Quito Ecuador

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DAYS 24- 6. We arrived one day early before the start of our trip. What a contrast having been as low as 55 degrees south at Ushuaia, whereas Quito is on the equator at 0 degrees or more than 6000kms north. The altitude certainly takes your breath away and we needed to slow down to get used to it.

Quito sits at an altitude of 2,850 m under the gaze of Volcan Pichincha and is known to be one of the most attractive cities in South America and we agree although the volcano was mostly in light cloud today. The city is long and thin as it stretches along a central valley formed by the east and west ranges of the Andes.

While intending to have a quiet day to further acclimitize we teamed up with a new tour member and decided to walk to Quito's Old Town which is full of historic buildings. First stop was the National Basilica, a neo-gothic monster where we were able to climb the clock tower with views over the whole city. Older cathedrals date back to the 1500's with the La Compania de Jesus cathedral the most stunning and ridiculously ornate with gold leaf everywhere.

All up we had a 5 hr walk taking in many of the main pedestrian walks and significant buildings. Surprisingly there were very few tourists and all types of police everywhere so felt very safe.

It seems ironic to me that the Inca's and the early Spanish conquerers were magnificent builders as seen in the old town yet their modern day descendants have learnt nothing of these skills as current building sites seem to be poor quality & workmanship.

We met some of the trip participants this evening for a pre-tour briefing for those starting the tour. 13 for this section to la Paz.

Next day most of our group decided we would go to Otavalo approx. 2.5 hours north of Quito, where a large indigenous market occurs every Saturday. Villagers from the surrounding countryside descend on the town to sell everything from handmade goods to livestock, fruit and vegetables.

On the way we stopped at what is considered the centre of the earth (ie 0.0.0 deg at the equator) and has been well known by early scientists as one of the best places in the world for making astrological observations due to the Andes providing perfect reference points. What is more astounding is that more than a 1000 years ago the Inca's had more exact readings from movements in the sun. It is now clear the sun played a huge part in the Inca's life and beliefs. The position of the sun during the 4 seasonal equinoxes seemed to determine where the Inca's lived. It's now been confirmed by GPS that if tangent lines were drawn on a map from the centre of the earth at the 4 equinoxes that 8 key sites lie along these lines. Some still exist including Cusco & Quito however others are now Inca site ruins.

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Photos

Middle Earth
One foot each in both hemispheres

Comments

[Steve]

¡Muy interesante!
Great photos, especially the one of you "spread-eagled" across the hemisphere Gerry! You mention La Paz, not sure if you're going to visit Bolivia but if you are try to get a visit inside the prison (San Pedro). I read a book a few years ago entitled "Marching Powder", written by an Aussie by the name of Rusty Young. It's a true account of an English guy, Thomas McFadden, who got caught trying to smuggle cocaine out of Bolivia - one of the best books I've read. Rusty's a journalist who actually lived inside the prison for three months with Thomas while he wrote the book. Apparently you can arrange a visit inside the prison, it's even advertised in Lonely Planet... Wish I was there, I'm looking at going back to Mount Isa in a few weeks :(

[Gerry and Ruth Travels]

Hi Steve, thanks for your positive feedback. We will be going to La Paz towards the end of this month so will look into a jail tour.