Quito and Beyond

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Today we got out of the hectic business center of town and traveled through clogged traffic to explore  historic old town of Quito, with settlements and buildings dating back 500 years. While the 13 US colonies were basic back waters and farmers struggling to survive, this part of the world was doing quite well, thank you, due the immense wealth of resources,  and the distance from Spain and the Vatican.  The narrow streets, the architecture, the Presidential Palace, the Archbishop’s residence, and the stunning Cathedral Saint Francis Xavier all had distinct design, unique to the rest of the world. 

Inside the Archbishop's palace

At Freedom Square

We’ve been to a lot of cathedrals over the years and were expecting more of the same.  But this just blew us away.  Never have we seen a cathedral so opulent, beautiful,  or breathtaking. It was financed by the wealthy Jesuits and was completed over 300 years ago.  The main construction was stone painted with gold leaf. The paintings and statues were also exquisite.

We spent some time at the equator and learned some amazing facts about it.  Water going down a sink drain actually does go in a different direction, depending upon which side of the equator you are on.  Even moving the sink 10 feet from the line changed the funnel cloud from clockwise to counter clockwise.  We also learned about the French scientific expedition to determine the location of the equator in 1726 or so—long before the US Declaration of Independence and the Lewis and Clark expedition.  It took over three years and triggered a lot of interest in science and later some political events.  Ecuador, by the way, is Spanish for equator.

You won’t hear for us for at least another six days.  We get up at 3:00 am on Thursday and fly the 500 miles to the Galapagos islands, where we will be on a small boat cruise, hiking some islands, and snorkeling.  No Wi-Fi, internet, email or phone.  What a novel idea for a vacation!