Jordan and I met this gentleman at the Middle of the World or Mitad del Mundo. He may be of the Otavala tribe. We did an ancient dance together. It must have been a rain dance because it rained soon after.

This little puppy reminded me of Lux which reminded me of you and I smiled. Do you see the statue on the hill? That is the Mirador de Panecillo.It is a statue of the Virgin Mary made of aluminum. It can be seen from miles away because it is high on a hill and is very large.

Good Friday Jesus Almighty Procession Centro Historico Quito

Notice his feet. What is he wearing instead of shoes? Why would a young man march like this during an Easter celebration? These men are called Cuchuruchos. Some of them beat themselves with thorny weeds and wear crowns made of barbed wire. Their robes and hats are purple. If Jesus died to forgive our sins then I don’t think we need to punish ourselves for our sins. What do you think?

Fanesca is a special soup prepared in Ecuador during  Easter. Does it look good to you? It is typical of the food here. It has rice, potatoes, beans, and eggs. The people here do not eat spicy food as much as we do in Texas. They serve a dessert made of figs that is delicious. There are many fruits here. Bananas are the number one export. They also grow a lot of avocados.
Coffee grown on the equator is the best.

This restaurant I went to with Jordan served a dish called Cuy. It is deep fried guinea pig. I did not try it. I had the fried chicken instead. I would eat Cuy if I was really hungry. Would you?

There are a lot of statues in Quito. This one honors a hero from the country of Uruguay. His name is Jose Artigas. Like our George Washington he fought for independence for his country. He has a nice view of Quito and the mountains beyond.

The clouds are pretty.
El nubes son bonitos.

A Spanish Conquistador named Francisco de Orellana took this pass through the mountains to the Amazon River in 1541.  He fought many native people who felt he was an uninvited guest. Many of the warriors he fought were women. The Amazon is named after these fierce females. 

Do you see the church? It is also a convent. That means nuns live there. Do you know what a nun is? I think it is also a school. The church is called El Iglesia y Convento de Guapalo. The church was founded (started) in the year 1596. That means it is over 400 years old.

The clouds in the distance hide volcanos named Cayambe and Cerro Puntas. 

This is me in front of a statue of the Conquistador Orellana. We are looking down the valley towards the Amazon. Do we look similar?

Orellana made two trips to explore the Amazon. He did not return from the second one.