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Back in Quito.. street theater and our very lovely 1687 Hotel San Francisco The courtyard was once for grazing animals

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Goodbye to Otavalo and our beautiful hacienda.

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Last day and back to Quito

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day...after another night of partying with Ecuadorians. We took a cab to the Dutch owned Condor Park. Saw all types of eagles hawks owls and condors who were injured and being rehabbed. Saw part of educational bird show. Taxi back at noon. Said our goodbyes and gave our tips and caught the bus to Quito. At the bus station one final lunch of pollo con arroz with soup for $2.50. Only seats on bus were the very very back. So new experience bouncing bouncing bouncing. We couldn’t even play candy crush saga. Arrived in Quito at 4:00. Taxi and check in. Cool hotel built in 1687. The courtyard now used to be whee the cows and goats grazed. Great historical stories and photos back to Quito in 1890 line the walls. Walked a bit. Lots of street performers in plazas. The two guys in the photo were doing street theater and had a massive crowd. Everyone laughing. Early flight tomorrow for me. Last night we are in courtyard of hotel drinking wine and having a pizza delivered. Good trip great experiences, ready to come home.

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Lunch today before and after. In a woman’s kitchen/restaurant/World Cup game. Yep! Trout in her backyard. Tomatoes too

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End of the road

And so another adventure comes to an end…Did I feel like I found “my people”? I don’t think so. But I found a people who are open, happy, welcoming, and proud of their country and their country’s history. One waiter even said that is why ,historically, the world takes advantage of Romania, because they are always open and welcome to whoever wants to come..too trusting? I found a country made up of Saxon history, Hungarian history, German history, and Romanian history.. I learned about communism, Kings, and Greek orthodox icons, and of course, the gypsies. I’ve visited grand castles, and rural homes. I stayed in thriving growing cities and traditional small villages. I climbed majestic mountains and swam in the ice cold Black Sea. I've eaten Romanian heavy meats, stews, and polentas. I drank delicious Romanian wines which will not be sold in the United States until Romania is more economically sustainable. I traveled hours on trains ;some of which I didn't think I would survive, and some of which were comfortable and easy. I walked miles in the rain and miles in the hot blazing sun. But most importantly, I reconnected with a friend who will now be part of my life forever. We laughed, we planned, we learned, we tried everything we could, and we toasted to life every single day. Until next year;thanks for joining me on my journey! Cheers to a healthy and happy life!

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It is so ugly I guess it wouldn't post. Here are the beans and sausage is

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Haha. Last Romanian dinner aside from the beet salad grilled vegetables mushroom crepes , and sauerkraut Caroline had lamb and polenta and I had this awful looking dish of beans and homemade sausage!

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Moments from our three hour dinner after walking there one last time in pouring rain

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Religion

When I came back from Korea I thought I would become a Buddhist. When I came back from Bali I thought I would become Hindu. Now coming back from Romania how can I not become Greek orthodox? 70% of Romanians are Greek Orthodox. I am not a religious person but every time I walked into a Greek orthodox church, I was enchanted. Very ritual heavy...chanting... there always seem to be a service happening. People came and went as they needed. There was no structure to the mass you just took what you needed and left what you left. The music was beautiful and I found myself most at peace inside these orthodox churches. Caroline and I discussed this today and it is very similar to the feeling you get in a Buddhist temple. People just kneeling and praying and listening. No speech. Difficult to explain it. And no one stands in the middle of the church. Everyone is off to the side but with the whole center empty. Also I find it fascinating that Catholics worship statues where orthodox worship Icons...I keep saying idols..Meaning pictures painted of historic holy people or stories. They believe by worshiping these icons miracles will occur for them. And who couldn't use a miracle? Many people kissing these icons. Many people crying and crossing themselves. Maybe best to say they feel mystical or superstitious/spiritual while Catholics see things more linear or intellectually. A man was standing in front of the Tom Cruise movie billboard crossing himself over and over and over because of the evil is portrayed. Summary: 1. Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox believers both believe in the same God.
2. Roman Catholics deem the Pope as infallible, while Greek Orthodox believers don’t.
3. Roman Catholics believe that Mary is free from original sin, while Greek Orthodox believers don’t.
4. Roman Catholic priests cannot marry, while priests in the Greek Orthodox can marry before they are ordinated. Also GO can divorce.
5. Latin is the main language used during Roman Catholic services, while Greek Orthodox churches use native languages.
6. Roman Catholics venerate statues as much as Greek Orthodox believers venerate icons.
7. Doctrines can be changed in Roman Catholicism, as opposed to Greek Orthodox.
8. Unlike Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox believers do not accept the concept of purgatory

