no clever title (sorry - got a headache)

After our crazy beach adventure we settled back in to life in Quito and with another roommate (Sachiko of course). Jazz had left for NY (for a week to work on an upcoming project) while we were at the beach and Henry was leaving for the same reason on Wednesday night. So, either Tuesday, I went to work at Kallari and then Sachiko and Henry came to meet me so we could go to the v egetarian Taiwanese restaurant. While we were there it started pouring like crazy so we had to take a cab for Henry to stop and get his passport back from his lawyer (this is the street infront of the lawyer's office)



and then for me to go to the cafe and Henry and Sachiko to head off to a meeting.

We all met up later that night back at the apartment (after Henry taught class and Sachiko went with him) to meet up with Henry's friend Elizabeth and her girlfriend Ana at El Pobre Diablo (here is a picture of their sign - same thing is on their menu - which i took for you Jason, I mean a devil and a monkey?!?!? what could be better???)


The place has a cozy fireplace, live music on Thursdays and Fridays, and really good Ecuadorian food:


We had fried yuca with cheese sauce, empanadas de verde (cheese empanadas, but the crust is made from green plaintains - they are super tasty, especially here), and the drink is called canelazo - a warm drink made with aguardiente (a sugar cane alochol that will warm your throat for about 20 minutes and put hair on your chest) with naranjilla juice (a local fruit somehow related to the tomatillo) and cinnamon. It's really nice : )

That night Octavio, our friend the chef/owner from Indochine was also doing this sushi music jam thing at a local club called Agejon (no idea if that's how you spell it), so after dinner (at about midnight), we all headed down to check out the jam band accompanied by Octavio, et al's sushi-rolling jam. We got there pretty late, but the music was good and the one piece of sushi i tasted was too. Finally went home after that and Henry decided that he was just gonna stay up til he had to head to the airport (around 4:30) and would try to get us to stay up as late as possible too. I think I went to bed around 3.

The next day was the big Ecuador - Brasil soccer game (anyone guess my loyalty??). I get to the cafe the next morning to find this:



which I found very amusing so had to take a picture of Franklin and Elsy. So, we worked for the rest of the day and then Sachiko came to meet me so we could lug the laundry home together. Hailed a cab and the crook cabbie tried to charge us double the rate. So I made sure to tell him he was a liar before exiting the cab. Sachiko wasn't feeling well, so she decided not to come to watch the game. I was beyond exhausted (all these late nights are getting awfully difficult!), but couldn't miss the Brasil game. I mean Ecuador - Brasil. Headed out alone to catch a cab to meet the Kallari folks to watch the game- but of course it was pouring so that alone was my first adventure. Finally got a cab and when it dropped me off this cabbie also tried to rip me off (something in the air??) and said the ride was $3 - a dollar more than I've ever paid for the same damn ride. So I asked why? and he immeditately says "okay, $2." What the hell?!!?!?

For anyone who knows soccer I don't have to tell you that Brasil sort of trounced Ecuador - so sad - though will some beautiful shots that even the Ecuador fans had to concede were impressive. After the game, there was some dancing and hanging out and after about an hour, my sorry old ass had to go home (those Kallari kids can stay out all night!). And that I did.