A Step Off The Beaten Path

The view from our room, looking west over the old city in Quito. You can see the Panecillo with the statue of the Virgin on the hill to the left and the Basilica del Voto National at the far right.

Today marks 2 weeks since we arrived in Quito, Ecuador. I feel like we’ve been going non-stop  seeing the city and getting a feel for life up here in the Andes. Yet anytime we visit with fellow travelers, they list off all the many things they’ve done and the places they’ve visited in just the couple of days they have been here, and I’m reminded that we just travel differently (slower) than everyone else. Even so, we have much to share from our first couple weeks here.

Quito makes an amazing first impression. The airport is 45 minutes away, and the drive up into the mountains that cradle the city offers scenic landscapes as well as views of many improbably situated buildings and homes. Quito is beautiful! The old town has blocks and blocks of colonial style buildings and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is super long, but narrow as it insists on carving a space for itself between the mountains. As a result, much of the city (esp. the old part to the south where we are staying) offers far too many opportunities for us to climb up and down streets. We are definitely getting our exercise now. And we’re definitely feeling the altitude! Quito sits at approximately 9200 feet!  The air is thin up here, and it seemed like we all had headaches and dry throats for the first couple days.

Walking the streets

Our first priority upon arrival (other than to find housing), was to enroll in a Spanish language school. We already knew of a couple of schools located near where we were staying. However, we quickly zeroed in on one called Yanapuma, a language school that doubles as a foundation that promotes development programs for indigenous and marginalized communities in Ecuador. As if that weren’t enough, they have a sister school in Cuenca where we can continue our classes as we move south towards Peru. We definitely found our school! During our time in Quito, we scheduled for each of us to receive 2 hours of language instruction each afternoon for 2 weeks. This time of year, the mornings are sunny and warm and the afternoons generally see a shower or two. So this schedule works out perfectly for us. We’ve been doing either home school or an outing every morning. If it rains, it does so while we’re in school. So far, the kids have all loved their instructors and are enthusiastic about learning Spanish. Can’t ask for better than that! Lori and I have also benefited from some solid review with our instructor.

During one outing, we climbed the many stairs leading up the towers of the Basilica del Voto National, a quirky Gothic church established by the government a little over 100 years ago. It has 2 clock towers (because one clock just wouldn’t be enough, right?) and features turtles and other fantastical creatures where you would normally find the traditional gargoyle. But the views of the city are incredible.

A view from one of the towers of the Basilica del Voto National. Notice that the clocks show totally different times!

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen as much gold as we saw in the Iglesia de Campania de Jesus, one of a number of important churches in the old city. You would think that so much gold would appear gaudy and overdone, but somehow they make it feel impressive and majestic. The incredible symmetry of the church perhaps contributes to this effect. Pictures were not allowed, but I found this one on the Internet that does a decent job of conveying the feel of the interior.

La Iglesia de Compania de Jesus

We spent another morning by taking a taxi to the famous TeleferiQo, a 30min cable car that takes you up the highest mountain in Quito. By the time the we reached the summit at 13,450 feet, the weather had gone from warm to cold, the air thinned out (even more), and we were walking IN and THROUGH the clouds rather than under them. Once at the top, you can enjoy a series of hiking trails for as long as your lungs can hold out. I think we lasted 45min.

Gage takes in the view while riding the TeleferiQo. That’s Cotopaxi in the background. It’s an active volcano with an elevation of almost 20,000 ft. The people of Ecuador keep survival kits and have evacuation plans in the event that it erupts.

Yup! They’ve got their heads stuck in the clouds again…

This past Saturday, we visited a large, mostly locals-only mall called El Recreo in the south part of town. A mall, you say?! You and Lori HATE malls! I know, I know. However, we were following up on a tip by our language instructor to find Magic the Gathering cards for Gage. He wanted to add some Spanish language cards to his deck. He didn’t find any here, but we learned about another store to the north that had some. We’ve since visited that store and Gage’s obsession has been successfully assuaged . . . for now.  Back to El Recreo.  We decided to be adventurous and take the bus rather than a taxi. Buses are an adventure all to themselves! Firstly, they’re packed with people. Also, some people board the bus just to sell snack items or to play music or sing for tips. Check out this video below. My favorite part is when the doors close and the bus lurches forward. The musicians don’t miss a beat!

It took us almost 2 weeks, but we finally visited el Mitad del Mundo, reputed to be Ecuador’s most visited tourist attraction. The name translates to middle of the world and/or equator, and even though the equator runs through many cities around the world, Quito has become famous for it. It’s hard to resist the lure of standing with one foot in both the northern and southern hemispheres!

We’re at the Mitad del Mundo – the center of the world!

Getting there was an effort! We took 3 separate public buses, the first of which came so packed with people that we had to essentially force our way aboard. An hour and a half later, we arrived, somewhat flustered and frazzled, but victorious. The whole attraction includes a number of interesting exhibitions like one on the history of the cacoa plant (complete with samples!) and another displaying artwork from Ecuador’s most famous artist, Guayasamin. I especially enjoyed the neat science displays explaining some of the properties of the equator as well as dispelling some of the myths. In particular, the Coriolis effect is commonly used to explain why water drains clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern. I swear I’ve had at least one science teacher sometime during my schooling who taught me that! However, the reality is that the Coriolis effect can only effect larger bodies of water and not smaller systems like sink drains. Go figure!

Technically, GPS systems now tell us that this monument and even the nearby Intinan Solar Museum miss the exact equator line coordinates by 50-250m. Somewhat ironically (and remarkably), the true equator line can be found at the site of some ancient ruins. But the Ecuadorian government claims that the equator is in fact 5km wide. So I suppose everybody’s got it right afterall 🙂

One of the most fun things to happen to us in Ecuador has been our chance meeting (thanks to Gage’s gregarious nature) of a super nice family at La Carolina park about a week ago. They have an active and boisterous son who is a little younger than Evan. So of course, the two of them hit it off immediately. They all speak terrific English because the father was born in the US. Thus far, we’ve managed to get the boys together for several playdates/family visits. Evan even had the chance to join their son at his futbol (soccer) practice. We can’t tell you how much fun it has been getting to know them and to talk about life in Ecuador and the world at large with them. I think the kids are starting to realize that these experiences, more so than visiting places, are the true joy of travelling.

Evan stretches his legs at a futbol practice with his new buddy

Finally, we’re close to pulling the trigger on a Galapagos trip. The planning for this trip has been daunting. It’s super expensive no matter how you do it and there are a number of ways in which you can experience the various islands (by boat cruise, day hikes from the various islands mixed with day trips by boat, or even a combo of all of these). To complicate matters, you need to book flights (about $500/each person) to the islands that align well with your travel plans. By all accounts, it’s a trip-of-a-lifetime and is well worth the effort and expense. Can’t wait!