Living the Unexpected Life

Mary sleeping in the Lima, Peru airport. We had a 12 hour layover from 12:30 am to 12:30 pm on our way to Quito.    

This is our "casa" (home) while we are volunteering. More of the housing buildings have a business on the street level and then 2-4 stories of housing above.    

This is our cozy little bedroom with single pane windows and no heat but it nice and cozy and has a locking door.

This is the bathroom or baño, the sewer system cannot handle toilet paper so all toilet paper has to be thrown in the trash can. The sink has only cold water, and the shower has only warm-hot water with the lowest water pressure. But we have indoor plumbing and a shower!    

This is the view from the balcony of our common room looking down in to the valley of Quito. We live in the southern part of Quito.    

This is from the same balcony looking up the valley at all of the houses on the hillside.

The largest cathedral in South America and still not finished.

Instead of gargoyles around the top of the Basilica they constructed animals from the 3 different parts of the country (coastal, highlands, and jungle).

 

In the style of Notre Dame, they hold mass here every day.                      

The beautiful stained glass windows of the Basilica.                    

Standing atop the top of the north tower of the Basilica.    

The tallest statue in South America stands atop the hill El Panecillo. The statue is the Virgin Mary with wings and is a few meters taller than the statue of Jesus Christ that overlooks Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Every Monday, the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, stands on the balcony at the presidential palace for the changing of the guard and to honor the Ecuadorian soldiers that have fallen in battle.          

Presidential guards at the palace for the changing of the guard.          

This is the convent that Cantuña convinced the devil to build in one night. It has now been converted into a church.          

Notice all the names in the front of the bus. Somehow you have to figure out from all those names if the bus goes where you want it to, and then flag it down to pick you up. Super confusing! This bus is one that would take us home, we live in the neighborhood of Villa Flora, near the Recreo mall and the signs say V.Flora and CC.Recreo.