Quito

After a short flight from Cuenca we arrived in Quito in due time. This capital city of Ecuador would be our last stop on this trip.

(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)

Quito - Arrival

We arrived early in the day and checked into the beautiful La Casona de la Ronda Hotel in the historical La Ronda area of Quito. This hotel also has a very nice lounge at the top floor of the building, which has a fantastic view of the volcanic hill El Panecillo ("The Bread"), and the Virgin of Quito statue overlooking the city.


El Panecillo


El Panecillo


Virgin of Quito


Quito Houses viewed from La Casona de la Ronda Hotel

La Casona de la Ronda Hotel itself is a beautiful boutique hotel, tastefully decorated and meticulously maintained, certainly the best one we stayed at during this trip, and one of the best we've stayed at in recent memory.


Atrium at La Casona de la Ronda Hotel


Courtyard at La Casona de la Ronda Hotel

Quito - First Walk

Because we arrived early in the day, we had plenty of time to take a walk around town. This we did, first walking to the bustling Plaza Grande (or Plaza de la Independencia), which is surrounded by several historical churches, one of which being the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito.


Plaza Grande


Plaza Grande


Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito

I noticed that besides the universal feral pigeons, there were actually many native Eared Doves foraging in the plaza.


Eared Dove


Eared Dove

We walked toward the northeast end of town. Some say Quito's hilly streets remind people of San Francisco, this I quite agree.


Quito Street Scene


Quito Street Scene

We eventually reached Basilica of the National Vow (or Basilica del Voto Nacional), effectively Ecuador's national cathedral. It was under some repair (earthquake proofing?) at the time, and parts of it were covered with scaffolding and tarps, which made clean composition a challenge.


Bell Tower of Basilica del Voto Nacional


Basilica del Voto Nacional

Basilica del Voto Nacional is said to be the "beginning" of Old Town of Quito. A building of the grandest scale (it is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas), it also sits on a high hill, its presence over the city is most imposing.


Basilica del Voto Nacional

Inside, it is cavernous, and like all churches, with many stained glasses.


Inside Basilica del Voto Nacional


Inside Basilica del Voto Nacional


Stained Glass inside Basilica del Voto Nacional


Stained Glass inside Basilica del Voto Nacional

Outside the cathedral and across the street is Plaza Garcia Moreno, which also offers nice view of the modern side of Quito (the southeast side).


Plaza Garcia Moreno


Plaza Garcia Moreno

We strolled back toward town, passing several plazas, including Plaza Santo Domingo in front of the Santo Domingo Church near the hotel.


Plaza Santo Domingo

And at night, I took pictures of Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus, the famous "golden church" of Quito. There are so many churches and cathedrals in Quito, I found this page to be useful to check which one is one.


Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus

Quito - TeleferiQo

On the second day we were in Quito, we took trips to the wellknown destinations in the city. First, we went to the TeleferiQo. Starting from 3,117 m (10,226 ft), it is one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, eventually reaching 3,945 m (12,943 ft) at the upper terminal. The view from the top is panoramic and spectacular. We were lucky that this was a pretty clear day.


From Teleferico


From Teleferico


From Teleferico

At one point, I saw an Andean horseman riding a horse on the trail up the mountain. Not staged for show, he seemed totally nonchalant and had his own business on his mind. This seemed an authentic image of the Ecuadorian people.


Andean Horseman


Andean Horseman

We were also lucky here that the clouds shrouding the Pichincha Volcano parted at least momentarily, giving us clear, if brief, views of two of its summits, Rucu (old man) and Guagua (child). This post has the most clear descriptions of the peaks of Pichincha Volcano.


Rucu Pichincha (4698m)


Guagua Pichincha (4794m)

It was at the upper terminal of the TeleferiQo that I spotted another high altitude new bird, a Black-billed Shrike-tyrant.


Black-billed Shrike-tyrant

Quito - Mitad del Mundo

Of course everyone who visits Quito has to go to Ciudad Mitad del Mundo ("Middle of the World City"). A faux "city" centered around a grandiose if a bit tacky monument, which does not actually straddle the equator, it is one of the top tourist attractions in Quito. We knew all this, but we paid a visit anyway.


Mitad del Mundo Monument


Mitad del Mundo Monument


Mitad del Mundo Monument


From Mitad del Mundo Monument

It was outside the park, while in the car, that I captured screen shots of the GPS coordinates of the exact location of the equator on my phone -- note that the latitude in the first screen shot says 0 degree south, whereas it is 0 degree north in the second one, indicating that I crossed the equator from the southern to the northern hemisphere.


Screen shot of the GPS coordinates of the exact location of the equator


Screen shot of the GPS coordinates of the exact location of the equator

Our driver actually took us to the IntiƱan Solar Museum nearby. This was supposed to be the site of the native people, but now it is a mini theme park. They even do some "experiments" that demonstrate the Coriolis effect at the equator. Since I had my undergraduate degree in physics, I knew it was a hoax. I was wholly unimpressed with this visit and will not post any pictures here, you may refer to this Smithsonian post to get an idea of what it was like.

Quito - La Ronda

At the end of each day, we went back to our hotel in La Ronda. This is a historical area with many restaurants and bars. On weekend (Friday and especially Saturday) nights, it really came alive, with throngs of patrons as well as vendors soliciting business.


La Ronda


La Ronda


La Ronda


La Ronda

La Ronda is also the place for canelazo in Quito if not all of Ecuador. This is a warm, sugary and alcoholic drink made from boiled juice (usually naranjilla, a citris-like fruit) and cinnamon with aguardiente (sugar cane alcohol) added. It is said to possess the quality of curing altitude sickness. I found this to be dubious: on one hand, the sugar contents in the drink probably gives one a quick boost of energy which may counteract altitude effects in the body; on the other hand, the alcohol will only make on more dizzy, reinforcing the altitude sickness. However, it must be said that if you get dizzy from drinking canelazo, you will probably just have a plain'ol hangover and forget about your altitude sickness anyway.


Canelazo


Canelazo


Canelazo being boiled in a pot

On our last night in Quito, which was a Sunday, most restaurants closed and there were few patrons, the difference from the previous night was stark.


La Ronda


La Ronda


La Ronda

Quito - Last Day

Well, just like that, our stay in Quito, as well as our entire trip to Ecuador (including the Galapagos) came to an end. On our last morning in town, we went to visit the golden Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus. But despite charging $5 for entrance, they do not even allow photography inside. This I am not very happy about and wrote a low review on Tripadvisor (I am usually pretty generous with my reviews). I had to settle for taking a few pictures of the carvings outside the church.


Carvings outside Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus


Carvings outside Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus

We ambled to Plaza de San Francisco where the Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco (Church and Monastery of St. Francis) is.


Plaza de San Francisco

Below the church, there is a restaurant that sells humitas, or corn cake, a traditional Ecuadorian treat. Back on the ship in the Galapagos, the captain, who is from Quito, had told us that this place has the best humitas in Ecuador. By this time, we sampled it at many places, and here, we had one steamed one and one fried one, and I must admit, they were the best on this trip.


Humitas



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