On the way there, we drove past a Catholic church that looked like no church I had seen before. Jon explained that this is a good model of the syncretism that tends to happen here, especially in the Catholic church. As you can see in the picture, the front of the church pays honor to Jesus (observe the cross on each steeple), the sun god, mother earth, and then there's a rainbow which is from the local indigenous religion. Unfortunately, they were setting tents up outside for some big shindig so I was not able to get a picture that didn't have some glare from all of the white fabric. I found this fascinating because this is a subject I've studied a fair amount in school. It would be really interesting to observe a service there.
Our next stop was Rumicucho. This place looks very different from the first time I was there. There's now an entrance fee (very minimal), a gate house (that was not manned), a little store, sings, and marked pathways. I'm thankful I went to Israel first, because it enabled me to have a better appreciation for this site. For one thing, there were pottery shards everywhere, and I spotted many of them without any effort.
Another reason is that it was easier to spot gates, outer walls, and storage rooms. That's right, there were rooms that most people believe were for storage right beside most of the gates. The main reason, though, is that I was able to appreciate just how important it's location, the surrounding geography, and the topography are.
This site is located on a hill that allows the primary entrance to Quito to be observed from all of the approaches. Not only that, but the pass that leads to the coast can also be observed from here. It is thought that it was a garrison with 300-500 soldiers living there to protect that area. More importantly, Incas were not the first people to use that area. There is evidence that people groups before them lived there as well.
After spending a while at Rumicucho, we made our way to Mitad del Mundo. The primary reason for going there is that I could knock out most of my shopping without having to go to Otavalo. Jon took me to a shop that is owned by a Christian couple he knows. I actually went there with him on my last trip to Ecuador, but that was four years before. He introduced me to them and chatted with them for a little while. They were very friendly, and even gave us bottles of water. Besides giving my business to a Christian family that the Lamberts know, I also enjoy that shop because bargaining isn't necessary. They give us the bottom price from the get go which means that the whole process is faster. The shopping experience was a pleasure, and they had everything I had come there looking for. The only down side is that I wanted to buy more than I did. Especially the striped pants they make here. I already have at least eight pairs of them though, so I was strong. It was hard to do though, I'm not gonna lie.
When we finished up there, Jon suggested we get ice cream. We went to a shop that has ice cream and paila. Paila is kind of the Ecuadorian answer to sorbet, but it is much better. It is made primarily from fruit juice. They had little cups, so Jon asked if we could get our two scoops in those. They said sure, and we put in our order. I got one scoop of mora, and one scoop of something whose name I don't recall at the moment. They asked us to sit at a table and they'd bring it to us when it was ready. Several minutes went by, and we were wondering if they would ever bring it to us. When the paila came out, it was covered in mora and chocolate sauces, whipped cream, and topped with a strawberry and a cookie. All of this for only $2 each! It was amazing. I was ready to get another one.
Paila=awesomeness! As we were eating ice cream, Jon asked if I'd like to see rhinoceros beetles. I'm always up to see bugs, so we mosied over to the insectarium. It turns out that it's been there for several years now, but we didn't know it was there. They had tons of mounted insects and arachnids as well as some live tarantulas, hercules beetles, and rhinoceros beetles. For a mere $2, a man will place several of the large beetles on you, snap a picture, and print it out for you. That sounded like a deal to me, so I decided to do it. These things were huge and awesome! We asked if I could hold the largest one, and he got that out too. I need to scan the picture so I can post it. It was an excellent experience. I'm ready to get one for a pet! Once that was out of the way, we wondered around the edge of the room looking at all of the fantastic mounted critters. They had plenty of mounted butterflies, but they had something more exciting than that. In the Amazon, there is a large, green bug that legend holds will kill you in 24 hours once it bites you. The only remedy is to have sex within the 24 hours. One of its nicknames is the "sex bug." I've heard stories of it here, but I'd never seen it before. They had three different ones mounted. The thing is big, but I was disappointed because it was brown, not green. It turns out that it looses its color once it dies. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it, but they didn't allow us to take pictures inside.
Our last stop was also in Mitad del Mundo. They have a model of the Old City of Quito that is only open at certain times during the day. We walked over to see if it would be opening any time soon, and the door swung open just as we walked in. It was interesting to see the city from that perspective. They also slowly lowered the lights as if sunset was happening, and all of the little buildings lit up. After a couple of minutes, the lights slowly came up starting in the East and we were back to daylight. It was a cool little exhibit.
Overall, it was a very eventful day. I'm really looking forward to church at Ofelia tomorrow. It should be a fun service!
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