The air is poco thinner in the second highest capital in the world. If we had flow in from Nevada we probably wouldn’t have noticed the 9,350′ elevation but coming from Charleston the dark night air felt more a deep water dive than cool crisp Andes mountain air. Not bad – just notable.
It was midnight by the time we got to our room. The 45 minute taxi cab ride had us blind to the distance but the roadways were clean and wide.
It’s the edge of the rainy season and the clouds obscure the surrounding volcanoes.
Quito sits on the eastern slopes of an active – yes active – volcano named Pichincha. The latest eruption was in 1999. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.We stayed at the JW Marriott on the fringe of La Mariscal neighborhood. Against the better judgement of the concierge – warned that we might be confronted by sketchy people – we decided to use up our daily breath quota and walked six miles to and from and around the historic downtown area.
On the way we passed the burned out government building and site of a Molotov cocktail barrage from the protests just a week before.Many buildings downtown were covered in concertina wire and security was plentiful.Other than that all was calm and peaceful.
The downtown architecture is magnificent. Intricate details, soft colors and wrought iron balconies are reminiscent of Spain.In 1978 Quito was named one of the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage Cultural sites.Did you know that Panama hats are made in Ecuador?
There’s a method to our madness…
Bill and I discovered these fino and superfino sombreros in Waikiki, Hawaii 23 years ago. In awe of their buttery but shocked by the prices we vowed to fly to Ecuador one day, buy a hat and save money!!! Right….
“Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.” Confucius
The simplicity of our lives while roaming the planet led us to the same conclusion – less is more. It’s not the easiest road but perhaps the most thoughtful.
It was brilliant how the whole thing came about. Our commercial property had an abandoned studio home out back that we decided to remodel and use as a rental property.
Red tagged on the first day of construction!
The original home was built on the dirt – no foundation. The County allowed us to take the building down in order to build a proper slab foundation as long as we rebuilt using the exact same footprint, roofing material and as much siding as we could.
Before (click on any photo to enlarge):
Just as people fall in love with babies and puppy dogs we fell in love with a tiny home – promptly putting our primary residence on the market. We abandoned the rental concept and decided to make it our home.
Meet Mona. She’s 20′ x 22′ – 440 sq.ft. of living space with a small storage loft.
Tired of the upkeep required by perfectly engineered shiny Brazilian hardwood flooring we opted for unfinished concrete floors. All the warts of construction are permanently embedded – scuff marks, paint drips and cracks – perfection!
We work where we sleep. It’s crazy but our pull down bed is a desk by day and bed by night. The pivoting motion of the bed allows us to lower the bed while the desk stays fully in place (plugs and all) – articulating to the floor.
Carefully planned built-in cabinets house what remains of our earthly goods. We opted to purge. The kids got all the stuff we stored for them from their childhood – the remainder was donated, sold in a garage sale and a few antiques were sent to a house we have in the Palm Springs area.
The only furniture that went to Mona were two old leather chairs , a mattress and an outdoor patio set.
Bags and bags of clothing were passed on as well for we only have 41″ of closet space. So if you see us wearing the same clothes you’ll know why.
We created an urban garden area out back to grow the square footage.
Steve Jobs said “The greatest wealth is to live content with little.”
In keeping with what Steve Jobs professed and the wisdom gained during construction of Mona, we decided to do the same in Charleston, SC. Withering from boredom in a suburban home where we found ourselves driving almost daily to the historic downtown area, we sold and bought a whopping 514 sq.ft. of luxury right in the heart of Charleston. Walking distance to everything. Completely remodeled and furnished. We moved in with two Asian rugs, a painting and half our clothing. Second garage sale of the year.
We love the look on our friends face’s when they visit for the first time – trying to imagine themselves living tiny. We have everything we need, including a washer/dryer and kitchen, which is – much more than when wandering the globe.
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Paulo Coelho
Check out Springtime. It’s magical. The temperatures are mild and mother nature is singing.
Walking has become our way of life since moving to the historic downtown area. We really got to know the neighborhood averaging 7 miles a day – four of those days include a two mile jaunt to yoga – all in preparation for our upcoming pilgrimage (stay tuned).
Our pace is slow because there is so much to see.
Come take a journey with us.
Where……
flower boxes are in abundance,
entries are dreamy,
and pink homes rule!
Rainbow Row is like candy.
From tiny to traditional.
Meandering Live Oak trees tell a story
and horses add to the charm. However, they are quite controversial right now – animal cruelty activists think it’s time to end this tradition. You decide.
Herons fly free…
and the iconic Ravenel Bridge links Charleston to Mt. Pleasant and offers fabulous views from the 5 mile round trip walking path. Built in 2005 – it’s the 3rd longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
However, it’s not all walking. We started the act of fishing on the Ashley River. It’s salt water – where the Ashley and Cooper Rivers meet to form the Charleston Harbor and flow into the Atlantic Ocean. We just walk across the street with gear in tow – it’s right out the door of our home. I say “act” because the fish have completely avoided our hook. It’s about the tide and bait.
