Exploring Quito

Today, of course, we wake up ridiculously early as there is a 5 hour time difference from the UK. This gives time for leisurely showers and hair washes before breakfast. Having overheard a conversation about the strange items on menus we were not holding out high expectations for breakfast. We were wrong. It’s a tiny hotel but everything was available. Fresh orange juice, super selection of fruit, cereals, breads and pastries. We had the fluffiest omelettes cooked and served in cast iron pans, which meant they held their heat. They were delicious.

Fatima meets us at 09.00 for our morning tour. The weather is good with reasonable visibility, though a little hazy and the sun trying to break through. It’s not on the itinerary, but Fatima thinks it will be good to drive up to a viewing spot by the winged virgin statue. The statue was built 60 years ago and is constructed from 7000 pieces of aluminium.

There are extensive views over Quito.

Our next port of call is 20km away – the middle of the world. Aptly named as this is the equator. We drive through the south of Quito which is a much more affluent area and markedly different from the north where we have just been.

On arrival at the equator museum, we were told a little about the indigenous people. One interesting fact that we didn’t know was why the tribesmen wear twine around their waists. It is tied extremely tightly to grip the foreskin and prevent the candiru (a small catfish), sometimes known as the “penis fish,” from lodging itself in the urethra of people who are in the rivers. Our guide says it is very uncomfortable. I imagine it is!

We were also shown a replica of a burial chamber and told about the burial ritual. If a high up indigenous married man died, his wife was entombed alive with him. She would be given a hallucinogenic drink and then crammed into a pot that was sealed and placed next to her husband in the same way as valuable items would be. Grim times indeed!

We visited an original indigenous house built 150 years ago and still intact. The picture on the post is of the woman who was the last person to live there. She was about 110 years old. The house is surprisingly cool – noticeably cooler than outside.

We then had fun at the equator. We were shown various sundials and told about the shadows and coriolis effect form the earth spinning. We tried balancing a raw egg on a nail head. It is tricky to say the least but two people managed to do it. We were shown how water drains through a plug hole. The vortex spins in opposite directions north and south of the equator, with little visible vortex on the equator.

We also tried walking in a straight line with eyes closed along the equator. That was very difficult and very funny. Everyone looked liked they had been dinking a lot….and we had not touched a drop. Yesterday was the equinox so the sun is almost completely overhead in all directions.

We finally headed off to the old quarter of Quito with strict instructions to take few belongings and take very good care of our phones. We pass very steep streets that rival San Francisco for length and incline but the power supplies are very much Ecuadorean!

First we visit the Monument of Independence which commemorates the battle for independence in 1809.

Across the square is the Church of La Compania.

It looks overly ornate outside but inside is beyond belief. Gold leaf covers everything, although much is gold paint, there are 52kg of gold behind the altar. We were not allowed to take photographs but I have found this online….

Our next port of call is Convento y Myseo De San Francisco. This is a monastery that is still in use though only 12 monks remain. The courtyard is beautiful and peaceful. The church is a little more understated than the previous one though still there is a lot of gold.

By now it is 13.15 and we walk back to our hotel which is very close. We decide to lunch at a rooftop bar across the road. We order a simple lunch of nachos and chips. Very healthy!!! The chips are quite excellent made from a giant potato and sprinkled with paprika and herbs. We admire the excellent adjacent roof renovations whilst I sup a G&T and Jane a white wine.

We return to our hotel where we are invited to a chocolate tasting talk. We are told how chocolate is made and get to taste lots of samples. I would say this has been a pretty good and educational day. A true travel experience.