Pumping Iron EC-style

Carlos (a guard friend) has been inviting me to work out at his son’s gym for a while now but it just hasn’t worked out for various reseaons, that is until today.

A week of later bedtimes made the 6am alarm feel awful early, but I had to get going as Carlos’ night shift ended at 6:30am and we had agreed to head out right after he got off. We caught a total of three different buses and traveled for over an hour to reach our destination, leaving me wondering if I would be able to find my way back:)

His son’s gym is in a part of Quito I hadn’t ever explored, it was full of small stores, churches, central plazas, and lots of Quiteños; in fact I didn’t see a single other gringo. The gym itself was cramped but adequate. Right off the bat I was introduced to Carlos’ son, a fit 30-something who was very welcoming. In fact, everyone I met there was very nice and happy to help me find things or give advice on equipment use. The gym has a main floor with a sparse but functional collection of machines and free-weights and an open upstairs for aerobics, yoga, etc. I had about 3” head clearance from the ceiling and also had some trouble fitting on several of the machines (for example on the lat pull-down I had to sit on the floor rather that the seat to achieve optimal extension) but in my 50 minutes there I got in a great workout; I’m already sore just hours later! I guess that’s what I get for showing off a bit after not lifting for a few months:) I might have stayed longer but Carlos was hanging out the whole time, I believe to help me find my way back, and after being up all night he looked like he needed to sleep, badly. He made sure I caught the right bus but not before we agreed to have me visit him at his home some day when I have more time. He lives just a kilometer or so from his son’s gym, families here really tend to stick together.

The trip back was more uneventful than I had worried, but gave me time to think on how lucky I am to have met people like Carlos. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to start my morning.

On another topic, my whole family arrives here in Quito tonight and I’m super pumped to spend the next two weeks with them but just a warning, the blog may suffer a bit. Happy Christmas if I don’t post again before then:)