("Hyperbole and a Half" again, yay Allie: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/02/scariest-story.html)
We were oblivious to the excitement of the new city in which we now slumbered, wrapped up in our blankets like burritos, as Allie Brosh so eloquently puts it.
I know, it's shameful. But we were exhausted.
Quito is 2850m above sea level, nestled in a valley between towering Andean peaks, and surrounded by volcanoes. Not that we could see any of this when we arrived at 11:30pm at night.
It's quite a shock to the system when you arrive straight from sea level. When I climbed Mt Kinabalu in Borneo, whose summit is at over 4000m, it was fine, because walking up affords a more gradual acclimatization. When the plane didn't have to descend far to land in Quito, we knew it was going to be a more dramatic transition. I kept waking during the night, parched and short of breath. I was breathing noticeably faster and could hear my heart pounding.
So what with altitude and sleep deprivation from the day before, I'm embarrassed to admit that it was 1pm in the afternoon after our arrival before we protaganists roused ourselves. Oops. There went the plan of having a leisurely poke around town before our tour meeting at 3:30pm.
Tour? Yes, tour.
The Galapagos is a bit of tricky place to see independently, so we took the easy option and booked the 10 day "Active Galapagos" Intrepid tour, which commenced and ended in Quito. The tour promised plenty of snorkelling, hiking and mountain biking across 5 islands. Awesome!
But at this point in time, the most pressing issue was the need to forage, so we barreled out of the door intent on quick and nearby nosh.
The view, however, stopped us in our tracks. Wow! Vivid green Andean peaks towered over us beneath a bright blue sky. It actually looked a little bit like a larger-scale version of Hobart, nestled in under the mountains. You'll have to wait for the next entry for a pic, though, because I didn't have the camera. We were more on food intent.
Gulping in the thin air, we hustled down the street and happened upon a Columbian steak house a block from the hotel. Great!
Hacienda de Los Arrieros was an excellent restaurant with charismatic (and rather good looking!) waiting staff. Only problem was, the portion sizes were huge - and our meals had taken a while to come out. While our appetites were certainly up to the feast before us, it was a shame to have to shovel it in with 15 minutes remaining before our meeting. I love it when you order a meal but you're not at all familiar with the food and so aren't really sure what you're going to end up with. I had something similar to a pork schnitzel - a pork steak covered in scrambled egg. It was accompanied by all manner of goodies: baked beans, rice, avocado, salad, salsa....my tummy was happy!
We belted (well, waddled quickly) back up the hill to the hotel and straight into the group meeting to begin our tour - and were delighted to discover that our tour group would consist of a total of five people, ourselves included. Perfect, given that the tour had a maximum group size of 15.
Too many people, and it becomes more of a "tour bus" atmosphere, and there's generally going to be at least one who came out of a cereal packet, or who persists in holding up the rest of the group. Too few (4 or less people), and Intrepid sometimes cuts aspects of the itinerary.
Five of us? Ideal.
So, without further ado, I introduce to you
- Ed and Claire, our Irish honeymooners - and keen divers, and
- Simon, our larrikin mate from the U.K. who was taking a year off from the army to travel independently around South America.
Yes, there were a few jokes along the lines of "An Englishman, an Irishman and an Aussie walk into a bar", but Ed, Claire and Simon were all young, friendly, fit and super-keen to get amongst the Galapagos action. Their happy attitiudes boded well for a great trip.
Our Quito guide, Joanna, was a gorgeous local girl who covered off thoroughly on all the main points of the tour, while her eager group sat like schoolchildren around one of the tables in the hotel restaurant. Joanna went around the table asking us why we had decided to visit the Galapagos. Of course, for all of us, it was the unusual animals, the marine life, and, in my case, the whole crucible-of-evolution thing. Ever since I'd learned about Darwin's finches in my second year at university, I'd been fascinated by the Galapagos.
(Only, in fact, it was the mockingbirds, and not the finches, that set Darwin off on his Theory of Evolution. He'd collected plenty of finches, but hadn't labelled them by island. He had, however, for the mockingbirds, and in noticing the subtle differences in their beaks and general physiology, he started formulating ideas about natural selection and phenotypic divergence).
But the Galapagos was still a day away. Now it was time to explore Quito.
Unfortunately Simon was a tad under the weather having lived rather large the night before, but once the briefing was over, the rest of us headed off with Joanna for a sightseeing walking tour of the Old Town. Yay!
Well, first of all we had a (two dollar) taxi ride to the Old Town, but then we did a lot of walking.
Ed and Claire, having not slept in disgracefully, had already covered much of the Old Town ground earlier in the day, but they reckoned it was much more enriching when accompanied by Joanna's commentary on the various sites.
Quito was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978 for having the best preserved and least altered historic centre in Latin America, so were were excited to see it.
I have to be honest and admit that, although Sean and I were super-excited to be in South America and Ecuador, what with it being the last destination on a long trip, and knowing we were going to be part of a tour, I'd been somewhat guilty of not doing my homework on Quito. (Bad Nat. No biscuit). So I was looking forward to finding out a bit more about this beautiful city.
