QueenPuya

Im here at the Quito herbarium and am trying to support them in any way I can, including paying sixty cents for their very crappy internet. I might go back to fraternizing the cafes soon. So I think we can call yesterday a success. I took a cab uptown to the Botanical Garden where I got to meet Edwin. He is, as expected, a very nice man. Knows lots about plants, is excited to go into the field, is excited to practice his English he doesn{t know much right now, and tells me my spanish is very good. The garden was quite nice...full of Puya and a few were in bloom! Unfortnatly, they are not curated at all and no one really knows where they came from. Lots of nice orchids too, and cheap coconut cake. so, just outside my window here is a tree and a giant black hummingbird with the longest tail periodically comes to sit on it. Amazing"! Edwin and I looked over maps and talked about our plan. I think it is as I thought...we{ll head north to El Angel and Ibarra, then do trips around Quito, then head south, basing ourselves in Cuenca and Loja. we are trying to find poeple with cars...orchid specialists, mainly. I[m hoping to meet with mr. PUya later too. I am staying now and I think for as long as I am in WQUito at the herbarium....it has a nice apartment in the back with kitchen and bathroom and i{m the onlyone in it. There is a guard in the herbarium all night, so i feel very safe. OUTside the apartment there is a cute little garden that reminds me of wisconsin...salvia for jay, fuschsia for Paul Berry, solanaceae for stacy. we are right near the airport , so i get to see and hear airplanes landing...not too bad, though. Today I am going to photograph the herbarium collection and work with the specimens so i{ll know them in the field. Strangely, Edwin might be getting married this morning and thus i couldn{t go hang out with him at the garden. I asked a coworker about this, and she said he is always getting married, so we{ll see if it happens. Anyhow, in the afternoon, after his [wedding[ I guess Edwin has a group of college studentsthat want to practice english with a native speaker, so we{ll have an English lesson at Edwin{s house. It should be lots of fun. I{m hoping to find somewhere tasty to eat today, as I{ve kind of tired of granola bars and trailmix. I{m in the new part of town, so it is not historic or very cute and not very touristy. If i can find my way to the supermercado, i could buy food to cook in the kitchen. untill then, i{ll eat oranges i buy off the street...they are safe, you can peel them, bad croussantes...Maggie knows all about that!..., and drinkable yogurt. i do hope to get down to the old town at some point...it is supposed to be tremendous. maybe tomorrow. the altitude is affecting me just a bit...it shard to walk up and down hills...and the sun is extremely intense in the morning, but in the afternoon the clouds roll int, it rains and the evenings are quite cool and lovely. i should be good to go in a few days. Edwin is totally game for all my touristy desires...yes, we{ll go to the equator, yes, we{ll eat guinea pig, yes we{ll go to the markets. I{m really excited to be here for Dia de los Muertos on Nov 2. Everyone has picnics in the cemetaries with their deceased relatives and I do hope they have creepy parades like in Mexico.
well, that is all for now. I{m having a great time and it is easier than I thought. I recant all my whining and worrying before i left

Love,

Rachel