way (about ten miles) but we did it! 

We rode to the Krispy Kreme the next morning. I ate too many donuts. That afternoon you and Mommy and Brian took me to the airport and I flew here to Quito, Ecuador. It is a long way here. I flew through the air for ten hours.You can look at the pictures I have taken since I got here. In my next blog I will tell you more about the places I have been and what I am doing here. I love you and miss you. 

Popop