QUITO, ECUADOR

A High Altitude City

When we went to the Galapagos Islands, Quito, Ecuador was our first stop. A couple days in the capital city gave us a chance to adjust to the climate and time change.

Old colonial Quito is very hilly reminding me of San Francisco. The cobblestone streets are very narrow. The buildings with a Moorish influence are very close together. Many of the stucco buildings have inner courtyards. Our personal guide told us, “Spaniards founded the old capitol city in 1534.”

Street vendors were everywhere. Old men carried heavy loads in large baskets on their backs. The only thing holding the baskets in place were fabric straps. I’m not sure if the men were bent over from the heavy loads or because of age. Life had to be tough.

The new modern hotels and shops are located in ‘new Quito’, an area which came into being in the early 1970s. We were told, “Building codes here are actually earthquake codes requiring steel to reinforce all concrete.”

The streets in the new part of town were wide, the traffic heavy and traffic lights and stop signs very few in number. I’m glad I was not competing with the crazy drivers. We were cautioned to watch our wallets whenever walking the streets anywhere in the city.

Our guide continued, “Ecuador has twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours (6-6) of darkness every day all year. Mornings are sunny and rain showers arrive nearly every afternoon.

“Our country’s main income is derived from bananas and oil, 50% of the oil is exported. There are eight active volcanoes in the country.”

We learned Ecuador was a dictatorship until 1979 when it became a democracy. There are 16 political parties. Provincial senators and the president are elected for one four year term.

General Sucre fought the Spanish. An art theater and the currency are named for him.

At 10,000 feet elevation, we stopped at the site of the Dancing Virgin or Madonna of Quito. Our guide told us, “She was erected in the early 1980s and stands 100 feet tall. She was made in France of cast aluminum and shipped to Quito in pieces, and then erected. She is the only winged virgin in the Catholic Church. The virgin stands on a dragon perched on top of the world. She holds a chain in her hand that extends down and around the dragon’s neck showing that good triumphs over evil. Below the statue is a small chapel.”

It was an interesting city tour that finished right at lunchtime. The equatorial monument another day.