It is the creative spirit within each of us pioneers of the future that transforms our families, cultures and world to reach ever greater heights. My own journey has lead to travel the west (Idaho, Oregon, Arizona and California) as well as the deep remote parts of Baja, Mexico. It was in Baja that I discovered the Indian roots of the America's and that the indigenous people of our two continents have the greatest potential for balancing our Democratic Modern society's, enabling our use of technology and advanced civilization to find harmony with the great mother Earth.
In 2010 my life opened up to the world of Ecuador through my fiance Raquel. Her father, Estuardo Maldonaldo, who lives in Quito, Ecuador, has spent his life creating vast works of art and collecting cosmograms and artifacts from the ancient Valdivian Indians, the father race of all the peoples in North and South America. You can get glimpse of his vision and work at the Estuardo Maldonaldo Foundation web site.
This last year he requested our help and support in moving his legacy forward by helping the foundation to create museums and education facilities to house his work and his rare collection of Valdivian artifacts and cosmograms. This blog has been launched today in order to keep all of our friends and family informed of this most awesome journey as we begin our new life and mission in Quito. We hope you enjoy our discoveries as we post them, and sincerely welcome questions, comments, suggestions and even a visit, if your adventurous side is so inspired.
Gracious!
Cary and Raquel
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| Historic District Quito, Ecuador |
I am looking for any kind of work right now to fund this vision and adventure, so if you or someone you know needs music or songwriting/recording instruction, document or instructional design, or general labor like gardening, house/pet sitting, please let me know. I also have original instrumentals and songs, artwork, and photography available for sale at my web site (see Cary William White). You are welcome to make donations as well (see GoFundMe -Mission to Ecuador). I can be reached via phone (208-608-5013) or email (thesongwright@gmail.com) Thank you!
Often called the “most beautiful big city in South America” for its location in the palm of a valley cupped between towering Andean peaks, Quito has so many parks and plazas, it’s hard to pick a favorite.
ReplyDeleteThe 14,000-acre Parque Metropolitano, bordering the city’s Bellavista neighborhood, is the largest urban park in South America. (For comparison, New York’s Central Park is just 834 acres.) Hiking here, in the maze of forested paths, is a nature lover’s delight—the air smells of eucalyptus and pine, and from atop the eastern ridge, the views of Quito to the west, and to the east, the valley and volcanoes beyond is something you’ll not soon forget.
Posted on August 29, 2012 by Suzan Haskins
So what are my “must see” Quito destinations?
ReplyDeleteIf you only have one day in Quito, spend it in Old Town, the first-ever locale in the world to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Covering more than 800 acres, this is the largest historic center in the Americas, with an over-abundance of ancient thick-walled, tile-roofed colonial buildings, churches, museums, and more. I’ll never get tired of exploring the gold-gilded La Compañia de Jesus Church and the neo-gothic Basilica del Voto Nacional adorned with animals native to Ecuador instead of gargoyles. I dare you to climb to the top of its bell tower…
Art lovers, go directly to the Bellavista neighborhood to the former home of famous Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín and one of the city’s most impressive art museums, the Capilla del Hombre, dedicated to the indigenous and exploited people of Latin America. Call me a voyeur, but I always love snooping around in an artist’s studio and this one doesn’t disappoint. The museum itself, with its large-format murals, is hauntingly impressive.
Shoppers will love La Mariscal, also called “Gringolandia” because of the hordes of tourists and backpacker hotels here. Plaza Quinde, at the intersection of Calles Reina Victoria and Foch, is my favorite place to settle in with a cocktail at an outdoor cafe and do some serious people watching. This is also the place to satisfy your shopping lust. Take a few bucks (that’s all you’ll need) and poke into the handicraft shops lining Avenida Amazonas or head for the large artisan mercado at the corner of Reina Victoria and Jorge Washington Streets. You’ll find carved items, ponchos, sweaters, scarves, rugs, ceramics, gourds, textiles of all kinds, and my weakness…artisan chocolate.
I could go on and on… If you take away one thing from this, let it be: Quito isn’t a place to pass through enroute to somewhere else. It’s a fabulous, grows-on-you destination and well worth your time to discover its many Old- and New-World charms.