guayasamin

 i went to the capilla del hombre and the fundacion guayasamin (check: http://www.capilladelhombre.com/). the capilla del hombre is a place, dedicated to the american people, designed by the ecuadorian artist guayasamin. here you can see the archeological site where the found remains of the incas. in the background on the right there is the panecillo-hill.

 view from the capilla del hombre

 this is the capilla del hombre. inside there are 2 floors with guayasamins paintings. downstairs, in the middle of the room (obviously exactly under this chimney-thing) there is a flame that is always burning (you'll understand why at the end of this post).

 in the garden in front of the house he used to live, there are some of his works.

 this is the "arbol de la vida" (tree of life), which the master himself planted. in the soil beneath, he is buried.

 view over quito

 a wall in the fundacion guayasamin with a quote of the master telling people to keep always a flame lit as he is going to return. he was a believer of reincarnation. the flame is kept in the capilla del hombre.

mitad del mundo

 the middle of the earth monument. it's not the actual equator, it's the line they mesured a few hundred years ago.

 

 who wants cuy (guinea pig)?? as the whole mitad del mundo monument is a really big tourist attraction (market stalls, "traditional" food, etc.) you can eat guinea pig, even if it's not food from the region around quito.

 no, they're not pets. thats food running around in the kitchen!

 after visiting the monument, i went to the outdoor museum inti ñan, dedicated to the tribes in the amazon as well as to the power of the equator line.

 there are monkey-shrinkheads!!

here is the explanation how the indigenous used to make them: cut off the head, take out the skull, boil the skin.

 then, they sew the mouth and eyes so that the soul couldm't escape. there are a few reasons why they did it. either, as a war trophy with the head of the enemy. or as an act of humiliation towards people of the community. or also if someone of the community commited a really big crime, such as trying to kill someone, they made a shrinkhead out of the bad guy to punish him and of course also to frighten off the other members. today, making shrinkheads is forbidden.

 this is the most primitive tribe in the amazon region, called wuaorani. they latley even killed a guy with lances that was (illegally of course) cutting wood in their region.

 i unfortunatley don't remember which tribe used to do that, but when they buried the people, they put them in those big kind of vases in embryo position, so that they're ready to be reborn. if a man dies, all of his women will be buried alive with him. if a woman dies, she'll obviously be buried alone.

 that's the real equator line. visible proof for instance is that when you let water through the drain ON the line, there won't be a swirl. on each of the hemispheres, there is a swirl to the left respectively to the right.

 i was able to place an egg on a nail on the equator line (for that i even received a certificate). it shouldn't be possible if you're not on zero degrees latitude.

first impression of quito

 first time in the city. i thought: wooow, 19 degrees, amazing! but a few days later i realized that this was quite a cool day.

 as the airport is in the middle of the city, there are always airplanes flying so low that you think there is a hi-jacking..

 with my teacher, i went to an outside exhibition. ecuadorian artists made masks in carnival-style. these ones are the "mama negra" and a caricature of the spanish conquistadors.

 this mask of a monkey is made of trash found at the beach.

 if i remember correctly, here you can see a monkey, an afro-ecuadorian, a clown and a devil. all of these masks are the traditional symbols they always use for carnival.

 best crisps in the country - made of yuca and not potatoes! and probably also a lot healthier :-)

 in the old town of quito, in the background there is the hill "el panecillo" with the metal-virgin on top of it.

 plaza grande - the main square in quitos old town

  palacio del carondelet, government palace of ecuador where president rafael correa works
calle chile in the old town

 the street "la ronda" where you drink the best "canelazo" (naranjilla-juice with cinnamon, some kind of alcohol and whatever more. delicious hot drink!)

 the first colibri i saw - in the middle of old town

 that's the treat you get with my favourite yogurt. how great, a green plastic warrior!

my first living situation

 arrival at 2 in the morning at the airport. my foundation told me that someone would be waiting for me, but there was no one with a paper with my name on (didn't surprise me a lot). so i waited like an hour, then tried to call from a phone box (cause my phone doesn't work in this country). some women came to offer me their help. they called the foundation from their mobile and were talking so angrily, even if i was just like: whatever.. finally the boss of the foundation picked me up (he was just coming home from a party with his whole family in the car) and brought me to some apartment of an elderly lady. i was actually expecting my host FAMILY to have a girl and a dog. next morning i understood: as everyone thought that i would come 24 hours later, my actual host family was away for the weekend. so i went to my future host mother's mother. the photo above is the view out of the room i had there. in the blue building on the left (top floor) lives my actual host family.

 when you enter the building, you can pray. by the way: the host grandmother locks her doors (yes, there are 2) with 2 chains and padlocks, then prays.

 that's my room in the actual host family's house. about 4m2, half of it used for the bed. no window. but at least a private bathroom. with electric shower that never works.

 that's the view out of the window that is closest to my room :-)

flight

 bye swiss alps

 hello amsterdam

 lima while landing