Off to Ecuador

PHOTO ALBUM —>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/5f4rVYCKtqJFfm8M6

We flew out of Bocas Del Toro to Panama City, on a beautiful sunny day. Being so bright we were able to look down on the lovely Bocas Del Toro area, with its amazing archipelago of isles and long palm lined beaches.

The following day July 7th we set off from Panama City to Quito, Ecuador, arriving at 11:00am. Our driver Milton was waiting outside the airport for us. He grabbed our bags and off we drove to Hotel La Ribida.

I found this drive rather odd, because we arrived in what Milton called Quito Valley or Quito Lower at 2,800m or 9,186ft. And then drove to the city which was above us at 2,850m. We literally could see the tall buildings up above us as we drove from the airport up a winding road to the city of Quito. I knew Quito was one of the highest cities in the world, but this approach really illustrated the fact.

Our hotel La Rabida was in a suburb of the business area of Quito.

After dumping our bags we went for a walk around the neighborhood to try to acclimatize….yes, we could feel the altitude. It made me feel a slight pressure in the back of my head and a lack of energy.

The tiendas were quite typical of what we were used to, but the fruits on sale were for me was amazing! I saw star fruit the size of large papayas aka pawpaws. Plus there were quite a number of fruits that I had never seen before. The fruit vender tried to give me the names, but I had never heard of them.

We decided we would definitely try them over the next 2 weeks. We wandered back to our hotel and had a very early night…..as said, the altitude was causing us to feel exhausted.

In the morning of July 8th, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the hotel and then met Jose our driver for the day. The morning was bright and sunny so Jose headed to:

Pululahua Reserva Geobotanica

This large valley was actually in the crater of an old volcano. The view was spectacular! Jose explained that there are 105 volcanoes in Ecuador. 84 volcanoes are on the mainland and 21 volcanoes are in the Galapagos.

From where we stood we could see several peaks of distant volcanoes, they were, Chiro, Pondona, and Pan de Azucar. Down in the crater valley were many lush farms, Jose pointed out some ruins which were from an old monastery.

The Equator experience and educational tour.

Next stop was the “Middle of the World” park and tourist site. There we were greeted by a guide and set off to learn about the ancient peoples of Ecuador. Before the Incas there were various indigenous tribes the Valdivia being the oldest known, dating back to 3,500BC.

We went into a recreation of an indigenous home. We were told about how the men hunted. Shown the various artifacts, from the hunters.

The guide explained about the process of the ancient ritual of shrunken heads. We were shown a recreated shrunken head, quite nasty! After which we were told and shown the women’s role in the indigenous tribe of that time. There was a lady weaving the plant fibers creating a basket.

Following this we went outside to the equator exhibition. There our guide explained all about the equator and showed us different simple experiments. For example we stood one foot in the northern hemisphere and one foot in the southern hemisphere. Experiments that proved how water flows clockwise in the north and anti clock wise in the south, how the shadows vary, all entertainingly shown and told. It was a fun half hour.

I spied a beautiful long tailed humming bird flitting around, such a lovely bird. It certainly distracted me. And another unknown yellow bird feeding on corn.

Jose next drove and stopped at the official monument to the equator. This was just for a picture and a stroll around with Jose.

Jose next suggested we try a locally made ice cream. It was a sherbert, made from differing fruits, frozen in layers. What an amazing treat, it tasted wonderful!

Our tour of the old colonial city of Quito

Across Quito Jose drove to park above the old city on the top of a hill.

This part of Quito is home to one of the best preserved historic centers in the Americas. It is a one of a kind UNESCO World Heritage site. And of course the tourists attracted vendors, artists and musicians, of all types. We parked and walked to the:

Basilica of the National Vow, the most amazing cathedral.

The Basilica of the National Vow is a neo-Gothic style church, considered to be the most important in Ecuador in terms of style, and one of the most important in the Americas. This basilica was inspired by Notre Dame de Paris; its construction began in 1892, (when the first stone was laid), and was completed and sanctified in 1988.

The Basilica of the National Vow is known for its gargoyles on its façade, as well as animals endemic to the country and the region, such as: alligators, turtles, blue-footed boobies, monkeys, pumas, among many others.”

