Hey y'all! The city of Quito is massive and quite stunning. It is the capital of Ecuador, and the highest country's capital (above sea level) in the entire world! The mountains that surround the city are very charming and the Old Town is as picturesque as you would imagine. In this post, I will walk you through what we did during our time in Quito. We were only there for two days, but ideally, if you had about a week (just for Quito, not all of Ecuador), that would be better.
Day One:
-La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World): If you did not know, Ecuador is on the equator. Because of this, and because of Quito's position in the Andes Mountains, there is a very unique area to explore. The first of the two places we went that deal with La Mitad del Mundo was the actual monument. This was a beautiful place, located about 45 minutes outside of Quito from where our hotel was (we stayed in Hotel Quito). Not only was there the monument to enjoy (and take lots of pictures with), but you could go to the top of the monument (in an elevator) to view the surrounding area from a higher viewpoint.
Pictured above: A picture of the monument, a picture from the top of the monument showing the replication of the old city of Quito, and my study abroad group with one foot on the north side of the equator and one foot on the south side.
The walk back down to the bottom had a museum so it was a really enjoyable descent. Then, there is a whole town almost, full of shops and restaurants to enjoy and spend lot of money on cute souvenirs. The "town" is actually a representation of the old city of Quito. In the middle photo above, you can see the chapel and the town square, which are two parts of any older, major city in South America. Also here, near the entrance, were some replications of houses that used to be common in the times before the Spanish arrived. And, of course, one of the most uncomfortable foods for Americans to imagine but something that is very common in Ecuador, guinea pigs. This location had both live (to show how they are kept, not as pets) and cooked "cuy" (which is the Spanish word for guinea pigs).
Pictured above: A cute mascot of sorts to lessen the blow of the roasted guinea pigs right next to it, the cages were the indigenous people would keep the guinea pigs inside their homes, and two freshly roasted "cuy" for a restaurant.
After shopping around a little (there was a brewery and a really neat place to get ice cream that is made in a very specific way to prevent it from melting, which are both wonderful places to spend your money), we made our way around the corner to a truly wonderful outdoor and interactive museum. This was called the Intinan Museum. We had a tour here that lasted about one hour, and covered a wide variety of topics. We started out talking about the Amazon region, the general information and some specifics about certain native tribes, most interestingly one that shrinks (or, used to shrink, if that makes you feel better) heads! After the Amazon portion, we made our way around to some fun activities that stressed the strength of the equator line in ways that do not make ANY logical sense. First, probably, the most common activity you have heard of: the water swirling in different directions depending on whether the water is north or south of the equator line. Then, balancing an egg on the head of a nail. I, alas, was unsuccessful and not crowned an Egg Master, but three people in our group were so dubbed. Then, walking in a straight line on the equator with your eyes closed. The pull of the two hemispheres makes this very amusing to watch. And last, an arm exercise that tests the strength and control of your muscles. This requires two people, one of which stands north or south of the equator line, and the other on the opposite side pushes down on the other person's arms. They likely will not be able to push them down. Then, the first person moves onto the equator line and once more puts their arms up, and the other person pushes them down, this time with great ease. Very interesting and interactive, rather than another boring old museum!
Pictured above: A photo of the "museum", which was all outdoor except for some replications of indigenous huts and was truly wonderful, with many flowers, plants, and monuments, a picture of my friend MaryGrace deeply concentrated on attempting to balance the egg on the nail, and Sara attempting to balance while walking down the red equator line with her eyes closed.
We also visited the Olga Fisch museum, which was tiny but a wonderful stop. Olga Fisch was a foreigner to Ecuador but found a certain type of art that she thought would be very successful to sell, so she began helping promote the art for the natives. This art is called "Tigua", and it is a style that is 100% unique to Ecuador. The paintings all contain similar subjects, like the volcano Cotopaxi, the animals indigenous to Ecuador, and the people of Ecuador wearing either special outfits of celebration or working clothes. The art is very beautiful, and makes for a perfect gift for someone.
