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7/8 - 7/10, 7/14 - 7/15
I got into Quito at 5am after taking the night bus.I rested for a little bit, ran some errands w/ my friend Nadia's sister, Esther, who was nice enough to let me stay w/ her, then took the bus to the equatorial line called the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world). The equatorial monument was pretty cool and there were also various pavilions there including an insectarium.I paid $2 to get pictures & video taken w/ 4 hercules beetles on my shirt & hands!It was freaky but really cool!Next door to the Mitad del Mundo is the Inti Nan museum, supposedly the site of the "real" equator using GPS. They had lots of exhibits on the Amazon culture there and a spot where you can get an egg to stand on a nail.I couldn't do it, but the guy who worked there did it as well as show me the counterclockwise drain flow south of the Equator.We couldn't get the north of the Equator drain to work though.
The next day I went to the famous TeleferiQo chairlift up a mountain w/ a great view of the city where I met a British mom & her son whom I then spent the day with.We went down town to the Centro Cultural Metropolitano which had an exhibit on religious art and great views of the plaza from the rooftop as well as the virgin on the Panecillo hill.From there we went into the Iglesia de la Compania which is almost all covered in gold on the inside.Next, we went to the Monastery of San Francisco and took their tour.They talked about the legend of the church that an indigenous man named Cantuña was supposed to do the work for the outside of the church but time was running out and he knew he couldn't finish so he made a pact w/ the devil.If the devil finished it for him then he would get his soul.However, Cantuña said that it had to be complete, without missing any stone in order for the deal to be valid.Of course the last night he stole a stone so that it would be incomplete & he would keep his soul.The guide showed us the spot where the stone was missing.There were also sculptures made by a famous Ecuadorian artist who always carves saints and angels with their arms in dancing positions - the same person that designed the virgin of the Panecillo.They had his original virgin there w/ 7 names - virgin of Quito, apocalypse (feet crushing a snake - sin, wings to flee from it), along w/ many others.We also saw a painting depicting the Holy Spirit as a man instead of a dove made by an indigenous man that had to be redone because the church didn't like seeing the Holy Spirit as a man.We were only able to see the choral area of the church since the rest of it is undergoing major restoration.The choral area had a bunch of pictures of martyrs made saints with hidden doors behind the panels.After the monastery tour we saw the outside of the church of La Merced and the plaza & church of Santo Domingo.Finally, we went to the Plaza del Teatro then had a great tour inside the colonial house of Maria Augustia Urrutia who was a widow who was very religious and helped children and supported some artists.
The next day I went back to the old town to see some things I had missed the day before including taking a tour of the Iglesia de la Compañia. There was a statue of a young girl saint there who was supposedly very religious and offered her life to save the city of Quito from the many problems that it was having at the time.I think some special flowers grew up around her after her death.Also I saw the process of how they put the gold on the walls.They used wood covered in layers of white stuff then red stuff then a pure gold sheet called pan de oro.After the church I went to an area called la Ronda where I tried canelazo - a hot cinnamon and naranjilla drink w/ some kind of alcohol.It was good but pretty strong at 11am!From there I walked up to Basilica del Voto Nacional where I took a personal towers tour.It was a little scary walking across planks and up very skinny stairs but the views were just great and my guide was so sweet.She told me that the right side of the church had different animals native to Ecuador on it instead of Gargoyles.It was so cool to see turtles and iguanas sticking out instead!!Also it is the newest church - started in 1910, opened in 1980 and still being constructed.One of the local legends says that when they finally finish it, it will be destroyed and then it will be the end of the world!After the Basilica I walked up to Café Mozaico which had great views of the whole centro historico then walked the short way up to Parque Ichimbia, a park that I explored for just under an hour.From there I went to the Centro de Cultura w/ the Bank Museum.There were a lot of archeological artifacts & info about the native cultures there.My last stop was the Casa/Museo de Guayasamin where I got another personal guided tour which was very interesting about the artist's life - 3 wives, 7 kids, different eras of his work - guayasamin, ira (rage), ternura (tenderness).There were also several portraits and series of 3 or more paintings on a theme.The one w/ the different expressions of the hands was amazing and I bought the postcard!
After spending the weekend in Otavalo I spent one more day in Quito.I visited the Jardin Botanico which was REALLY nice including a special exhibit on carnivorous plants (verde que muerde - green that bites!)I then went to the second Guayasamin museum called the Casa del Hombre.I got a personal guided tour again finding out that Guayasamin did a lot of travelling & saw a lot of misery which he represented in this homage to man.It was really intense & sad but very beautiful.They also had there an exhibit on the Disasters of war by Goya who drew a bunch of war scenes also focusing on tragedy & human resistance.After the museum I went up to see Guayasamin's house & the tree of life that he planted where he is buried along w/ one of his friends.From there I wandered around the artisans market for a little while.
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