We started at the north-eastern end of the Old Town, at the huge Gothic Basilica. It was only completed relatively recently, with building having commenced in 1926 and spanning several subsequent decades. Officially known as the BasÃlica del Voto Nacional, it is the the tallest church in Ecuador with its twin 115m towers. Not that all of the Quito people are especially fond of it - it's a huge honking landmark without having the grace of centuries of age, and it cost the city a lot of cash. But you can climb the towers - something Sean and I definitely had flagged to do during our post-Galapagos time in Quito.
One of the coolest things about the Basilica is that its gargoyles are all Galapagos animals, like tortoises:
And iguanas:
We all got very excited seeing these Galapagos-themed gargoyles, because starting tomorrow, we were going to be seeing these animals FOR REAL!
There are many colonial aspects to Quito's architecture, that combine French and Spanish influences. Joanna explained that there are encumberances on many of the buildings to preserve the colonial elements, such as the wrought-iron balconies:
Quito's Old Town, with its beautiful buildings and multitude of churches and museums, actually reminded us a bit of a poorer version of Vienna, Austria. There are over 30 churches in Quito's Old Town alone.
We strode downhill from the Basilica and soon reached the Plaza Grande, or the Plaza de la Independencia. This is the central square at the heart of Old Town. The square was established in 1534 and is surrounded by the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, the Archbishop's Palace, the City Hall - and palm trees.
In the centre Plaza Grande is a liberty statue commemorating August 10, 1809 when a troupe of brave Quito rebels declared the country's independence from Spain. However, this initial movement was ultimately defeated, with mass slaughter of the leaders of the uprising and their families. A chain of conflicts concluded on May 24, 1822, when Antonio José de Sucre led troops into the Battle of Pichincha. Their victory marked the independence of Quito and the surrounding areas.
Given the sufferring that it represents, this was quite a moving statue to view. We tend to take our freedom for granted in Australia.
Atop the base is a Condor, an icon of Andean nations, breaking free from the chains of oppression.
On top is the Roman Goddess Libertas, representing freedom and holding a torch in her hand (remind anyone of New York City?)
On the monument's pedestal are the names of those who lost their lives in the fight for independence, along with scenes of the ultimate resistance of the Spanish to the initial uprising.
On the southwest side of the Plaza Grande is the Cathedral:
Directly opposite the cathedral, on the north-east side, is the Archbishop's Palace, the Palazio Arzobispal. This is now a row of small shops and restaurants.
The large black "Quito" sign in the above photo says "Capitala Americana de la Cultura 2011". Quito was chosen as the American capital for culture in 2011, a fact of which its citizens are justifiably proud.
On the north-west side of Plaza Grande is the Palacio del Goberno, or Governor's Palace. Each day, the Ecuadorian flag is lowered by the Guards, and we were lucky enough to be there for it:
The below photo is a more sweeping view of the Plaza Grande, with the cathedral just visible on the left, the Governor's Palace, and the Palazio Arzobispal on the right.
Below is a photo of one of the cathedral doors. Remember how, in Merida, the indigenous builders ingeniously worked sun and moon motifs into the religious motif door carvings, so that they could still surreptitiously worship the Mayan gods? Here, it was more of a case of religious coercion/compromise, and a need for indigneous artistic labour: the Spanish encouraged local painters and sculptors to adopt the European style, creating a blend of indigenous and European art that became known as the Quito School. Andean plants and animals were introduced (like the gargoyles on the Basilica!), and sun motifs were incorporated into church decoration.
It was so much fun wandering around the Old Town with Joanna. Most Ecuadorians love their country and Joanna was no exception. It was enthralling listening to her enthusiastic tales of the city's history.
I took this sneaky photo of Joanna (left, in black), Claire (in the turquoise cardigan) and Ed on the cathedral forecourt, with the main aim being to get a picture of the woman on the left, who was selling straw animals.
This is the door of the Church of El Sagrario. It's right beside the cathedral, and was originally intended as a main chapel, but is now a separate church. Check out the keys symbol - very "Da Vinci Code"!
Okay, if you're into Baroque (which is one of those styles people seem to either love or hate - I personally love it), then this is the church for you. Just around the corner from the cathedral, on Calle Sucre ("Sucre Street"), is La Compania de Jesus. Even the outside is incredibly ornate:
La Compania de Jesus was also high on our post-tour to-do list, and it was tantalising walking past it and imagining the wonders within. Patience, my friends!
Across the street from La Compania de Jesus is the Banco Central de Ecuador, which houses a money museum. The architecture is also pretty darn impressive.
After all our wanderings thus far, Joanna thought we might be getting a little thirsty. Fortunately, our walking tour just happened to take us past Jugos de la Sucre, the best juice bar in town, according to both Joanna and Lonely Planet.
It was so much fun translating all the different fruits and deciding what to try. In the end I went for passionfruit. Yum!
