Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We woke up to fog and cloudiness but it's not raining yet! Fingers crossed it holds out for the day. Before we left we booked a tour of Quito so we could get our bearings. It's called the Historic Quito Tour and was supposed to start at 8:00am. So we got up early and went down to the lobby. Apparently the time was changed to 2:30. They left a message that I didn't get. We have our tour meeting today at 6:00 so that caused some concern because we wanted to find out what to expect.
The concierge told us about a trip to the equator this morning so we decided to make this a tour day. So it was off to la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world). We hopped on a bus and took a 1 hour trip through the mountains to the equator. I stood on one side of the world and Vic was on the other side of the world. I always thought Vic & I were worlds apart but until now we were always on the same side of the world!! We also got to see some replicas of different dwellings of regions in Ecuador and see how chocolate is made. It's hard to decide what one thing to tell you about chocolate. I mulled over whether I should tell you that the 2 Mexican gods of cacao are Quetzalcoatl (Aztec) and Ek-Chuan (Mayan) or that currently Ecuador is a crucial cacao producer but I decided that the one thing I wanted to tell you was that chocolate is an aphrodisiac because it contains caffeine, theobromine, serotonin, and Phenethylamine. "These substances have an invigorating role and an anti-stress action that help with better fatigue resistance which can result positively in sexual activities." So....eat more chocolate!!! ;)
Now for the Historic Quito trip. We boarded a trolley in the northern part of the city. The red trolley, a replica of the 20th-century trams, took us to the enchanting historic center. The first sight was the intricate Basilica del Voto Nacional, a stunning neo-gothic church dating back to 1909. Then we went to the scenic Plaza de la Independencia, to get a glimpse of the cathedral, the government and archbishop’s palaces. This is where our luck ran out and it started to pour. We took the trolley to see the golden altar of Iglesia de la Compañía, a historic 17th-century San Francisco Church. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside any churches. What a beautiful piece of architecture! Then it was off to take in the panoramic views at Mirador El Panecillo, the most-famous viewpoint in Quito. It is located on one of the highest hills around Quito. We had an unobstructed view over downtown Quito, as well as
the northern and southern areas of the city. We can't wait to come back and spend more time in the places we saw today and to see what we missed.
Some thiings I learned today:
-There are 1200 orchids endemic to Ecuador
-Tuna, broccoli, petroleum, roses, shrimp, cacao, bananas are the main exports of Ecuador
- there are 13 volcanos surrounding Quito
- the Rich live in the mountains not in valleys
- there are 110 volcanos in Ecuador including the Galápagos
- a really nice apartment costs about US $1200/ month rent; you can buy a nice place for US $200,000; but you can rent a less nice place (but decent) for US $60
- $3077 is the average salary per year!!!
- Gas costs US $1.20 /gallon
He told us lots more but I had a hard time understanding his thick accent.
We made it back to the hotel in time for our meeting at 6:00 pm to get the run down about what to expect on the Galápagos trip. We've heard about these islands and the fabulous wildlife from many of our fellow travellers and have envied their adventures. So now we get to see it firsthand and are very excited about it! Visits to most of the islands aren’t allowed without a guide licensed with the Galapagos National Park.
It was another tiring day but totally worth it. We leave the hotel at 4:25 am so it'll be an early morning again. I won't have Internet from 4:00 am tomorrow until April 17 in the evening but I'll be writing my blogs and you'll get a whole whack of them when I get back to civilization.
We woke up to fog and cloudiness but it's not raining yet! Fingers crossed it holds out for the day. Before we left we booked a tour of Quito so we could get our bearings. It's called the Historic Quito Tour and was supposed to start at 8:00am. So we got up early and went down to the lobby. Apparently the time was changed to 2:30. They left a message that I didn't get. We have our tour meeting today at 6:00 so that caused some concern because we wanted to find out what to expect on the tour. Hopefully, we'll be back in time to make the meeting.
The concierge told us about a trip to the equator this morning so we decided to make this a tour day. So it was off to la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world). We hopped on a bus and took a 1 hour trip through the mountains to the equator. I stood on one side of the world and Vic was on the other side of the world. I always thought Vic & I were worlds apart but until now we were always on the same side of the world!! There were lots of interesting facts that we read through and replicas of "aboriginal" homes as well as a presentation on chocolate making. While we waited for our return bus we had a coffee overlooking the monument and generally just enjoying the scenery. There was a huge Volkswagen Beetle convention there and hundreds of VW's were parked around the monument. It turned out that the guide we took to the equator was the same guide that we were going on the next tour with. He recommended a local place for lunch and we enjoyed some traditional Ecuadorean food.
Now for the Historic Quito trip. We boarded a trolley in the northern part of the city. The red trolley, a replica of 20th-century trams, took us to the enchanting historic center. The first sight was the intricate Basilica del Voto Nacional, a stunning neo-gothic church dating back to 1909, and the scenic Plaza de la Independencia, to get a glimpse of the cathedral, the government and archbishop’s palaces, and the golden altar of Iglesia de la Compañía, an historic 17th-century San Francisco Church. What a beautiful piece of architecture! Then it was off to take in the panoramic views at Mirador El Panecillo, the most-famous viewpoint in Quito. Located on one of the highest hills around Quito, we had an unobstructed view over downtown Quito, as well as the northern and southern areas of the city.
We were back just in time for our meeting at 6:00 pm to get the run down about what to expect on the trip. We've heard about these islands and the fabulous wildlife from many of our fellow travellers and have envied their adventures. So now we get to see it firsthand and are very excited about it! Visits to most of the islands aren’t allowed without a guide licensed with the Galapagos National Park.
- comments
Carol D Looks like your seeing a lot and having a great time. Thanks for sharing, love hearing about your adventures. Carol