Day Two:
A walking (mostly) tour of Quito. Starting with, the Basilica de Voto Nacional. And may I just say, WOW. I think from the moment I first saw it, my mouth didn't close until it was completely out of my sight. First of all, it is huge. One of the largest churches I have ever seen. It was tall, and it was incredibly long. Inside, it contains 24 small churches, one for each providence of Ecuador. So to get all of the best views from the basilica, you must climb a million stairs. There are two mains stop, one overlooking the main church, and one at the top looking out towards the front of the church. The second one is where you are really tested, emotionally and physically. You must first cross this very rickety bridge (if you can call it that) to the other side of the main chapel, then climb up a set of very steep steps, almost a ladder really. You get to the top of those steps and think, "What a lovely view", and you're walking around, and then you see not one, but two more sets of terrifyingly step stairs. Keep in mind, you're already pretty high up, but this is just that much higher up. So once you decide that the view might be worth risking your life for (and it is, I am here today to tell you), you climb up those two more flights of stairs to a beautiful and very high up view.
Pictured above: The two famous towers from the view of the ground, a wonderful stained glass window, the high ceilings in the basilica with the red glow from the stained glass windows, a view from the terrifying climb, a view of me during my fearful decline that shows how steep the stairs were (I was not being that dramatic, look at those things), and a view from the top of one of the towers.
Going back down is the real killer though (but not literally). But once we were safe and sound back on the ground, we continued our tour. Cuenca, being a Latin American city, has a very specific kind of layout for it's main city square. Almost all city squares in Latin America have a church/cathedral, a main government building (often the President's home, as is the case here), and a large statue in the middle that is very complex, and every aspect of the statue is meaningful. After our tour guide explained all of the history and meaning behind the square, we moved on to maybe my favorite church that I have ever seen! Now, there were no photos allowed inside, but I will share photos of the outside that will give an idea of the detail inside. However, the details are the only similar feature physically, because inside, EVERYTHING (and I mean literally every wall/column/feature) is covered in gold filigree. The entire church just glows in the most incredible way. I did purchase postcards that show the inside, but if you want to see the inside, you're going to have to hop on a plane to Quito because the postcards do not show the true beauty.
Pictured above: The home of the president, the statue/memorial in the main square, the cathedral in the main square, and the last three are all photos of the extreme detail of just the outside of the "Golden Church" (imagine the inside: the photos + all gold = WOW).
After we finished our walking tour, we went to a viewpoint of the city for lunch and, yet again, one more short hike to the top of something very high up. This location, called the Mirador de Panecillo, features a 130+ foot statue of the Virgin of Quito. This is a very unique statue because it is a Mary with wings based on the description of the Woman of the Apocalypse from the biblical book of Revelation. The artist behind this sculpture combined the ideas of the Woman and of Mary to create this idol of the city of Quito. Our lunch was wonderful and had a really beautiful view of the city. This restaurant was located within walking distance of the statue, slightly down the hill (following the sidewalks). It was called Pim's Restaurant. A brief note about Ecuadorian food- delicious, but, especially for lunch, the meals are huge, so be prepared to eat.
Pictured above: A view of the mountains around Quito which are very beautiful from the top of the Virgin of Quito, a photo of me and Doctora from the top of the statue, and a photo of the Virgin of Quito Herself.
Other Tips:
This was the majority of our day in Quito, but another very popular thing to do is to take a gondola to a viewpoint high above the city. The name of the ride is Teleferico Quito, and according to the website will cost approximately $4-9 per person. And if you have more time in Quito, you should do a day trip. The most popular locations for day trips are to the volcano Cotopaxi, to the crater lake Quilotoa, or to the arts and crafts market, Otavalo. These day trips will cost approximately $45-65 most likely, and you can book them online ahead of time, through your hotel/hostel, or in person at a travel agency. Two days in Quito almost is really not enough time for everything this central location offers, so if you have the time, plan to stay in Quito for as long as possible! Thank you all so much for reading and feel free to like and share!