To Be a Tourist

Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador

It’s one thing to go back to Wisconsin and visit as a tourist, but visiting a place I’ve lived in internationally is another [wasn't I always just a tourist in Ecuador, though? Sorry, that's rather shady]. At the end of September, a mere three months after I finished packing my bags and purging the hoard of possessions I accumulated, I got to experience this. Part spending-time-with-friends and part retrieving-the-remainder-of-my-belongings, this was the weekend I needed. Quito... I was ready for you.

I took a personal day from work to fly-out on a Friday afternoon so I could maximize the amount of time I'd have. I took an Uber to El Dorado airport and immediately I was reminded of my only other time traveling to the airport. Five years ago, on my return from my first trip to Bolivia, I had a lengthy layover in Bogotá and decided to venture into the city to explore. It took me about an hour to flag down a taxi that time, and almost as much time to get to the airport itself from where I visited in La Candelaria, so I did not want to mess around for my departing flight (it did cost over $500 +tax for the flight... no playing around). I simply didn't know how long it would take. Surprisingly, the trip by road went quickly, probably because it wasn't rush hour. What took a long time was getting through the queue at my airline and then through aduanas. In the end, I timed it just right and I boarded with my final destination as Quito.
It was recharging to see my friends, familiar faces in a familiar place. Maria and Kara greeted and picked me up from the airport, followed an amazing Indian dinner (accompanied by Luke and Cait). The next night the commencement of Wine Club with Sam and Tricia, too. Coffee on my final morning with Sue. Late nights singing and dancing with Kara at her apartment. Three months is not a long time. Long enough for there to be surface changes in the city, but short enough that it felt like I was going home again. It was an eerie feeling passing by my old barrio and apartment without stepping foot past the threshold. With time, I will feel more like a visitor, just like what happened with Milwaukee and Wisconsin... and even the USA.
But it did feel so normal and natural to be back and walking around, eating around Quito. Bogotá is still so new and fresh to me, and I do miss having that feeling I know exactly where I am going, where I am and where to find what I am looking for. I miss the lucky sights I got when waking up in the morning, with Cotopaxi's glacier-covered glory holding watch from the south of the city. The sun radiantly beating down its warmth and energy. Even though it was annoying (then and always), I felt odd nostalgia for terrible restaurant service when Kara and I got breakfast from El Español and it took 30 minutes for them to give us cold eggs and grilled sandwiches.

In the end, I had mixed accomplishments. I didn't quite do as much as I was hoping... like shopping for Ecuadorian artisanal goods (I miss my alpaca blanket) or see some sites that I still hadn't been to in five years (like Parque Itchimbia). But that's all good because it was still time well-spent. And shopping would have added to my stress of loading my luggage; I managed to squeeze was was left between two maxed-out suitcases, so a blanket was definitely out of the question for this trip. The packing was bittersweet because I was reunited with belongings I couldn't completely remember: mugs, textiles, cooking accessories, my suits, decorations and costumes. It was like an early Autumn Christmas gift, and it shortened my apartment shopping list for the October break. On the other hand, I finally realized how much I purged in the months leading up to my move. There was sooooo much I gave away or sold. Granted I do not remember a lot of it but did I do too much?

When I got back to my now-home, only one more week stood in front of me and a well-earned, weeklong vacation. It would be time for me to rest, and begin discovering and exploring my new city.

I never sleep all the way to any time -Maria

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