There are two towers which you can climb, but Jose had insider information and we passed along to the elevators and zipped up to the top level just below the stairs for the tip-top of one of the towers.

From there, up we climbed to the very top. Oh, what a view of the whole of the old city, and the rest in the distance. Quito is a very large city with 2.8 million inhabitants. We were fortunate it was such a clear day and the view was perfect.

The architecture of this cathedral was incredibly detailed, just magnificent.

The way to our next destination was down a narrow, steep, street. I was soon to find out all streets either lead uphill or downhill. We were both very entertained by all we saw along the streets. There was much happening, the old city is very popular and so busy.

We arrived at another important church:

The Compañía de Jesús

“This famous church, known by many as the Golden Church in Quito, is a sample of the enormous cultural and artistic wealth that the historical center of the city holds. The Compañía de Jesús has magnificent internal ornamentation, topped with gold leaf that covers a large part of the church. In fact, the Church of the Compañia de Jesus “is the most representative and important baroque temple in Colonial America, having become one of the most important religious monuments in the historical center of the city of Quito” (Jesuítas Ecuador, 2020). Construction of this architectural jewel began in 1605 and was completed in 1765. Between 1987 and 2005, the church was completely restored.”

And, yes, everything about this church is wondrous. The detail in the works of art that adorn every space, the shimmering surfaces, the sheer size, it really is an amazing masterpiece. We visited and passed other quite amazing churches, with wonderful architecture and art works. It seemed at every corner and square there were huge, houses of worship. Jose told us that in this Quito’s Historic Center there were around 30, old churches, and monasteries.

After walking around looking at various sights, the Presidential Palace where there were guards on duty,

ice cream venders mixing their all natural fruit ice cream, musicians playing to the crowd,

and artist displaying their various arts we ended up at:

Yumbos Chocolate,

here we were treated to a cup of hot chocolate and an amazing brownie. This is just one of the many chocolate makers that use the Ecuadorian cocoa for their special chocolate.

Lunch was at Querubin restaurant, this was on the second floor balcony. There was a choice of many dishes, all looked tasty, but we both settled for a sandwich as the chocolate had taken the edge off our appetite.

The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco catholic church

was our next stop. It stands in the historic center and is the oldest and most significant religious site in Ecuador. The structure is the largest architectural complex within the historic centers of all South America.

It is considered a jewel of continental architecture for its mix of styles. The interior was absolutely amazing! It was just decorated with such detail. An awe inspiring work of art. One little detail I loved was an arm and hand reaching through the wall.

Independence Square, and the immediate area was where we wandered next. We both enjoyed seeing all the varied crafts for sale, plus the selections of fruits and other foods that venders had on offer.

Jose told us about the history, the culture and what we could see the next day when we were free to roam the city.

July 9th, off to explore Quito

After another great breakfast we set off to walk to the park that Jose had told us about.

The Parque La Carolina

This park is 165.5 acres and right in the middle of the central business district. We were both really surprised by all the different types of sport being played through the park. Everywhere there were areas for football games, volleyball games and other sports.

Large children’s play areas, picnic areas, walking and running paths, biking lanes, just so much on offer. Everywhere was wonderfully kept, families were barbecuing, picnicking and having fun. We walked the whole park, which seemed huge and then headed to the Botanical Gardens found near the middle of the park.

Botanical Gardens

Here we walked most of the lovely gardens. Many folks were in photography groups enjoying the colourful displays. We entered the green houses, in the 1st one we found the most amazing display of carnivorous plants.

The next green house was my favorite, it held absolutely wondrous orchids. Honestly these orchids were incredible, some truly looked like little faces. It was hard to believe they were simple, living plants, just magic they all were, of course I took numerous photos of these orchids.

Lastly we looked in on the cactus. Once again there was a wonderful collection.

By then it was time to move on, so we found a taxi stand and went to the

old city for lunch and a wander.

We didn’t go into any of the marvelous buildings, we simply enjoyed the streets. Again there were plenty of interesting venders and street artists to keep us entertained.

People to watch, painters, weavers and jewelry makers to watch. Such a vibrant, historic, city is Quito.

That evening went to an Indian restaurant which happened to be close to La Rabita. There we had a wonderful curry for dinner. It was the best curry we had both had in quite a long time.