Quito: Coolest City on the Equator

Friday 1^st April

The flight from Panama to Quito was fine. Sitting in an exit row next to American couple who are in a large group of 47. First time I have been on a flight where the man next me brought on a pizza and proceeded to eat it before take-off. Should I be nervous flying on a non US airline with a large group of middle aged, mostly overweight, Americans. Have the flight crew got the correct figures for their take off weight? Since we were in the exit row we had a detailed explanation by one of the flight attendants telling us, in perfect English, what we should do in the event of the command "Todo eliminar su cinturón de seguridad y evacuar". Or something like that. "If there's an emergency, we'll all be screaming it. If we aren't screaming, you can sit back and relax."

Despite the fact it was only a two hour flight we got a hot burrito and a choice of drinks so I was quite impressed with Copa although I would have been even happier paying a budget price and foregoing the niceties.

Not so impressed with Ecuador immigration which has an immigration form requiring you to write your name four times and where we waited almost an hour in a slow moving queue followed by a rather faster queue for Customs.

The taxi was $25 fixed fare; like Panama, Ecuador uses the US dollar, and my first impressions of Ecuador and Quito very mixed. Thanks to the cool, overcast and misty weather the landscape near the airport looked quite English with rolling green hills partially shrouded by mist, isolated houses in the distance, lorry parks, an ultramodern airport hotel and distribution centres closer to the new looking six lane motorway we were driving along. Until I started thinking about coming here I don't think I would have been able to place Ecuador or Quito on a map and so I had expected somewhere looking more tropical and exotic. OK, the motorway had US style green signs and some sharper bends and steeper inclines than the M25 but nothing to give away that I was in a small South American country of which I knew little. We had been heading down hill on the motorway which made sense since Wikitravel had told me that that Quito was in a valley. But then we turned off the motorway and climbed up narrow, winding, steep, often cobbled, wet, streets zig zagging up hills between small, mainly whitewashed, stone buildings.  It was raining and quite dark by now and I was beginning to wonder if the taxi driver had understood the destination. He had seemed very confident when I gave it to him. But then, suddenly, after several miles we emerged in a city landscape of wide streets, car show rooms, fast food joints and finally Cuba Viejo Hotel. Feeling very relieved I was happy to give the driver an extra couple of dollars.

The hotel receptionist was very efficient and soon I was in my comfortable and cosy room. Since it was pouring with rain I had an onion soup with toast and cheese in the hotel, along with a local beer. The onion soup was a bit of a disappointment; I was hoping for it to be French style with caramelised onions but it was a bit pale and insipid. Took another beer up to the room and put my three days in the Amazon up.

Later I found out that rather than being in a valley Quito is on a shelf-like plateau on the side of a mountain.

Saturday 2 April

Think this was the first hotel breakfast in South America with no ham and cheese. Instead cereal, yogurt, fruit, scrambled egg, toast, juice and decent coffee. 

Walked down towards the historic centre of Quito stopping off first at what I later learnt was the “Basilica of the National Vow” a Gothic style cathedral in totally European style complete with gargoyles and stained glass windows. According to Wikipedia it is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas. Until the walk I had been wondering what all this fuss about high altitude was. But 4km later I decided there might be something in it.  Behind the main church was a richly decorated chapel bigger than most parish churches where a service was being conducted. Beneath the nave was a crypt with catacombs which appear to be still in use with empty niches and fairly recent post 2000 internments. Rather incongruously, at least in my eyes, on the outside of the catacombs are a series of kiosks hosting local businesses, mostly electrical stuff, plugs, sockets, soldering irons, multimeters etc. At least they weren't money changers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas%C3%ADlica_del_Voto_Nacional

Basilica of the National Vow

Gargoyle on Basilica of the National Vow

European Style Rose Window in Basilica of the National Vow

Continued on into the square in the centre of the historic city, Plaza Grande, which would have been very picturesque except for the grey clouds and rain. Stopped off for a coffee in the former Archbishop’s Palace, on one side of the Plaza Grande, which now houses several restaurants and shops round a courtyard. The other three sides of the Plaza Grande are occupied by the Presidential Palace, guarded by the army, a modern block which is supposed to house a visitor centre but looks empty and the cathedral which costs $3 to visit but is magnificent inside, Baroque with a Moorish influence according to one description, and benefits from excellent lighting. It probably looks better now than it ever did. 

Plaza Grande

Courtyard: Ideal for a Cup of Coffee

Inside the Cathedral

Unfortunately churches in Ecuador seem not to like people taking photos, which I can understand during services, when tourists shouldn't be wandering around anyway, but annoys me when I have paid good money. Off to one side was an exhibition of clerical vestments.  Also went to visit the Metropolitan Culture Centre in a 20th century building that looks much older. The exhibitions were of modern art, not really my thing, but some of the works by Gonzales Gusman, to which over half the exhibition was devoted, were quite striking. In one series he seems quite obsessed by female buttocks. He's obviously very prolific so I was surprised not to find anything on him in Wikipedia.