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Antique shopping. And Bucharest in the rain

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From soup to swank in the pouring rain. We found our perfumery!

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I may become Greek Orthodox. More later. But notice the vat of holy water under the arch. All the churches have these and you can pour the water into your own water bottle to save your soul

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Found a Hidden soup bar in the middle of Bucharest in the pouring cold rain today. A perfect lunch

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The most photographed statue in Bucharest. A naked Traian man with a shewolf. We have no idea what the tentacle off the wolf is. But the penis and paws are rubbed to a golden hue

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The long strange trip...

What a long strange trip... "The Big Storm". Oh what dos that mean? It could start with walking 4 miles back from the resort town of Mimaiya In the middle of a sandstorm so bad I thought I may have to head to an urgent care for the sand under my contacts...recovered...off to a final seafood dinner at marina with fresh grilled calamari and octopus and blessed grilled vegetables. Ahhh it could mean the shit show of a train ride to Bucharest. No seats left on train..standing room only...so we decided to suck it up and not wait for 2:15 train..stand on the 10:15 . Omg. I cannot believe we have no photos of this debacle... caroline sat on her backpack in the train entryway by the doors in front of the toilet. I curled my legs and feet onto the stairs and sat....sun blazing in. Other standees surrounding us...every time train stopped we pushed button to open doors for fresh air and the conductor and fellow standers jumped off to smoke (photos). Hell hell hell. I was literally dripping sweat trying to read kindle to pass time. No one spoke except one guy yelling to other Romanians above the train noise...smoke and sun and bathroom smells. When we finally got off 2 1/2 hours later We both literally had to stand on platform and gasp for breath...claustrophobic. Hot, smelly...ahhhh but we survived to Uber to hotel in Bucharest..so happy to return. Rereading this...it does not even begin to describe the journey.... Out cheap hotel is a palace! Well not really, but my "single room" is three rooms! Huge bathroom dayroom and bedroom...Caroline has a huge bedroom, full kitchen and a balcony. I have to walk down hallway to my bathroom...the jacuzzi would take half the Black Sea to fill! Off to walk and see the city.. we decided to find the famous secret gardens of Bucharest. Hot, blue blue skies...opera house find then garden of Eden, then umbrella bar the others...wonderful wonderful bars hidden in back alleys...had a smoothie, a wine, a water, and more...then at the last stop, the villa turned bookstore, I wanted Caroline to see...they had a perfume exhibition happening. The history of perfume from Arabia and Persia and all the monarchs forward. We smelled them all... none for sale, just a history lesson...everyone spoke English and explained everything...might go buy gypsy water perfume tomorrow...but they are the ones who said to hurry ahead of the "big storm". Oh shit. For the next 24 hours. Huge storm rolling in. Walking back ran into opera festival and street performer festival. Lightning and thunder all around us..but the ballon sky dancer still went up to perform! I cannot believe she did not get hit by lightning...off to dinner at 9:30... now raining hard...thunderstorms everywhere...pizza wine...they gave us garbage bags to walk the rest of the way back in...crazy! Crazy! Tomorrow rain and storms all day...and I have so much I want to do still!

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The "big storm" begins