Refreshed, we continued to our next stop: Plaza San Francisco, a huge cobblestone plaza with a monastery. The monastery is the city's largest Colonial structure. Building commenced only a few weeks after Quito was founded in 1534, but construction took 70 years to complete. There was some renovation work going on while we were there, hence the decorative tarpaulin over the facade.
Joanna told us the legend surrounding the Capilla de Cantuna, the chapel to the left of the monastery. The indigenous builder, Cantuna, supposedly sold his soul to the devil in return for the devil's help in completing the church on time. Desperately behind schedule, the church nonetheless rapidly took shape in the final days remaining, thanks to the devil's assistance. But just before midnight on the day of his deadline, Cantuna removed a single stone from the structure, meaning that, technically, the church was never completed. Thus he duped the devil and saved his soul.
Joanna also pointed out the cloisters over the road at the Santa Clara monastery, explaining that they had just been opened to the public for the first time in their 400-year history - and would be open for this month only. Apparently the baroque treasures on view were amazing, and the local people had been queueing up the road and around the corner for this once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity of viewing the incredible exhibition. Admittance was free - we flagged it as yet another thing to explore on our extra days in Quito. Exciting!
The beautiful view below was taken from the middle of Plaza San Francisco, looking south west towards El Panecillo - the "Little Bread Loaf". As the name suggests, this is a small, rounded hill, and it's a major Quito landmark, not least because it is topped by a huge statue of La Virgen de Quito, the Virgin of Quito. She has a crown of stars, and, unusually, angelic wings. According to the locals, she's the only Madonna in the world depicted with wings.
Local women sell vegetables, fruit and flowers on the street. I love their ponchos and their Andean hats.
One of the best bits of the walking tour was Joanna's eagerness for us to experience the tastes as well as the sights of Quito.
We were given samples of hot peanuts from a hole-in-the-wall shop, and they were so yummy that it wasn't a tough decision to part with 30 cents in exchange for a bagful. The juice earlier was 70 cents, so we'd spent a whole dollar thus far on the walking tour. I was loving the Quito experience!
Finally, Joanna took us for a turn down La Ronda.
La Ronda used to be the heart of the red-light district in Quito. In fact, Old Town as a whole used to be a tad unsavoury and unsafe, and La Ronda was the heart of the dodgiest part of town. But there's since been a major effort to clean up Quito and increase the police presence. La Ronda was one of the most recent areas to undergo restoration, and it's now gorgeous: a narrow lane lined with adorable 17th century buildings.
We headed in through a tunnel:
The place is jiving on a Saturday night - and so picturesque! I love the potted flowers on the colonial balconies, and the Ecuadorian flags everywhere.
And check out the adorable little white poodle in the lady's arms in the below photo:
There were also displays of older style childrens' street games, such as hopscotch. Joanna, however, was keen for us to experience a more adult typical party experience: canelazo. This is a hot beverage made with sugar-cane alcohol, hot cider and cinnamon. Joanna steered us unerringly into one of the best canelazo vendors on La Ronda.
We ordered two different flavours: blackberry, and traditional apple cider. Both were yummy - and VERY sweet.
Claire and I say "Salud!"
By night, the colonial buildings are illuminated, and are just so pretty:
Our walking tour completed, we hailed a cab and headed back to the New Town. Joanna had recommended we visit Mama Clorinda for dinner. Again, Lonely Planet had also rated it as a restaurant featuring good local fare, so who were we to argue?
This isn't Mama Clorinda, it's a pretty funky looking eatery just down the street.
Here we are at Mama Clorinda!
The four of us were getting on like the proverbial house on fire. It was great chatting to Claire and Ed about their wedding and to share our excited anticipation of the Galapagos.
The only problem was, after our late and rather generous lunch at Hacienda de Los Arrieros, not to mention all our snacking in Old Town, I was full as a goog! It was one of those times where a spare stomach would have come in handy, because the menu was chock-full of totally appetising local cuisine.
The others lost no time getting amongst amazing-looking lamb casseroles. I would have been right in there trying a cuy (that's guinea pig for the uninitiated, pronounced "choo-ee"), but it just wasn't the night to do it justice.
On Joanna's recommendation (she'd dropped in to check we were all safely installed and to tell us the maximum we should pay getting a taxi back to the hotel - the drivers like to rip off the gringos!) I ordered a potato and cheese soup with avocado.
As I was beginning to discover, the Ecuadorians don't do things by halves when it comes to food. My soup, as indeed all the meals, was hearty, rich, and generous. A good reflection of the local people, I thought.
And, full as I was, the soup was delicious and I fininshed every last drop (including the half avocado).
Sean had to send one taxi driver away before we found another who would take us for our stipulated price. Once we returned to the hotel, it was time to organise our luggage in preparation for our flight to the Galapagos early the next morning.
Sean and I condensed our gear into one of our two bags. We were allowed 20kg each, but we didn't feel like dealing with 2 suitcases, and we aimed to travel light and carefree.
With that, stuffed full of Quito's food and culture, we tumbled into bed with the excitement of one of our most-anticipated parts of the trip.
The Galapagos? Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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