Striking Painting by Gonzales Gusman

Continued on to La Compañía de Jesús, the Jesuit church but it was closed and after looking at some of the little streets in the rain returned to the shopping centre to buy some cards and have another cup of coffee and a corn flavoured sponge cake cooked in a pandan leaf. Got a taxi back to the hotel for just $3 and started looking at options for where, when, and how to go next.

It was pouring with rain by the time I wanted to go out for dinner and didn't fancy eating in the hotel again so went out to Rib & Co which is very close and gets good reviews in Trip Advisor. Maybe I should have stayed in the hotel. This was my review:

Steak was chewy and the roof leaked

It was raining heavily and this place was close. I was on my own; 1lb of ribs was too much, so I ordered the 1/2 lb New York strip steak. Surprisingly, I wasn't asked how I wanted it done or what I wanted with it. The steak, which turned out medium with French fries, was decidedly chewy. Such a disappointment after the fantastic steaks in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The restaurant is very minimalist, all grey and black, rather dark, and thanks to the rain seeping in, the floor was wet and slippery. On the plus side, the waitress was friendly, sure she was doing her best, and the beer was cold.

Sunday 3^rd April

Was planning on being lazy and getting a taxi into the main square but taxi driver said something about it not being accessible so had another walk, getting out if breath again. Headed straight for the Jesuit church and then realised that this was Sunday so if I wanted to see it I would have to go to mass. Found a space in a pew near the back of the almost full church and looked around in awe. It is supposed to be the best example of baroque in the Americas and I am not going to argue. As someone put on their TripAdvisor "All that glisters is gold" and almost every surface glisters. The mass itself was interesting. It's a long time since I went to a Sunday church service. First surprise was to hear a group singing a modern sounding song to guitar accompaniment. Then a young woman's voice doing a solo song that sounded nothing like traditional church music. For one song people joined in singing and clapping. One of the songs, in which the organ joined in with the guitar, sounded remarkably like Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence. It didn't seem to match the over-the-top baroque spectacle all around us. It is amazing how the Catholic church succeeded in imposing its beliefs and culture on a new continent for half a millennium.

La Compañía de Jesús

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_de_Jes%C3%BAs,_Quito

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/07/06/jesuit-church-iglesia-de-la-compania-where-pope-will-pray-in-ecuador-known-as-baroque-icon/

Nearby was the Fray  Pedro Gocial Franciscan museum in part of a Franciscan monastery. Much of it is devoted to a the Holy Week Procession in which massive religious statues are paraded through  the streets by people wearing purple robes and sinister looking Ku Klux Klan like masks and pointed hats. Pity I missed it.

www.peruforless.com/blog/top-destinations-for-semana-santa-travel-in-south-america/

http://www.uiomagazine.com/report-the-procession-of-jesus-del-gran-poder-01.html

There is a large collection of paintings which didn’t do much for me but in the centre of the monastery was a beautiful enclosed garden and for just a short while the sun shone. Upstairs was a fascinating organ "loft" with individual carved seats for the monks and an intricate carved wooden  ceiling. One side was open and looked over the richly decorated nave of the associated church, which I learnt was built between 1536 and 1580 and is the oldest in Quito, where a mass was being held. So felt I had to visit that and attend another mass. Yet more stunning Baroque ornamentation.

Just a Small Side Chapel

Sunshine in the Courtyard

More Baroque

Visited the Casa del Alabado museum of Precolumbian art. They had an unusual approach to presentation which was to group objects according to spiritual function, which could have worked well with suitable information. There was an audio guide in English but instead of telling me anything useful it provided what I considered mumbo jumbo about communicating with supernatural worlds and harnessing vital forces. I appreciate that the objects did have spiritual purposes but can't believe that all the different cultures represented had the same world view. I also get annoyed when commentaries suggest that the Pre-columbian world, or any other time in history, was governed by different laws of nature than our own. To add insult to injury the numbers indicating the reference in the audio guide were printed in small type that I couldn't read in the subdued lighting. I thought it was my old age until I saw a young woman trying to read the numbers using her smart phone camera. I tried the same but the contrast was too low for the camera to focus. It's a shame the museum was let down by these annoyances since the exhibits themselves were fascinating and displayed beautifully.

