Got My Head in the Clouds

While I was walking Howie the other day, I realized what a cool and unique place we are living in. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate it because I do, it just seems like I notice something new and different and unique all the time. In every other place I’ve ever lived in, when fog rolls in it starts at the ground and is about 10-15 feet high. In Quito when the fog rolls in, it’s not fog at all but instead clouds.

We are so high up in elevation that almost every day around mid-afternoon clouds roll in and during my daily walks with the dog we are literally walking with our heads in the clouds. The clouds roll over the mountains and due to Quito’s shape and size (think of a big canoe shaped city carved out of the middle of the Andes). The clouds completely overtake everything in the city from floor to…well who knows how high, you can’t even see 15 feet above you It’s such a unique and surreal feeling and the view is absolutely incredible.

There is a mountain ledge that I walk Howie on every day that gives a panoramic view of the Andean ridge and the valley below with a sprawling city. From this spot you can see for miles and it’s truly breathtaking. Recently, as we’ve had a few weeks of rain, all of it is obscured the white of the clouds. It’s almost as if you’re looking at a painting and everything except for a single tree in the foreground is enveloped in white nothingness forcing you to look at the tree.

At the risk of sounding a little corny and cliché, it really is fascinating to stop the day to day hustle and bustle and look at our surroundings and I’m glad I did it. It’s easy to lose track all of the amazing stuff around you.