Quito, Ecuador

                                                                  QUITO, ECUADOR

     I made my first visit to Ecuador in 1993. Then 23 years later I decided to take my granddaughters and their mother to experience the Galapagos Islands, but I wanted them to experience Colonial capitol Quito first. I hired a guide and driver for the Quito visit as I wanted to see as much of the city in a weekend as possible. The altitude of 9,350-feet slowed out pace a wee bit but not to any extreme.

    Quito’s historic center is one of the best preserved in the Americas. Most of the 8 active volcanos can be seen from most parts of the city. Spaniards constructed lovely colonial architecture over the charred remains of an   Inca city. But just north of Old Town towering concrete and glass structures show off modern business and tourists centers of the city. Quito’s unmistakable Old Town, covers over 790 acres and is hilly. The area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, Quito has taken great pride in restoring its colonial buildings and sprucing up its public spaces to ensure that both locals and visitors continue to breathe life into Old Town.  

     Our guide was great about rearranging our itinerary to avoid crowds. The Equatorial Monument is about 20 Kilometers out of the city. As we headed to lower altitudes in this short distance there was a remarkable change in climate and tropical plant life was flowering and healthy.

     Here I found some additions to the well-known area. Although one can still straddle   both hemispheres at the same time near the lovely museum these have taken a back seat to the new Mitad del Mundo, Middle of the World.  Although the equator runs through many cities in the world, Quito has become famous for it.   The equator was discovered and mapped in 1736 by a French geodesic expedition. This extraordinary feat at that time did end being off by about 250 meters. This site gave the girls an excellent overview of Ecuador and the views were spectacular. We all learned a lot and the girls had great fun  participating in many experiments as we visited the site. We were all fascinated by the story of  how a shrunken head is made! The girls protested the use of guinea pigs in ceremonies and the eating of them. They  were stymied how magnetism will not allow anyone to walk heel to toe at the equator; they tried hard to prove it wasn’t so. 

    After spending much of the morning here I asked our driver to stop at the tower monument so the girls could see where their uncle and I had spent some time years ago.

    Back in town at Independence Square  it was a surprise to walk into a lovely old mansion for a leisurely local lunch at Casa Gangotena. Our guide  joined us and was able to translate and describe the menu for us, as the coat-clad waiter didn’t speak English. Lunch included soup, entre, juice and desert. Somehow salad was also included but not listed on the menu..

     We started with a long divided dish of a half dozen salsas. Each was good and I was intrigued with the beet salsa. We all tried hard to not dribble salsa on the crisp white linen tablecloth.

    All but one of us ordered the pork. The boneless chop had been pounded very thin until it was the size of an open hand, It appeared to have  been grilled and the orange sauce was on the plate I took as a marinade. It was different but very good. A roasted bean about the size and shape of a lima bean is a poplar food item and they were on the plate with halved small quarter-sized roasted potatoes and a salad. Also on the plate was a white popcorn-like corn kernel which reminded us of hominy—very bland. The meal ended with a guava-like ice cream frozen desert,

    After a delicious lunch it was time to get out and walk for some exercise.

Seven churches surround or near the square give it its name. The Centro Historico hosts a diverse and rich colonial history with beautiful plazas, churches, museums and pedestrian walkways.  I am not going to dwell on the many large, beautiful plazas, nor on the many churches, We entered many, learned history about each and the notable effects of each were pointed out to us. If you are really interested in the differences of the churches  and squares just google Quito’s churches and you’ll find all the info you want. After threeish hours we were all churched and plazaed out. It was a very warm day and it was time for something to drink and some ice cream!.

    After some discussion and learning the market closed at 5PM---give or take---we asked the driver to drop us off there before it closed. I knew the market was only  a very  short walk from our hotel. As it turned out that was a good choice, as it turned out to be the only time we had to do any shopping.

    After staggering back to the hotel we  dropped our purchases and while resting discussed the day. Later at the hotel restaurant we indulged in some of the city’s famous soups. We all tried a different one and no one was disappointed.

   

A BIT ABOUT CORK

                                     CORK FROM THE TREE TO THE BOTTLE

      After reading about this trip in the New York Times a couple years ago I knew it was a trip for me. It didn't take  long for me to get to the computer to start some research which eventually led me to the Cork Alliance website and it's Executive Director,  Patrick Spencer, with whom I made contact and later watched his TED Talk.

    We visited 4 of Spain's 17 autonomous communities (states), and learned a lot of Spanish history along the way. Cork is harvested in June and July so there are ony four tours a year and because of the unique and small accomadations this company limits each group to only ten people. The first night we stayed in a 16th century palace, a couple of times in the forest, once close to the Portugal border and another time in an apartment on a large estate. In Andalusia we spent seeral days in a old hospital that had been converted to a hotel.

    This trip absolutely fulfilled my preference for getting out into the countryside and mingling with the people. Lunch in the forest with the workers was a delight both times.

     Seven million acres of cork forest stand in 7 countries that have oak cork trees: Spain, Portugal, France, Tunsia, Morocco, Italy, and Algeria; 91% of cork forests are family owned. Bark  is  harvested by hand every 9 years. It is the  only tree that bark can be removed from  and  conitue to live. With an axe, the experts detach the grey bark from the oaks. The trunks of the trees then turn orange, yellow or red.  No mechanical tools have been used in these forests for 2000 years. The workers are the highest paid agricultural workers in world.

      The industry is the  3^rd highest biodiversity industry in the world; 13,000 plants grow in the areas while animals, many endemic, live in the forests.

     Trees are protected in all 7 countries, and it is illegal to cut them down. The Industry, a 0% waste industry is  fully sustainable.  Each year 12 billion corks are made.    

   In spite of the misconception, the cork forests are in jeopardy because of under use not overuse .

    A fun little known factoid: the inside of the shuttle fuel tanks are lined with cork protecting the shuttle on re-entry as cork will not burn below 1000 degrees.