Laughing Out Loud in the  Casa del Alabado museum

Time for a cup of coffee. Saw a restaurant with tables in a small courtyard on one side of the San Francisco Plaza  next to the Monastery and church, sat down and  ordered a “Cafe con Leche” and an empanada. I was a bit surprised when a mug of milk arrived but then I spotted the jar of instant coffee on the table; thought I'd said goodbye to that in Chile. But the instant coffee was in granules so maybe not so bad. Stirred a spoonful of the granules into the milk and tasted it. Ugh! The milk was luke-warm and definitely "off". First time I have walked out of a restaurant in disgust  and was able to use my little bit of Spanish to say "No me gusta". Went back to the café in the Archbishop's Palace where I got a decent cup of coffee and a couple of “morochos”, corn based empanadas.

Found a modern broad avenue with great views of the surrounding hills and from there found my way to the Museo Ciudad. Was hoping to have a better experience than at the last museum. The Museo Ciudad had a couple of free galleries focusing on the building’s previous function  as a religious hospital, and the role of music in various religions but I didn't feel like paying $8 to visit the main part of the museum which had no information in English.

Broad Avenue

Hillside overlooking the City Centre

Narrow Street

My last stop was at La Merced church, where they were having a mass, but looked in and found yet another amazing Baroque interior.

La Merced

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas%C3%ADlica_de_Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_la_Merced_(Quito)

  

In the evening, walked down Reina Victoria, near the hotel, looking for somewhere to eat and found Achiote, opposite Fogens, which got good write ups in Trip Advisor, but was closed. At Achiote I had an excellent meal of "Frittada", pork pieces served with tomato and onion salad, plantain, potato cakes, nuts. Looking at Trip Advisor later I saw that its reviews were mediocre so added my own more positive one. 

Monday 4^th April

Went to a Post Office in Reina Victoria intending to buy some stamps for postcards. Couldn’t believe it when the man behind the counter told me they would cost $8 each! No postcards from Ecuador. Took a taxi to the Capilla_Del_Hombre which got good reviews in TripAdvisor. I had never heard of Guayasamin before but I found out that he was a prolific, talented and popular artist from Quito with a strong social and political conscience who created the Capilla_Del_Hombre  museum to showcase his work and promote his ideals. I started with a tour of his house which was in English but I found the guide difficult to understand. Later had a guided tour of the museum itself by Astrid who did an excellent job of explaining the pieces of work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Capilla_del_Hombre

http://www.guayasamin.org/

Guayasamin's House 

From there I had planned to go to the Central Bank Museum, also called or Museo Nacional del Banco Central del Ecuador, which is rather confusing since it is nowhere near the Banco Central building off the Plaza Grande and which has its own numismatic museum.

Banco Central. Not the Museo Nacional del Banco Central

The taxi driver seemed confused at first but then I showed him the address on the map and off we went. He dropped me on the opposite side of the road from a massive shiny circular building which turned out to be the “Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana”. It wasn’t far from there to the museum I wanted to go to but it was a wet walk through the steady rain, only to find when I arrived that it was closed. Suppose I should have looked at Trip Advisor first to save me the effort. Started walking back towards to the hotel but the rain turned from steady to torrential so dived into a branch of Sweet & Coffee, a local chain for a coffee and a large slice of apple and nut cake. 

Apple and Nut Cake and Coffee

Once the rain had eased off, continued my walk stopping off at the Mindalae Handicraft museum very close to the hotel. Think its official name is Ethnohistoric Museum of Handicrafts. They didn’t have many visitors this wet afternoon so after paying my $3 I was able to enjoy all the four, small, floors of exhibits in solitary isolation. The exhibits are quite interesting, showing handicrafts from various locations, and it has position sensitive lighting that mostly works, only occasionally leaving you in darkness. Learnt a new word today in Spanish and in English "Telluric" At first I thought they had made a wrong translation but it does mean "relating to the earth" in English as well. 

All the information is in Spanish, English and French but they obviously assume that the English and French have better eyesight than South Americans since while the Spanish information is in large white lettering on a dark red background the English and French is about 2/3 the size in light red lettering on a dark red background. I looked on the web expecting to find a clear, simple guide to legibility for museum texts but, perhaps not surprisingly, couldn’t find one, although individual museums have design guidelines.

Stairwell at the Mindalae Handicraft Museum

Traditional Textiles on the Mindalae Handicraft Museum

Legibilty Challenge: Spanish on the Left.
English and French on the Right

In the evening braved the rain to head down to Plaza Foch which is supposed to be the beating heart of nightlife in this area and proclaims “Foch Yeah!”. There are plenty of places to eat and drink but most of them were empty this wet Monday night. Had a burger and a beer at BBQ & Co and, since it was still raining, got a taxi back to the hotel.   

Plaza Foch when it isn't Raining

Plaza Foch when it isn't Raining