B.K. I climbed a mountain the other day..

Actually I rode the teleferico...which is one of those "sit in this basket while we give you a ride up this steep cliff that you would otherwise kill yourself doing on foot." While I was up there I discovered a quietness that I thought could never exist in Quito. Up over a ridge, away from all of the attractions of the mountaintop themepark they call Volcano, away from all of the quaint little coffee shops that sell tea and soup, away from the other gringos that were taking photos and laughing about how fun it would be to pee off the side, I found the clouds. I found the cold, quiet bliss that makes mountains the only other thing that could compete with oceans. An alternate paradise of isolation and cleanliness, devoid of human life except for trails and the remnants of campfires. They call that mountain Pichincha, and I will be going back someday to camp in it's hills. However I might not take a camera, because apparently theres a mucho mad number of muggings and robberies recorded annually. Yay adventure!