After breakfast in the hotel restaurant this morning, we met with our guide, Florenza, and six other guests who will be traveling with us to the Mashpi Lodge tomorrow, and then on to the Galapagos.
In addition to a buffet of fruit, meats, cheeses, pastries, etc., the restaurant offered a couple of typical local specialties. This is “tigrillo”: loin stew, traditional pickles, mashed plantains and a fried quail’s egg.
We headed out for a city tour, first by van and then on foot. Our first stop was the San Francisco Mercado, the first (1893) indoor market in Quito.
A shrine is just inside the door. Each vendor stops to say a little greeting to Our Lady of Sorrows as they arrive. I saw one give a wave, another cross herself. Once a year the vendors choose a colleague who has done well to carry the icon in a procession. But this honor comes with a catch. The person who receives this privilege is obliged to provide food and drink for the other vendors.
93)The meat vendors use every part of the animal: stomach, tongue, liver and other organs.
Cow legs are available full on the hoof, or sliced into tenderloin shaped chunks. (Despite appearances, I don’t think the vendor is giving a pedicure.)
So many beautifully displayed vegetables. Most, but not all, were familiar.
The prices were crazy cheap - these are the prices for 1/2 kilo (1.1 lb). Florenza explained that because the climate is constant year round, most things are always in season. Nothing needs to be imported. Meanwhile, we, of course, get our fruits and vegetables from South America during our winter months.
A row of herbal clinics lined one alcove. After one’s kitchen garden home remedies, this is the next stop on the medical treatment path. (Further steps include a local shaman, or as a last resort, a contemporary doctor.) Patients sat on benches across from the stalls waiting their turn for a consultation. The women listen to the symptoms, prepare herbal remedies to steep or ingest, and rub bunches of herbs on the ailing body part.
There was a food court of sorts, with people enjoying everything from custom fruit juices to breakfast to soups. This delightful gentleman squeezed a lemon into his soup and offered to pose for a toothy smile.
Back in the van…
Watching over the city of Quito is the Virgin Mary of Quito (also known as the Virgin of the Apocalypse), a 98 foot tall aluminum statue. With a total height of 135 including the base. It is the highest statue in Ecuador and one of the highest in South America. It’s taller even than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Assembled from 7,400 pieces of aluminum, this is the tallest aluminum statue in the world.
The big news here is that the base holds the only geocache possibility for Greg in Quito. And he found it!
The statue stands atop a 656 foot high hill, offering a 360 degree view over the city. To the west is the west range of the Andes. From the far side of the mountains, Ecuador flattens down to the Pacific coast. On the eastern side (where we were), Quito tumbles down the slopes of the Pichincha volcano (last erupted in 1999). There are 70 active volcanoes in Ecuador. One, visible from Quito on clear days, is erupting now.
To the east, visible in the hazy distance, are more of the Andes. The Amazon lies on the far side.
Back in the van…we headed back to an area walkable from our hotel. Traffic was congested, frequently blocked and often at a standstill. We finally decided to get out and walk to our next destination: a restored home of a wealthy colonial family. We had a snack before starting the walking part of our tour. But, not to bury the lede, the best part was the chocolate tasting counter that one of us discovered on the way to the restroom. We all ended up buying bars of rich Ecuadorian chocolate.
We walked back towards our hotel, making several stops to learn about buildings of interest and to visit the interiors of two 16th century churches.
We learned about the education of privileged girls during colonial times. At age 7 they would be sent to a convent to be educated. They would remain there until they turned 14, at which point they would either stay to join the order, or return home to prepare for their debut into society (i.e. enter the marriage market) at age 15. If all went well, a suitable match was quickly sanctioned and preparations began for the wedding at age 16. We passed one convent, however, that was designated as the place for rebellious (bad? wayward? stubborn?) girls. Young girls sent to the Concepcion nuns did not come home at all. Today, a few nuns still lead a cloistered life in the Concepcion convent. They left the convent twice in the last few decades, each time to walk to the cathedral down the street during a papal visit.
In typical Colonial architecture, shops occupied the street level while the family lived above. This can be seen even in the Presidential Palace, which was created by joining several large homes and creating a contiguous façade. The little shops remain tucked on the ground floor, but instead of a family living above, of course there are offices and guards and official residence and meeting rooms. One can see that the rough stonework on the ground floor incorporated Inca building stones. They can be identified from their irregular shape.
The Church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was built in 1605 in the baroque style. It’s known, for self-evident reasons, as the golden church of Quito. The Jesuits, known then as now for education, had a rather exclusive entry process in Quito. The order generated a good income from what were essentially entrance fees to the old boys’ club. Only people deemed respectable enough could use the church or attend services there.
The ceiling above the doors.
The church projects opulence from the moment one approaches the golden doors. It’s constructed in the shape of a Latin cross, with a central nave and two side aisles. The supporting columns are decorated in Moorish geometric patterns, reflecting designs popular in southern Spain at the time. The barrel vault ceiling was built, in a stroke of genius, of pumice stone. The stone is light weight, repels water, and has proved earthquake resistant for over 4 centuries.
Taken from outside the entry
Ditto
Today, this church has the longest wait list in Quito for weddings. The only decorations allowed are flowers on the altar. But clearly, the church itself is ornate enough to dazzle all.
Our final stop was at the monastery and church of San Francisco, which is next to our hotel. The complex was started in 1535, and included the first public drinking fountain. The cloisters still reflect values of St. Francis, with little thatched-roofed bird feeders placed around the courtyard.
The church itself is another explosion of gilt and gold. We were allowed only in the organ loft, which offered a good overlook of the nave.
We had dinner at the hotel with our group of 7. Greg and I went up to the terrace afterwards for a last look at the city lights before turning in.
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