It was another brilliant morning in Quito, crisp and sunny in the thin air at 2,800 meters. I had a full day ahead of me with the only goal being no motorized transport. I was off to do the Lonely Planet walking tour with a few additons of my own. One of the add-ons was to climb up to the giant angel atop the hill that you can see in the left upper the photo above. Trust me, that little stick thing in the photo is a giant angel statue.
The streets of El Centro, the old city of Quito, were already busy with people going to work and traffic cops trying to keep things moving in the goofy rush hour that snarls these narrow streets. I am already discovering the walking streets that can be traversed without dodging buses or taxis.
My self-guided walking tour officially began in the Grande Plaza, home to the Presidential Palacio and more churches than any town needs. At the far end of the plaza is the Ministry of Culture which has free access to some galleries and the amazing courtyards that aren't visible from the street. Inside the gallery was a small collection of Ecuadoran artists from Colonial times until the present.
My favorite piece in the gallery. Litttle did I know that it was a sign of future events today.
Nest stop on the tour was a church. Fancy that, a Catholic church in Quito! I can't even remeber what this one was. I believe it was the Cathedral, as opposed to the Basilica on the hill. There were the usual collection of educational paintings of the saints, some great side altars, and a shimmering column of sunlight stabbing down into the nave.
Continuing a whopping 100 meters, I stopped at the Baroque wonder of Latin America, Inglesia de la Compana de Jesus. There is not really another church like this in the Latin New World. This structure is a Jesuit church dating back to the 1600's and I do not think there is a straight line or an undecorated surface in the entire building. The inside is almost completely covered in 24 carat gold leaf. While there is a no photo policy, I saw more than a few Ecuadorans ignoring the ban, so I snuck a few quick spy shots. My favorite decorative piece was at the inside of the main doors. A sprial staircase on the left leads up to the organ loft, a loft that contains a pipe organ produced in the United States and sporting 1,100 pipes! On the opposing side of the entrance, in a bizarre baroque symmetry, there is faux spiral staircase painted on one of the few flat walls.
Twisted columns, the hallmark of Baroque Architecture
Golld leaf and more gold leaf. Light simply glowed throughout the interior.
One of the magnificent side altars.
My walking tour took an unplanned turn when, another 100 meters up the lane, I saw the Banco de Ecuador and the sign for the coin museum. Free!! I do love a free museum. Just being able to walk around the massive stone basement of the old bank was worth the time. This monstrosity sits atop a foundation of cut stone blocks that are more than three feet thick! There was display after display of coins and other means of exchange from Pre-Colombian times through the demise of the Ecuadoran currency in favor of the US Dollar. There were more reals and escudos, in both plata and oro, than one could imagine. I was dreaming of chest of doubloons before I was done. No photos allowed and a guard right by my side, so you will just have to imagine. At the last, however, in the kids section, there were two bins of former Ecuadoran currency, now worthless.
That's a heap of pesos Mi Amigos y Amigas!
More twists and turns and more museums!! I actually had to walk a few blocks to my mext destination, the famous square of San Fransico, the first major religious building in Quito. This block long low slung monolith is a Franciscan church, they of the long brown cassocks. Get it? San Francisco, Franciscans? I paid my two dollars and waked into one of the great courtyards in the city. I also walked into a puppet show, complete with squealing kids in school uniforms. This was far more interesting than the gory exhibit on the pasison of Christ. Seriously, Christ wounded, Christ with bloody knees, heavy cross, eyes heavenward, over and over. Back to the puppet show for me.
How often do you get to see an educational puppet show starring a midget Franciscan that looks like Elmer Fudd?
The good guy and the El Diablo duke it out for the souls of the Ninas!
Oooh! Oooh! And there were parrots!!
OK, the puppet show was the highlight of the morning, but thee were miles to go before I sleep. This was the spot where I was going to jump off track and scale the hill for a panorama of Quito. Before one climbs a thousand stairs, one should fuel up. At bit early for lunch, I had the world's largest second brekkie. A multi-course brekkie!
I couldn't even squeeze the huevos into the photo. The jugo is Maro, a type of Ecuadoran grape-like fruit. Amazing stuff. Cool colour as well.
Will the gringo make it up the hill or will the altitude kick his sorry ass? Stay tuned for part two!!
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