Quito, Ecuador - the nation's capital and the second largest city in the country behind major port Guayaquil. But for us, Quito was more than that. It was our wardrobe entrance to South America.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as wonderful as Narnia. Rather, it was a large dirty city, jam-packed with backpackers, smog, leering petty thieves, and general negative energy (not snow covered rolling hills full of magical creatures and regal talking lions). We didn't care. We had finally made it out of Central America, and into a whole new land of opportunities.
-Brian
This photo of three local shoe-shiners cost Eric 3 quarters. Shoe shining is one of the most popular means of employment among young and old men alike. They'll shine your loafers or your sandals, whichever you have on. I imagine they would shine your bare feet as well.
They don't ask you if you want a shoe shine. Instead, their sales pitch is to come up and stare at both your eyes and your shoes until you give them a very definite answer. But as you can see in this picture, they can be likeable folks when given a chance (or a quarter).
In Latin America, any time is a good time to play fútbol. These teenage boys were getting in a game after school, and were lucky enough to have an actual field with goals to play on, despite the lack of grass.
90% of all soccer games you see take place on gravel or dirt roads, with no clear goals set out. Just get it past the last person, relatively close to him, and you score. The games rarely get violent, and trash-talking is next to non-existent. A game can consist of players from ages 4-67, and there is no need to keep score. Just play.
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