Modest white houses climb steep slopes. Alvarez said the poor people of the city enjoy some of the best views. They also farm those slopes, which seems impossible. Some of the fattest carrots and biggest apples I've ever seen are sold on the sidewalks of Quito. Indian women wearing narrow-brimmed hats and long hair in a braid sell produce, herbs, flowers, clothing and trinkets while modern electric trolley buses roll by.
Some women angrily turn their backs if they think visitors are raising cameras in their direction.
Outside the Presidential Palace, a neatly dressed man with a long braid in his graying hair repeatedly and angrily shouted at a small group of American tourists. Later I learned he was an Indian rights advocate opposed to U.S. military operations based in Manta, Ecuador, part of anti-drug efforts in South America. Wish we could have had a calm conversation with him, to better understand his concerns. Before being conquered by Spain in 1533, Quito was the northern capital of the Inca Empire. No Inca ruins are in the city.